Tennis stars playing in 1st century ampitheatre where 'gladiators fought for their lives'

While there are plenty of glamorous stops on the tennis circuit, the sights are often the same for players. Tournaments take over an existing tennis club or build a court into a multi-purpose arena. But, this weekend in Nimes, France, the likes of and Casper Ruud are stepping into the world of first-century gladiators, competing in a historic venue from 100 AD.

The Arena of Nimes - one of the world's best-preserved Roman-built colosseums - is the home of this weekend's edition of UTS, a tour created by Patrick Mouratoglou. The amphitheatre was once home to gladiator battles and wild animal fights - and it's made a lasting impression on the players.

"I never in my life experienced something like that, even as a tourist," world No. 9 Andrey Rublev said after reaching the semi-final.

"I was many times in Rome but I never been inside the Colosseum, so to be able not just to be inside something similar but to perform, it's for sure one of the highlights of my life."

The 2,000-year-old venue was built shortly after the construction of the Colosseum of Rome, allowing 24,000 spectators to witness battles.

And Australian tennis star Alexei Popyrin has also been inspired by the historic venue, even channelling the old fighters during his matches.

He added: "Unbelievable experience just walking out, you imagine the gladiators walking out and fighting for their lives and we're here putting on a tennis event so it's unbelievable.

"It makes it fun to go out there and play and puts you in kind of a gladiator mindset when you go out there. You kind of feel you get goosebumps for sure."

World No. 6 Casper Ruud was taken aback by the "incredible" venue. Meanwhile, Ben Shelton was happy to take his defeat to Rublev on the chin because it was in a memorable location.

"I've never seen an arena like this before. They were fighting before, now we are playing tennis," he said.

Mouratoglou created the UTS Tour in 2020 with the intention of taking tennis to new locations across the globe. In UTS matches, players compete to earn as many points as possible in four eight-minute quarters.

And the current coach of Naomi Osaka loved seeing the innovative matches set against the historic backdrop of the Arena of Nimes.

"It's different. To have one of the most modern leagues in the world in one of the most antique places in the world, this contrast makes it so striking," he explained.

Moratoglou has his sights set on even more interesting locations. The French tennis coach joked: "We can play in front of the pyramids, in the desert, on the bottom of the ocean."

After this week's outing in the 2,000-year-old Nimes venue, the UTS Tour will head to Asia for the first time this October in a much more modern location, Hong Kong's new Kai Tak Arena.