Saudi Arabia have revealed their plan to build a vast National Tennis Centre bearing more than a striking resemblance to the All England Club (AELTC), the venue which hosts Wimbledon.
Images of the complex, which is set to be the largest facility of its kind in the region, show designs by upmarket architectural firm Populous sporting Wimbledon’s iconic purple and green colours.
The centre court will feature a retractable roof for ‘climate control’ amid the harsh Saudi daytime temperatures, and in a further hat-tip to the British tournament, will be clad in a grass-like material, as will a number of other structures and show courts.
Inside however, rather than the carpet of turf players turning up in SW19 expect to find, the 15,000-capacity crowd will watch play on hard courts, themselves painted purple and green.
With a total seating capacity of 33,000 across 30 courts – both indoor, outdoor, and practice courts, including two on clay – the nation’s Sports Minister Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal stressed that the complex ‘represents an important pillar in developing tennis in the Kingdom’.
‘We are building a world-class home for tennis at every level, where the world’s best players can compete, the next generation of Saudi talent can reach their potential, and families and communities across Saudi Arabia can experience this great sport,’ Qiddiya Investment Company managing director Abdullah Aldawood added.
Saudi Arabia has shared plans for their new-look National Tennis Centre which appear to posit it as a Wimbledon of the desert
The complex will share purple and green colouring and a grass-clad centre court with SW19
Eno Polo, the CEO of the ATP agreed, saying that the national centre would represent ‘a remarkable addition to the global tennis landscape’.
‘Facilities of this scale and quality play an important role in the continued growth of tennis,’ he added. ‘By providing a world-class stage for competition alongside opportunities for participation at all levels, the National Tennis Centre has the potential to make a lasting impact on the sport across the region for years to come.’
The centre will act as the heart of Qiddiya City, a proposed capital of ‘entertainment, sport and culture’ being built by Saudi 30 miles from Riyadh as part of their ambitious Vision 2030 project.
The publication of the complex’s design represents another assertive commitment by Saudi Arabia into tennis, following their Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) investment into the sport’s official rankings, events on both the men’s and women’s tours including the ongoing Queen’s Club tournaments in London, and the WTA itself.
Saudi previously struck an arrangement with the ATP to host a Masters 1000 tournament in the Kingdom from 2028, and has hosted a showy exhibition event with boldfaced names such as Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Jannik Sinner – the ‘Six Kings Slam’ for the part two seasons.
But not all of their forays have had lasting success, with the WTA Finals, the end-of-tour crescendo for women’s players, set to move away from the Saudi capital following the conclusion of their three-year deal this November.
Design firm Populous appear to have been influenced by the company’s earlier work with the All England Club to fit its Centre Court with a retractable roof
The multi-use centre court will sit in the heart of the newly build Qiddiya City complex
As well as sponsoring ATP and WTA events, Saudi also host the lucrative Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament
Events in the region have struggled for sell-out crowds despite the presence of the sport’s biggest names on court, in part tempted by the record £4.7m prize money for the winner of the Six Kings Slam.
Among the other venues under construction in Qiddiya City are an 18-hole golf championship golf course designed by Nick Faldo, a horse racing venue, a Gaming and Esports district, a performing arts centre, and the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, which will be used to host matches at the 2034 World Cup.
