With summer, Wimbledon and the French Open just around the corner, now is the time to brush up your backhand, perfect your swing, or even take up the game. Check out our volley of tennis holidays.
Coaching from a champion
Don Carlos Leisure Resort & Spa, Marbella, Spain
If the next best thing to being a tennis champion is to play with one, then check out the Sunball Tennis Academy.
Tennis legend, and French Open finalist, Magnus Larsson will be organising master classes and tournaments from 13-20 September on this five-star resort’s seven clay and two Rebound Ace courts. Last year, Pat Cash and Joachim Johansson did the honours.
The rest of the year, the academy’s multilingual professionals will put you through your paces. Choose from three- and five-day group courses (maximum of four players of similar playing ability) or take 45-minute private lessons.
Matches and tournaments, where you’ll be able to challenge the pros, take place during the summer.
Afterwards, relax over a jug of sangria in the club house or act professional and tune your racket.
A three-night break costs from €383 including breakfast and four hours’ court hire. Group lessons (lasting five hours) cost from €119 per adult (€85 per child); private lessons €45.
Website: www.hoteldoncarlos.com/en/sports_and_leisure/tennis_academy
Top spin and tapas
La Manga, Murcia, Spain
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced club player, you’ll find a course to suit you at La Manga, the doyenne of tennis resorts.
Directed by Juan Ros, who coached Spanish number one player, Conchita Martinez, it has 28 clay, artificial grass and hard surface courts and a team of teaching professionals.
Practise your shots on the popular 10-hour group course (two hours a day), analyse your game at a tactical clinic or by video, or opt for an intensive weekend if time is short. Tournaments and exhibition matches are held weekly.
If you still have energy or have had your fill of tennis, play golf on the resort’s three 18-hole Championship courses, or enjoy a multitude of other sports.
Restaurants offer everything from spicy Asian to exquisite Mediterranean. Stay in the Las Lomas self-catering village or the luxury La Manga Club Hotel Príncipe Felipe Hotel.
Tennis clinics cost €225-365 in low season and €280-400 high season.
Website: www.lamangaclub.com
Club Med De Balaia, Algarve, Portugal
Forehands with a French slice
Instruction, equipment and all the tennis you can play included in the price – tout alors!
An all-inclusive holiday is one of the cheapest ways to learn or play tennis on holiday.
Practise a different skill each day at twice daily group tuition sessions run by multilingual tennis professionals. Meet up with members of the group for a friendly game afterwards. Classes are also held for children aged six years upwards.
If you want more intensive tuition, opt for a three-day beginner or advanced course (also available in Tunisia, Morocco and Sicily).
Off court, enjoy fitness classes, archery, golf, a sandy beach, unlimited drinks and wonderful French cuisine including lobster and delicious crepes.
Website: www.clubmed.co.uk
Tournaments for Tots
LykiaWorld, Oludeniz, Turkey
Kids start playing young at this family resort. Lessons start from the age of five plus its International Tournament is open to all the family.
Free group sessions and tournaments are organised daily on the academy’s 19 clay and artificial grass courts.
Newcomers can whet their appetite with a free try-out lesson. The use of courts is free plus there’s a list of players to contact if you are looking for a game.
The resort has been placed among Europe’s top 10 tennis resorts for four consecutive years by Ace tennis magazine.
Three one-hour private lessons cost from €117 (adults), €90 (juniors).
Website: www.lykiaworldtennis.com
Greek mezze
Mark Warner/Neilson, Greece
With a mezze of sports on offer, mum can brush up her backhand while dad learns how to sail and the kids make friends at the children’s club.
Mark Warner’s Lakitira Beach Resort on Kos offers group tennis lessons daily on its 11 courts (£50 for four hours’ tuition). An intensive Academy Course, which includes seven hours’ tuition and speciality shots clinic, costs £100. Watersports tuition is free.
Neilson’s Retreat Beachclub in Sivota offers free group tennis tuition daily plus sailing, windsurfing, waterskiing and mountain biking, all set against spectacular mountain scenery.
Websites: www.markwarner.co.uk and www.neilson.co.uk
First-class service
Pine Cliffs Resort, Algarve, Portugal
Learn new tennis skills and keep fit at the same time with a 60-minute cardio session.
An exercise monitor will ensure that your heart pumps as fast as you hit those tennis balls. Organised by the American pro Britt Lilly, this group session takes place on the five flood-lit tennis courts painted in Grand Slam colours – red (French Open), blue (US Open) and green (Wimbledon).
You may even find yourself playing with some of the celebs and football stars who frequent this luxury resort.
Stay in townhouses, villas, luxurious residences or the luxury Sheraton-Algarve Hotel set among beautifully landscaped gardens.
With a challenging nine-hole golf course, nine swimming pools, Porto Pirate children’s village and top quality restaurants, this holiday is for players wanting to do more than hit tennis balls all day.
The cardio workout costs €20 and private lessons cost from €52. Court hire prices start at €18.
Website: www.pinecliffs.com
