The inaugural ‘Fortnum & Mason presents Tennis at The Palace’ is set to take place from March 12 – March 14 in the lavish surroundings of the Emirates Palace hotel.

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The tournament will feature entertaining tennis from former Grand Slam legends with some of the game’s greats; Tim Henman, Pat Cash, Richard Krajicek, Younes El Aynaoui, Mansour Bahrami, Mikael Pernfors, Peter McNamara, Henri Leconte, Jana Novotna and Marion Bartoli arriving to Abu Dhabi to ‘relive the rivalries’ at this unique hospitality event.

With British brand Fortnum & Mason as the headline sponsor, the event promises to be an elegant, stylish and chic affair where guests will dress to impress, mingle with friends and indulge in first-class hospitality and outstanding cuisine from the Emirates Palace hotel.

Preparations are now truly underway for what promises to be a quintessentially British garden party; the court has been laid with rye grass to replicate Wimbledon itself, making it the very first grass court tennis tournament in the UAE.

From the moment guests arrive, they will be invited to delve into the luxurious worlds of the event’s sponsors; enjoy afternoon tea and a game of croquet with title sponsor Fortnum & Mason,marvel at the full size model of Etihad Airway’s new Residence cabin, admire the majestic Bentley motors on display or shop the designer brands from AVENUE at Etihad Towers which will be showcased on the day.

To cater for the 1,500 expected guests over the weekend, the event’s world-class sponsors are all preparing in their own unique ways with title sponsor Fortnum & Mason's chefs baking over 2,000 scones for Tennis at the Palace, served with over 197 litres of clotted cream and 300 jars of jam. 

To accompany the classic afternoon tea, Fortnum & Mason will serve around 1,000 cups of their own blend teas to the discerning guests in attendance; with firm favourites featured such as Royal Blend, Afternoon Blend & Moroccan Mint.

Emirates Palace Hotel have also been busy in their preparations ahead of the event, having spent two full weeks and 1,500 hours of work on an intense automated grass irrigation, levelling out the grass on the impressive lawns to ensure the most perfect surface possible for the first grass court tournament in the UAE.

With the aid of a specialist machine they will ensure that the court surface remains exactly 0.4 inches throughout the duration of the three-day tournament.

Bentley Emirates will provide eight cars on site such as the Bentley Mulsanne, the Bentley Continental and the Bentley Flying Spur while Etihad Airways will fly the players over 10,000 miles in order to attend the event.

The evening before the event on March 11th, AVENUE at Etihad Towers, will host a tennis balls signing session with female  players Jana Novotna and Marion Bartoli in the exclusive shopping boutique destination.

For more information and ticket packages, visit: www.tennisatthepalace.ae