Court of carpets welcomes young stars to Jeddah

A court of carpets was a fitting and imaginative backdrop to the staging of the official group photo of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF Monday.

Top seeds Arthur Fils and Alex Michelsen joined their six fellow qualifiers at the Royal Overlook Building on the Jeddah Corniche for media day activities ahead of Wednesday’s start of the 20-and-under event at the King Abdullah Sports City.

“Carpets are used in Saudi as an element of hospitality,” said Shahad of Blank Studio, which designed the court. “This event is bringing players from different countries, so collecting carpets from all over the world was the first thing that came to mind.

“Jeddah is a diverse city known for its mixed roots and different styles, and we wanted to tell that story by bringing the players onto a tennis court of carpets reflecting the different cultures you find in the city.”

In addition to the 37 carpets, the setting included a net made from palm leaves stitched together by hand and tennis balls stitched with various fabrics.

“We tried our best to make it look organic, but with the proper proportions of an actual tennis net and poles.” Shahad added. “The tennis balls were overstitched with local and collected fabrics, a patchwork, which is also something we're known for. The net was done over five or six working days. The balls took about 12 hours to create.”

After a round of media-day interviews and the official photo, players took a boat ride, where they swam in the Red Sea and enjoyed dinner together.

The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, held for the second consecutive year in Jeddah, runs 18-22 December.

Joining last year’s finalist Fils (France) and Michelsen (USA) at the tournament will be Jakub Mensik (Czechia), Shang Juncheng (China), Learner Tien (USA), Luca Van Assche (France), Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) and Joao Fonseca (Brazil).

[NEWSLETTER FORM]