Wimbledon in the desert: Saudi Arabia rips off home of tennis

Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans to build what looks like Wimbledon in the desert.

The Gulf state’s Qiddiya Investment Company has announced the construction of a National Tennis Centre bearing a striking resemblance to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).

Footage and images of what would be the largest tennis facility in the region shows a number of courts sporting the famous green and purple colours of the AELTC, the exteriors of which are clad in grass-like material.

It also shows a “Centre Court” with 15,000 seats and a retractable roof – albeit for “climate control” rather than rain – exactly the same configuration as the best-known arena in tennis.

The facility is even being built by the same architects that constructed Wimbledon Centre Court’s retractable roof, the firm Populous.

However, none of the surfaces are grass, with the centre boasting 28 hard courts and two clay courts.

It has been billed as Saudi’s “future home of international tennis” and will be located in Qiddiya City, the Kingdom’s capital of entertainment, sport, and culture, 30 miles west of the capital, Riyadh.

It is part of plans to build a new city three times the size of Paris, which include a Sir Nick Faldo signature-designed 18-hole championship golf course set to open later this year.

The tennis centre appears likely to host an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Saudi from 2028. The tournament was announced in October.

Monday’s announcement came a fortnight before the start of Wimbledon and less than 24 hours after the end of Queen’s, which ended up being sponsored by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) following an about-turn by British tennis chiefs.

A deal that had been rejected less than 18 months earlier was also announced weeks after PIF pulled the plug on its multibillion-dollar investment in LIV Golf.

Tennis was threatened with a LIV-style battle for its future when PIF announced multi-year partnerships with both the ATP and WTA in 2024.

The latter deal prompted backlash led by Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert after it included staging the season-ending WTA Tour Finals in Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for the oppression of women.

Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority, also created the so-called Six Kings Slam, an annual exhibition event for men in Riyadh which features a record $6m (£4.7m) in prize money for the winner. Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the first two editions.

Announcing the new tennis centre, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi sports minister and president of its Olympic and Paralympic committee, said: “The centre has the necessary capabilities to host major tournaments and elite players, having been built according to the highest international specifications and standards. This reflects the commitment to developing the tennis ecosystem in the Kingdom, as with other sports, by enhancing infrastructure and programs that support the scouting and development of Saudi talent. These efforts help guide players from the amateur stage to professionalism while contributing to the achievement of the sports objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.”

Eno Polo, the ATP chief executive, said: “The National Tennis Centre at Qiddiya City is a remarkable addition to the global tennis landscape. As the largest tennis facility of its kind in the region, it reflects a bold vision for the future of tennis and a commitment to creating more opportunities for people to engage with our sport, whether as players, fans or members of the wider community.

“Facilities of this scale and quality play an important role in the continued growth of tennis. 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.”