The Masters 1,000 tournament in Paris moves this year to the arena where David Popovici won the Olympic gold
Article by Roxana Fleşeru – published Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 12:35 / Updated Wednesday, October 15, 2025 12:53
At the Défense Arena, where the swimming tests from the Olympic Games have taken place, will host the Masters 1,000 tournament from Paris (October 27 – November 2). Arranged to accommodate 17,500 spectators, the room will become the second in terms of the capacity for tennis, after “Arthur Ashe”, which can receive 23,771 spectators.
The last 1,000 Masters Tournament in the Calendar will have a new host this year. The Paris competition moves from Bercy to Défense after 38 years. It is the third arena that will host the tennis tournament in the capital of France, Stade Pierre de Coubertin doing it between 1969 and 1982.
The reasons for moving are also related to the capacity at Défense Arena, a multifunctional one, opened in 2017, which can receive 45,000 people at concerts and hosted swimming at the 2024 Olympics, where David Popovici conquered gold and bronze, with a capacity of 15,000 places.
La Défense Arena L The Olympic Games of 2024 PHOTO IMAGO
The organizers of the tennis tournament will arrange it to receive 17,500 fans, thus becoming the second tennis arena, after “Arthur Ashe”, which has a capacity of 23,771 seats.
“Our colleagues from other Masters 1,000 tournaments have invested a lot in recent years. To keep up and meet ATP standards, we had to evolve. I was at the limit, without progress, and the tournament risked losing its medium-term category. It will be a real sensory journey. The central field is larger, the route of the longer players. The experience will be completely redesigned ”said Cédric Pioline, the director of the tournament, for AFP.
The official also brought other arguments: “The adjacent lands were too low for the current level of physical intensity and we corrected this. In addition, both land 1 and land 2 will have a capacity of 5,000 spectators, and the third land will be intended for double and training,” said Pioline.
They want to have Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on the painting
In order to gather over 17,000 spectators it is necessary for the first two players from the world hierarchy to come to Paris, even though the Davis Cup is waiting for November. “The 1,000 ATP points granted to the winner will count. Of course, all players are physically tired because it's the end of the season. In addition, the calendar at the end of the season is loaded, it is clear, but we trust”, Stressed the director of the tournament.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz/Photo: Imago Images
Another desire for the French for the first year in La Défense Arena is to overcome the record of spectators registered at the past edition, and with a larger space, the pressure to achieve this objective is felt. “There is a real interest around the new place. If we reach or approach this figure, it will be a success.”
In an edition with so many news, one of them had to be the “money prize”, which will increase by 3% this year, reaching 946,610 euros for the winner, an increase that is part of an integral development plan approved by the ATP.
