ANNNOUNCER ANDY TAYLOR’S 12TH SEASON HOSTING QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN
Since the 2011 Doha Arab Games, announcer Andy Taylor has been a fixture with the QTF. From the Qatar TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil Open – to the Qatar Classic Squash Championship, the PSA Men’s World Championship, World Padel Championship, and Ooredoo Qatar Major.
For over a decade, he has regularly returned to this gleaming city on the Arabian Gulf; working closely with the Qatar Tennis Federation to showcase world-renowned athletes in professional tennis, squash and Padel. In the sports community, announcer Andy Taylor is known best as the Voice of the US Open; where his sound has anchored the presentation inside New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium for 23 consecutive years.
A versatile host, emcee and Stadium Announcer – with his individual style and delivery, announcer Andy writes and narrates every player’s introduction, celebrating their career accomplishments, providing context for fans before each match. Afterwards, he interviews the victors, providing fans and international broadcasters further insight on each player’s performance and career. Additionally, as a voice talent, announcer Andy Taylor narrates video content used in the stadium and at special events throughout the tournament.
Now an ATP-500 event . . . since 2015, the players have voted the Qatar ExxonMobil Open “ATP-250 Tournament of the Year” SIX times.
QATAR EXONMOBIL OPEN | SINGLES CHAMPIONS
QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN | DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN, NOW AN ATP-500 FIXTURE ON THE CALENDAR
2025 marks the dawn of a new era. In 1993, when the Sheraton was the only coastal structure in what has become Doha’s majestic City Center – the State of Qatar hosted its first professional tennis tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. For 32 years, the event has grown in stature and prestige.
Remarkably, the players have voted it ATP-250 Tournament of the Year six times over the past 10-years (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024).
Today, a new chapter unfolds. The Qatar ExxonMobil Open will now be one of 16 ATP-500 events on tour – meaning more points, higher stakes and increased prize money for the athletes. The tournament’s well-earned elevation couldn’t be more evident in 2025’s field of exemplary talent . . .
WORLD #1 MAKES HIS DOHA DEBUT
Today it seems there’s JANNIK SINNER . . . then everyone else. Since claiming the sport’s top-ranking last June (2024), the 23-year-old Italian has lost only 3-matches, notching 47 triumphs, winning six of his last nine tournaments.
With his title defense last month in Melbourne — he’s now a 3-time Major champion, the reining ATP Finals champion and 2-time Davis Cup Champion. Sinner will launch his debut Doha campaign on a 21-match streak, dating back to September’s Beijing-500 Final where he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in a deciding-set tiebreak.
SIX FORMER SINGLES CHAMPIONS RETURN
KAREN KHACHANOV
Last year — following a pair of clutch, extended first-set tiebreaks — KAREN KHACHANOV stood center-stage in Doha lifting Qatar ExxonMobil Open’s coveted Falcon for the first time. In the Semi’s, Karen earned set-1 in a nail-biting (12-10) tiebreak over Alexei Popyrin. In the Final, he took the first set (14-12) over Jakub Mensik. Strong serving, not to mention experience in tight moments on the sport’s biggest stages, propelled him to his 6th career title.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV
In 2023, DANIIL MEDVEDEV lifted the falcon in his Qatar ExxonMobil Open debut. In fact, his Doha triumph was part of a 19-match win-streak, where he won three consecutive titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai before falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells Final.
ROBERTO BAUTISTA AGUT
A 3-time Doha finalist, in 2022 ROBERTO BAUTISTA AGUT captured his 2nd Doha title, avenging his loss to Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the 2021 Final. RBA first captured the title in 2019, after coming back from a set down to earn a thrilling Semifinal victory over World #1 Novak Djokovic. Now ranked outside the top-50, this year Bautista Agut is forced to qualify to reach the main draw.
ANDREY RUBLEV
2020 Singles Champion ANDREY RUBLEV feels at home in Qatar. In his 2018 debut, at just 19-years-old, he reached his 2nd career ATP Tour-level Final. Two years later, he lifted the Falcon. Then in 2021, he teamed with Aslan Karatsev to capture the Doubles title.
GAEL MONFILS
Timeless GAEL MONFILS is one of the most successful talents in tournament history. As a teenager 19-years-ago, he went toe-to-toe with Roger Federer for the first time in the 2006 Doha Final — then again made Finalist runs in 2012 and 2014 before finally lifting the Falcon in 2018. Many of Gael’s career-firsts happened in Doha, including his first top-10 win (Gaston Gaudio, 2005) and first victory over a World #1 (Rafael Nadal, 2009). With his triumph last month in Auckland, the 38-year-old broke two of Roger Federer’s records — he is now the oldest talent in tour history to capture a title, and the only player to reach a Tour-level Final in 21 consecutive seasons.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Finally, the greatest of all time returns to Doha for the first time in 5-years. 24-time Major champion NOVAK DJOKOVIC made his Doha debut 10-years-ago – where as the World #1, he fell to Ivo Karlovic in the Quarterfinals. A year later, he annihilated Rafael Nadal in the 2016 Final – then won an epic clash over World #1 Andy Murray in the 2017 Final. The 37-year-old suffered a hamstring tear during week-2 of this year’s Australian Open, where he was forced to retire from his Semifinal clash with Alexander Zverev. Fingers-crossed his recovery’s gone well.
17-FEB to 22-FEB | KHALIFA INTERNATIONAL TENNIS AND SQUASH COMPLEX
SINGLES QUALIFYING
Begins Saturday, February 15th with a field of 16 talents, including three qualifying Wild Cards. As an ATP-500 tournament, 4 qualifiers earn entry into the main draw. Qualifying concludes with Sunday’s victors.
SINGLES MAIN DRAW
ATP-500 tournaments include a field of 32 Singles talents with no first-round BYE’s. In Doha, that field includes 23 direct entries, 1 special exempt, 4 wild cards and 4 qualifiers.
Direct entries require five consecutive match victories to lift Doha’s prized falcon. Meanwhile, qualifiers must win seven straight matches to emerge the 2025 Qatar ExxonMobil Open champion.
Round-1 (16 matches) will be played on Monday and Tuesday, followed by Round-2 (8 matches) on Wednesday, the Quarterfinals on Thursday, the Semifinals Friday, then the Singles and Doubles Finals on Saturday.
DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
The Doubles draw includes a field of 16 teams. For talents competing in both singles and doubles, daily matches will be strategically scheduled throughout the week to ensure these players first compete in singles before playing their doubles match.
Total prize purse for this year’s tournament: $2,760,000. The announcer doesn’t receive a dime of this money.
