RIYADH - For years, June 15 -- pay a premium, host a week of matches, and collect the publicity. That arrangement, which gave Riyadh the WTA Finals and the Six Kings Slam exhibition, is not going away entirely. But on Monday, the Qiddiya Investment Company announced something different - a 33,000-seat national tennis home that the kingdom would own outright, built to outlast any single hosting deal.

The National Tennis Centre at Qiddiya City, 45 kilometres south-west of Riyadh, will be the largest tennis facility in the Middle East when it opens, featuring 30 courts across three competition arenas - a 15,000-seat Centre Court with a retractable roof, an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena, a 5,000-seat Court 1, and a 2,000-seat Court 2. The a...