Saudi Arabia’s coveted men’s tennis event set for unbuilt, futuristic venue at new megaproject

Saudi Arabia’s coveted top-tier men’s tennis tournament is taking shape. The first edition of an ATP Masters 1000 event, slated for 2028, is set to land at the futuristic, yet-to-be-completed National Tennis Centre in Qiddiya City, according to multiple sources briefed on the tournament’s plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Qiddiya Investment Company, owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), issued a news release Monday announcing the creation of the complex. It plans to encompass 30 courts, 28 hard and two clay, including a 15,000-capacity Centre Court with a retractable roof, and three further show courts, one of which, the 8,000-seater “Court 3”, is also designed with a roof.

Building work has already started on the complex and multiple sources briefed on the timeline, who were also not authorized to speak publicly, have expressed confidence that it will be finished in time for 2028, with the one-week tournament expected to take place each February. The ATP Tour will not finalize its schedule for 2028 until the end of this year.

Elite development, local grassroots participation and year-round community play are among Qiddiya Investment Company’s stated ambitions. Large-scale construction projects in Saudi Arabia, including the Vision 2030 initiative of which Qiddiya City is part, and infrastructure for the 2034 men’s World Cup, have drawn criticism from human rights organizations over treatment of migrant workers, from exploitative employment practices to preventable workplace deaths.

The ATP and the Qiddiya Investment Company declined to comment on this story.

The venue is designed by Populous, the same architecture firm that designed the Wimbledon Centre Court roof, and images of the planned venue in Qiddiya City bear a striking resemblance to the legendary court at the All England Club. Populous has designed a number of other major sporting and entertainment venues, including the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and O2 Arena in London, and the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, which hosted the last men’s World Cup final in 2022.

Qiddiya City is a new city, just over 30 miles west of Riyadh, and construction of a theme park, championship golf course, Formula 1 track and eSports hub will run alongside that of the tennis center. The work will cost billions of dollars, and the city is planned to be three times the size of Paris, with homes being built for around 500,000 people.

The huge investment in the venue and the ATP tournament comes as the PIF reduces its investment in other sporting ventures. In April, the PIF confirmed it will end its multi-billion-dollar funding of LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season.

This pullback has extended to tennis. The Saudi Tennis Federation’s deal for the WTA Tour Finals, the flagship event of women’s tennis, expires this November, and the Next Gen ATP Finals, the event for the best young players on the men’s tour, will not return to Jeddah. Those two events are organized by the STF and the country’s Ministry of Sport, not the PIF.

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