The event is part of the Gulf series of events that also features the Dubai Championships in the ATP and WTA calendars, but also the Abu Dhabi Open in the women's calendar. The Qatar Open has been held since 1993, when the first men's event was held, with the women's tournament joining later in 2001.
The venue at which the tournament is played is the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar. It has a 7,000-capacity main court after the 2008 expansion. The women's tournament is of a WTA 1000 category, while the men's event is an ATP 250 tournament, but it should be upgraded to an ATP 500 event in 2025.
Due to sponsorship reasons, the tournament holds multiple different names, as the men's event is also called the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, while the women's tournament is also called the Qatar TotalEnergies Open and the Qatar Ladies Open.
It's been a hotspot for tennis players, as many use the Persian Gulf as their home base during the winter. Roger Federer famously prepared for each new season there, and he's actually the most successful tennis player in the men's event's history, having lifted the trophy three times.
