Saudi sport is scaling fast. New leagues, new investors, and crucially, new participation. Fatima Batook sits at the center of that movement. She didn’t come up through a national team. She built from the studio floor up: instructor, mentor, founder, and now board member helping set strategy for federations and clubs. Her path shows how operators can lead Saudi sport and create real careers for women.
A Personal Transformation that Started a Movement
Fatima Batook’s entry point wasn’t glamour. It was grit.
“I reached about 132 kilograms… and I just wanted to change but didn’t know how.”
At 18, she tried the usual fixes. Treadmills, machines, personal trainers. Nothing stuck. Then came the moment that changed everything. After quitting her very first spinning class, she returned for a guest session with master instructor Sarah Morelli.
“It wasn’t just physical anymore. It was the first time I had that mind-body connection… I was in tears.”
That ride turned curiosity into calling. She pursued deep credentials: Spinning Master Instructor, 500-hour yoga teacher, plus TRX/boxing and more. and began coaching other women with the empathy of someone who had rebuilt herself.
Studio55: Designing a Saudi Model for Women’s Fitness
Why Spinning? Community, coaching, and a safe on-ramp. Fatima Batook discovered that music-driven group rides removed the barriers that had pushed so many women out of fitness: intimidation, isolation, and the feeling of “this isn’t for me.” She translated that insight into Studio55, launching in Al Khobar (June 2015) with a multi-modality model including Spinning, Yoga/Pilates, Mobility, Core, and Strength.
Her studio wasn’t just a gym. It was a training ground for Saudi women instructors. Over the years, she’s mentored and certified new coaches so the ecosystem could scale with local talent. That pipeline matters: every additional certified coach unlocks dozens of weekly classes and hundreds of active minutes, for women who might otherwise never start.
TIMA: Apparel as Access
In 2012, years before women’s public sport was normalized, Batook launched TIMA®, positioning it as one of the first Saudi/Arab activewear brands for women. The thesis was simple and powerful: fit, modesty, and performance designed for local preferences. Apparel became an access tool, something a woman could buy, wear at home, or bring into early-stage classes with confidence. It also became a storytelling platform that reached beyond major cities and into communities where formal gyms didn’t yet exist.
Roles in Tennis & Football
Saudi Tennis Federation (Board, since 2021)
When Batook talks tennis, the plan is explicit:
- Elite Talent: Build programs that take raw potential into high performance with the right coaches, camps, and competition calendars.
- Youth Interest: Collaborate with the Sports for All Federation to bring first-touch tennis to parks, schools, and pop-ups.
- Global Platform: Host major events to inspire local juniors and pull international attention into Saudi venues.
She often brings stories from the field, like the pre-teen spotted at a community activation and now winning age-group cups, to show how grassroots meets governance when discovery, coaching, and competition line up.
Al Qadsiah Football Club (Board)
In the club game, she’s part of the leadership behind Al Qadsiah Football Club pushing a culture-first build. The women's team and girl's academy have scaled quickly with multiple age groups, and expectations are high. Her stance is disciplined:
“Our focus in the next three to five years is to build a team… creating that team spirit and developing that culture.”
Not just star signings, but systems, standards, and sustainable pathways.
Corporate Leadership: CEO of Switz
Fatima Batook’s portfolio also reads “CEO of Switz.” In Saudi, that links to Saudi Masterbaker (iBake), a cornerstone of SwitzGroup’s regional bakery network. Why does this matter to a sports audience? Because operating excellence travels. Running a scaled FMCG business sharpens the very muscles sport needs off the field: supply chains, quality systems, team development, and data-driven ops.
It also signals a new kind of Saudi sports leader: a cross-sector CEO who can translate studio-floor insights into boardroom execution.
The Policy Frame
Licensing, Law, and the Door That Opened
Before Vision 2030, women-only fitness lived in the gray zone. Fatima Batook and peers pushed for clarity. She recalls meeting the minister in 2014 to ask for licensing parity: "He simply said: ‘No one asked'." The approval that followed in 2015 turned a work-around into a legal category. Studios like hers could open publicly, hire openly, and train at scale.
That spirit extends to the new sports law framework under development:
- Clear status: Federations and clubs get a defined legal identity.
- Athlete protection: Rules for anti-doping, fair arbitration, and discipline.
- One supervisor: Unified oversight under the Ministry so standards are consistent.
- Investor confidence: Clear rules make it safer for private capital to enter.
Policy won’t, by itself, fill classes or courts. But it removes barriers that used to slow or punish progress so builders can focus on programs, coaches, and communities.
1) Studios Normalized
Women’s group fitness moved from ad-hoc rooms to licensed facilities with professional programming and standards.
2) Instructor Pipeline
Dozens of Saudi women trained and certified, creating real jobs with advancement paths in coaching and management.
3) Apparel as On-Ramp
TIMA® gave women a culturally confident way to step into movement, at home, outdoors, or in class.
4) Governance to Ground Truth
Board roles in tennis and club football align budgets and calendars with grassroots needs—junior camps, girls’ academies, and performance pathways.
The Tough Conversation: Headlines vs. What’s Happening on the Ground
Outside the Kingdom, debates focus on motives. Inside, Fatima Batook points to outcomes: girls’ academies filling up, juniors getting real pathways, and parents joining in. Her stance is practical: argue less, build more. Measure progress in coaches trained, sessions delivered, and athletes competing. That’s how reputations change: performance first, press second.
“We started from nothing and to see where it is today is really rewarding... Now the ball is on our court.”
Build, Include, Innovate, Diversify
Inclusion. Innovation. Diversification. In Fatima Batook’s story, they’re receipts. A personal reset became a studio, then an instructor pipeline, then a seat at policy tables. An apparel line became an on-ramp for women new to sport. A founder became a federation and club board member, and a CEO, showing what Saudi sports leadership looks like.
Your move: pick one barrier and move it. Start a girls’ session in your neighborhood. Map a certification ladder. Partner with a school or municipality. Write the one-page licensing brief your sector is missing. Then invite three others to build with you.
The door is open. Walk through, and hold it for the next person.
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