But perhaps the most notable participant in the UAE’s capital city was world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who played his first competitive tennis of any kind since he suffered an abdominal tear against eventual champion Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of the Rolex Paris Masters.
Forced out of both the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals, Alcaraz nonetheless ended the season as world No. 1, the youngest to ever do so, and was awarded Most Improved Player of the Year honors.
Though he went 0-2 in Abu Dhabi with a semifinal loss to Rublev (6-2, 6-1) and a third-place loss to Ruud (6-1, 6-4) in a rematch of the US Open final, the teenager was in good spirits on social media in the aftermath.