Twenty years ago last month, Dubai’s Burj Al Arab set a Guinness World Record that still stands today. Perched 213 metres above ground, the hotel’s circular helipad – typically reserved for VIP arrivals – was temporarily transformed into a grass-covered playing surface to claim the title of the world's highest altitude tennis court.
The court offered stunning views of the Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and the Arabian Gulf.
On February 22, 2005, just days after the record was set, tennis stars Roger Federer and Andre Agassi played a friendly match on the helipad to promote the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“The view is absolutely amazing here,” Federer said at the time. “I have been in Dubai many times and have stayed at Burj Al Arab before, but this was an absolute treat. To play tennis with Andre on top of such an amazing hotel and overlooking the whole of Dubai was absolutely spectacular.”
This was not the only event on the helipad to capture global attention. Golfer Tiger Woods teed off from it in 2004, and in 2013, Chinese players Ma Long and Liu Shiwen played the first table tennis match on the platform. In 2017, kitesurfer Nick Jacobsen achieved a world first by launching off the helipad.
Burj Al Arab, on an artificial island off the coast of Jumeirah, was conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to redefine the city’s skyline. The hotel, designed by British architect Tom Wright, took three years to build and opened in December 1999.
