Hotels for Tennis Lovers

Within the 600 oceanfront acres that Verdura Resort and Rocco Forte Private Villas occupy are the Sunball Tennis Academy’s six clay courts. To help guests bring out their inner Jannick Sinner, there are private or group lessons available based on the training methods of the International Tennis Federation. The resort also hosts special academies with pros, including one with Francisco Clavet in late August.

While some tennis hotels credit their wow to visiting pros and multiple courts, Domaine des Etangs serves up novelty, staggering beautiful novelty at that with a singular tennis court floating on the pond just a hop, skip and jump from the pool. Advantage France.

Not far from Wimbledon, the stately Fairmont Windsor Park provides guests a less stressful opportunity to wear their tennis whites and test their skills on any of three outdoor tennis courts. There’s even an outdoor gym adjacent to the courts to work on conditioning.

Tennis lovers who are also city lovers can double up on interests at Hotel X Toronto. The hotel’s sprawling 10XTO fitness center features four indoor DecoTurf tennis courts, two on the ground level and another two a couple levels up with 50 feet of floor-to-ceiling glass for taking in the city and Lake Ontario. It’s totally understandable to lose a couple points to the delightfully distracting view. For a limited time, the urban retreat is serving up 30% off stays during TIFF between August 27 and September 11.

While golf is the headliner here—there are five championship courses—The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort also has a top tennis program. With the launch of The Barth-Hawtin Tennis Academy in 2019, it offers serious coaching and conditioning for competitive juniors. Of its 22 courts, 10 are Har-Tru and flood-lit for night play.

Guests of Enchantment Resort don’t have to win a match on one of its three tennis courts to feel like a winner, every glimpse of the jaw-dropping Arizona Red Rocks backdrop does that. Also, use of the courts and racquets is already included in the resort fee. For those who want lessons, it’s reassuring to know all instructors are United States Tennis Association certified.

Another property that scores novelty points is Singita Grumeti Sasakwa Lodge. On a hillside within a 350,000-acre reserve in the Serengeti, the Edwardian manor house-style lodge affords its guests the rare opportunity to rally between game drives to spot lions, giraffes, elephants and wildebeest.

Taking a bucket list trip to the Maldives needn’t be match-less. Vakkaru Maldives features two cobalt blue courts to play on. The resort recently appointed Miha Plesnik, a former member of the Slovenian National Team, as their resident certified coach for private single, doubles and “Beat the Pro” sessions.

Not only does Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô on Vietnam’s south-central coast serve up a true sense of place, it also serves up tennis. Tucked higher up on the hillside, the court is surrounded by lush greenery. When the lesson or game is done, it’s a breeze to whisk back down to the beach and cool off.

While its rectangular pool floating on Lake Como draws a lot of attention, Grand Hotel Tremezzo also has iconic clay tennis courts. With their daughter’s interest in the sport, Enea Gandola and Maria Orsolini Bolla, the hotel’s founders, put in a court in 1910, making it one of the first estates on the lake to have one. Surrounded by fragrant jasmine, this same court is where guests play today, and coaches are available for those learning or looking to improve.