Qiddiya targets elite tennis circuits with 30-court centre

• Built to ATP, WTA and ITF standards
• 15,000-capacity centre court
• ‘City of Play’ 45km from Riyadh

Qiddiya, the Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed $40 billion “city for play”, is positioning Saudi Arabia as a future destination for international tennis.

Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has announced plans to build the National Tennis Centre within the giga-project located 45km west of Riyadh.

The Middle East’s largest tennis centre, designed by US-based sports designer Populous, will be built to ATP, WTA and ITF standards, with 30 courts – 28 hard courts and two clay courts.

The centre will sit next to a Sir Nick Faldo-designed 18-hole championship golf course set to open later this year, as well as future homes, offices and retail spaces. It is part of a new city planned to be three times the size of Paris, QIC said in a statement.

The centre court, with a retractable roof, will have a capacity of 15,000, with total capacity across all courts reaching 33,000.

Qiddiya City is already home to Six Flags, the Middle East’s largest theme park, and Aquarabia, the Middle East’s largest water park.

The giga-project will be connected by public transport, including the future Qiddiya High-Speed Rail, which will connect to the King Abdullah Financial District in 17 minutes, and to the future King Salman International Airport in 30 minutes.

In February, the Qiddiya stadium and track will host the Saudi Cup, the world’s richest horse race. It is one of 40 planned sports venues in Qiddiya, about 45 minutes southwest of Riyadh. Proposals also include a motor-racing track, 12 theme parks and 27 entertainment attractions.

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Saudi Arabia’s then investment minister Khalid Al Falih said earlier this year that the giga-project Neom and its centrepiece The Line were to be pushed down the pecking order because of tighter budgets, as Saudi Arabia switches its focus to the 2034 World Cup and Expo 2030.

Saudi Arabia is no longer holding the 2029 Asian Winter Games that were due to be in the futuristic ski resort of Trojena, which is still under construction.

AGBI reported last year that PIF ordered cuts of between 20 percent and 60 percent across its portfolio companies at a board meeting in December 2024.