The infectious energy of the crowd makes the atmosphere of the stadium very enchanting. After all, everyone loves watching tennis matches in the largest tennis stadium.
Since these stadiums are large, they also cost more. Plus, the stadiums with the highest capacity are mostly built recently.
Players love playing in these stadiums. These are also the audience’s favorite. A lot of these stadiums also have modern facilities.
Let’s look at the 12 largest tennis stadiums in the world.
12 Largest Tennis Stadiums in the World
The ranking of the stadium is based on the audience capacity. The data is from sites such as Tenniscreative.
S.N. | Name | Location |
Capacity |
12 | Hard Rock Stadium | Miami | 14,000 |
11 | Louis Armstrong Stadium | New York | 14, 053 |
10 | Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne | 14,820 |
9 | Wimbledon Centre Court | London | 14,979 |
8 | Central Court, Optics Valley International Tennis Centre | China | 15,000 |
7 | Diamond Court, National Tennis Stadium | Beijing | 15,000 |
6 | Stade Roland Garros-Court Phillipe Chartrier | France | 15,225 |
5 | Accor Arena | Paris | 15,609 |
4 | Rotterdam Ahoy | Netherlands | 15,818 |
3 | Stadium 1, Indian Wells Tennis Garden | California | 16,102 |
2 | O2 Arena | London | 17,500 |
1 | Arthur Ashe Stadium | New York | 23,771 |
12. Hard Rock Stadium
Kicking off the list of largest tennis stadiums is the Hard Rock Stadium. It provides a rocking experience to spectators.
The multipurpose stadium is the home of the Miami Dolphins. The construction of the stadium started on December 1, 1985.
It was finally opened to the public on August 16, 1987. Initially, it was known as the Joe Robbie Stadium.
Over the years, its name changed a lot. Finally, Hard Rock Cafe acquired the name in 2016. The contract is for 18 years.
The stadium began hosting tennis matches in 2019. It currently hosts the Miami Open.
The seating capacity for the tennis matches is 14,000. However, it can host up to five times the capacity of other seaters.
11. Louis Armstrong Stadium
Another American stadium on this list is the Louis Armstrong Stadium. It is located in Queens New York City.
The Rossetti Architects designed the stadium, and the structural engineer was the Geiger Engineers. The hard surface of the Court is the DecoTurf.
The stadium is named after the jazz musician Louis Armstrong. The US Open is hosted in the stadium.
There are very few stadiums with a retractable roof in Grand Slam venues. The stadium has one of the most extensive retractable roofs. It’s the second largest within Grand Slam venues.
The stadium was accessible to the public after August 22, 2018. The public can choose to sit among the two levels.
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The lower level or bowl has a seating capacity of 6,400 seats. But, the seats should be reserved before.
The upper level or bowl has the capacity for more than 8,000 seats. The seats there are unreserved.
In total, it can host up to 14,053 attendees.
10. Rod Laver Arena
Now we move from the US to Australia. It’s also a multipurpose stadium.
The Rod Laver Arena is located in Melbourne, Victoria. It mainly hosts the Australian Open. The tennis calendar begins with the Australian Open.
In the beginning, it was known as the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park. The construction began in 1985.
Finally, it was open to the public in January 1988. Initially, it cost $94 million in Australian dollars.
Peddle Thorp Learmonth designed it. It’s also famous as the favorite ground of Novak Djokovic. He has won a record-holding 9 titles in the Australian Open.
The stadium is named after Rod Laver. He won the Australian Open three times.
Initially, the surface of the ground was green. Later, it was changed to blue.
9. Wimbledon Centre Court
Any tennis player is familiar with the Wimbledon Centre Court. It is perhaps the most prestigious among the Grand Slams.
Players dream to win the Wimbledon Championship. The stadium is as prestigious as the tournament.
It has a court of grass surface. The stadium, Wimbledon Centre Court, was opened to the public in 1922.
Additionally, it also has a Royal Box. It’s primarily used by the Royal Family and other VVIPs and VIPs.
Initially, it didn’t have a retractable roof. In 2009, a retractable roof was added so that players could play during rain.
In 2012, it also hosted the Summer Olympics. Roger Federer has the record for the most number of wins in Wimbledon. Among the female players, Martina Navratilova has the highest number of wins.
Federer has won the title eight times. However, Navratilova has won nine titles.
8. Central Court, Optics Valley International Tennis Centre
Nowadays, China is spending a lot of money to build stadiums. For example, the Central Court is a new stadium.
In 2014 construction began. Later, the tennis stadium was opened to the public in September 2015.
The construction cost was 1.5 billion Yuan. In terms of dollars, it was $225 million for the complex.
The stadium hosts Wuhan Open. The stadium is very large. It covers an area of 1,113,000 square feet.
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Wuhan Open is a part of the WTA 1000 tournaments. It began in 2014. The 2020 Wuhan Open was canceled due to the Covid pandemic.
About 15,000 attendees can watch the match. Apart from Central Court, there is also Court 1. Court 1 can host up to 5,000 spectators.
7. Diamond Court, National Tennis Stadium
Another venue from China is the Diamond Court of the National Tennis Stadium. The stadium is located in Beijing.
