A touch of Wimbledon at Emirates Palace

Tennis at the Palace, a garden party on the Emirates Palace lawns, will allow guests to get up-close and personal with the former grand-slam champions while indulging in a spot of afternoon tea or the classic Wimbledon favourite, strawberries and cream.

The former French tennis star Henri Leconte. Courtesy The Palace

A tennis-themed garden party on the Emirates Palace lawns will bring to Abu Dhabi all the traditions and charm of Wimbledon – but without the need for raincoats and umbrellas.

Tennis at the Palace, presented by Fortnum & Mason, will allow guests to get up-close and personal with the former grand-slam champions while indulging in a spot of afternoon tea or the classic Wimbledon favourite, strawberries and cream.

Starting on Thursday, the three-day event will feature former tennis greats Tim Henman, Pat Cash, Richard Krajicek, Younes El Aynaoui and Henri Leconte.

The Australian Cash and Briton Henman were the grass-court specialists of their day – Cash won Wimbledon in 1987 and Henman revitalised the sport in the United Kingdom when in 1998 he became the first British man to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals since the 1970s.

Ladies Wimbledon Champions Marion Bartoli and Jana Novotná will open an exclusive ladies-only evening tomorrow, described by tournament organisers as “an evening of tennis and glamour”.

“We wanted to bring the size of Wimbledon to the UAE, but also give people access to the players,” says the British tournament director Vicky Collins. “For me, that will be the highlight – to be able to actually meet these guys. They’re so inspiring and a lot of them have won Wimbledon.”

The traditional British game of lawn tennis was first played in the grounds of another, very different kind of palace.

“Grass-court tennis was first established at Hampton Court Palace and Henry VIII was a really keen player, so it’s steeped in tradition that the royals used to play it,” says Collins.

Sheikha Shaikha bint Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan, a patron of Tennis at the Palace, also hosts the Sheikh Mohammed bin Saeed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Tennis Tournament for Emirati women.

Henman, 40, who has a name so synonymous with grass-court tennis that he has an area of Wimbledon named after him – Henman Hill – is looking forward to being in the capital.

“I have visited Abu Dhabi several times before to play in the HSBC Golf [Championship] and it is a fantastic place,” says Henman. “I love the climate, the hospitality and the vibe out there. I am really excited to play on grass, too – it is my favourite surface and I understand it will be the first grass-court tournament in the UAE, so it’s fun to be a part of that.”

The grass court will be especially built for the event, which organisers hope will become an annual fixture on the UAE’s ever-expanding tennis calendar.

“I think the Emirates Palace will be the perfect place for tennis,” says the Frenchman Leconte, who made it to the 1986 Wimbledon semi-finals. “I am already looking forward to watching some of my old friends play.

“In my generation, grass-court tennis was the most difficult surface, no question. Things have changed over the years and they have made it so that grass is much more similar to other surfaces. The ball bounces much higher than it used to and it has become so that anyone can play on grass.”

• Tennis at the Palace is from Thursday, March 12, until Saturday, March 14. Tickets cost Dh1,500 per day, visit www.tennisatthepalace.ae