Paris Masters to debut new arena at this year's event, making it the second largest tennis court in the world

Wednesday, 15 October 2025 at 04:30

Eagle-eyed fans of the Paris Masters may notice something different at this year's edition, as the annual event will be moving to new, record-setting home.

The ATP Masters 1000 tournament will debut a new venue when it kicks off on October 27, 2025. The event will take place at the La Defense Arena, which boasts new innovations in addition to having a larger capacity, placing it in second position behind only Arthur Ashe stadium at the US Open.

Tournament director Cedric Pioline elaborated on the improvements as the fan-favorite tournament moves to a new location. The new base will be familiar to TV viewers as the venue for the swimming events at the Paris Olympics last year. Additionally, it is also the home of French Top 14 rugby club Racing 92 and regularly hosts the world's best-known performing artists.

"The centre court will have a capacity of around 17,500 people, making it the second biggest court in the world for (tournaments held annually), behind the US Open centre court," said Pioline. "There will be just over 4,000 seats on Court No. 1 and 4,000 on Court No. 2. Court No. 3 has a capacity of a few hundred seats."

The move was made in order to ensure the event kept it's ATP Masters status

There had been rumors circulating that the event would lose its Masters status due to the size of the Bercy Arena, its home since 1986. In 2024, organizers signed a 10-year contract to host the event at La Defense Arena, a decision made in order to comply with ATP requirements for its biggest tournaments.

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"Without any changes on our part, over a medium-term cycle, we are talking about four to five years, there was a possibility of being downgraded (to a Masters 500 or 250 event)," revealed Pioline. "We have also decided to increase the playing surface for the comfort of the players.

"(At Bercy), the outside courts were a little small in relation to the physical commitment of the players and their coverage of the court. Overall, it felt a bit cramped. We simply needed to be able to evolve.

German tennis superstar Alexander Zverev won the title at last year's edition, defeating Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the final. The former Australian Open runner-up will return to defend his crown, although he will likely be challenged by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.

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Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

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