It hosted tennis matches for the 2008 Olympics. The construction began in 2003. It was finally opened to the public in October 2007. Later, the expansion took place in 2011.
The owner of the Stadium is Beijing Shiao Forest Park Development & Management Limited. The owners and operators are the same.
The Diamond court has a hard surface. Plus, it has a seating capacity of 15,000.
Apart from this, the Lotus Court has a capacity of 10,000, and Moon Court has a capacity of 4,000.
Since the Olympics, it has hosted the China Open. Apart from that, no major world tournament is hosted.
6. Stade Roland Garros-Court Phillipe Chartrier
Roland Garros is famous for two things. One is the red clay, and another is Rafael Nadal.
The stadium’s name is in honor of Roland Garros. Garros was a pioneering French aviator. The stadium opened in 1928 to host Davis Cup.
It has three main courts. The biggest Court is Court Philippe Chartier. It has an audience capacity of 15,225.
Other courts are Court Suzanne Lenglen and Court Simonne Mathieu. They can host 10,068 and 5,000, respectively.
Yearly, it hosts the French Open. French Open is one of the prestigious tournaments in the Grand Slam.
Rafael Nadal has won 13 French Open. Nadal, the Spanish professional tennis player, is one of the greatest players of all time. His best performances are on the clay.
5. Accor Arena
The next stadium on the list is Accor Arena which has a setting capacity of 15,609.
In February 1981, the construction of Accor Arena began. Later, it was opened to the public in February 1984.
Later, the renovations took place in 2014-15. The architecture was designed by Andrault & Parat, Jean Prouve, and Aydin Guvan.
This stadium has a shape like of pyramid. Also, how one can forget about walls that are covered with sloppy lawns?
Accor Arena mainly hosts the Paris Masters ATP Tour tennis. Apart from tennis, it hosts table tennis, handball, basketball, boxing, etc.
In 2020, it hosted an NBA game. Apart from that, the stadium will also host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
4. Rotterdam Ahoy
This multipurpose stadium, Rotterdam Ahoy is in the Netherlands. Construction of Rotterdam Ahoy began in 1968.
However, only after January 1971, public access begins. The previous name of the stadium was Ahoy Rotterdam.
It occupies an area of 5,80,000 square feet. It’s been renovated many times.
The Ahoy Arena can occupy up to 15,818 people. Apart from that, the Club Ahoy can occupy 6,000 spectators.
Similarly, theater Hal 1 can occupy 4,000 spectators. Plus, RTM Stage can occupy 7,819 spectators.
The owner of the stadium is Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Rotterdam. AEG/ASM Global operates the stadium.
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The stadium has hosted prestigious tournaments in other sports. But, it doesn’t host any notable tennis tournaments.
3. Stadium 1, Indian Wells Tennis Garden
The third-largest stadium on our list is Stadium 1. It is located in California. Stadium 1 can host up to 16,100 spectators. It’s an outdoor stadium with a hard court.
Public access started after March 2000. The total construction expenses were $77 million.
Later, the expansion cost was $11 million. The expansion was done in 2014. Rossetti Architects designed the stadium and is owned by Larry Ellison.
Similarly, tennis players Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore operated the stadium. They operate it under PM Sports Management.
It host the BNP Pribas Open. Apart from that, it also hosts the ATP World Tour and hosts WTA Tour.
In addition to these events, it also hosts junior events. It’s also open to members.
2. O2 Arena
O2 Arena is also a multipurpose stadium. It has the second-highest seating capacity, i.e., 17,500.
The construction began in 2003. It ended in 2007. After that, it was opened to the public in June 2007.
HOK Sport designed the stadium. British firm Buro Happold worked as a structural engineer. Apart from that, M-E Engineers Ltd. worked as a services engineer.
Construction company Sir Rober McAlpine was the general contractor. The stadium, O2 Arena, was built for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Later, it also hosted the Paralympics.
Apart from tennis matches, it also hosts rock concerts.
It hosts ATP World Tour matches. Similarly, the stadium has hosted many ATP World Tour finals.
1. Arthur Ashe Stadium
The largest stadium in terms of seating capacity is Arthur Ashe Stadium. It can host up to 23,171 spectators. Also, it covers an area of a total of 46.5 acres.
Other than that, it has 90 luxury suites, 5 restaurants, and a two-level players’ lounge.
It is located in Queens, New York. USTA (United States Tennis Stadium) is the owner of the stadium.
Rossetti Architects designed the stadium. In 1997, the stadium design was completed. In the 1997 design, there was no roof. It was finally installed in 2016. It was installed to stop the delay due to rain.
For more, the roof is very lightweight that opens and closes on glides. Actually, the idea of the roof was announced in 2013 by USTA.
The total construction cost of the stadium is $254 million.
The stadium’s name is in honor of Arthur Ashe. He was the first winner of the US Open, which was held in this stadium. He won it in 1968.
Conclusion
Nothing matches the stadium experience. That’s why fans dream of watching tennis matches live. What about you? Have you watched any matches live in the stadium?
Have you got any particular unforgettable experiences in a stadium? If you have, then feel free to tell us.