The Globe Trotter: Tennis
Every year I watch the Wimbledon finals. Every year I vow to dust off my racquet and get back into the game. If you’re the same, one of these tennis holidays provides all the practice any would-be Navratilova needs.
Former Wimbledon champion and tennis legend Pat Cash has tennis academies around the world, including the five-star Buccament Bay Resort on St Vincent in the Caribbean. One-to-one lessons can be booked with the resident tennis coach, trained by Cash, plus there are occasional group sessions with tennis legends.
Cash also visits the resort – and he’s a great teacher. I had a lesson with him at Buccament, and he was very patient! Seven nights costs from £2,570 per person including flights from London via Barbados. Caribbean Expressions: 01752- 878010, www.expresssionsholidays.co.uk
Mark Warner summer resorts in Greece, Sardinia, Corsica and Portugal have tennis courts with equipment to use, and open 24 hours day. A range of Lawn Tennis Association courses and special tennis weeks are on offer, too, hosted by British Davis Cup players, with lessons and a chance to try out the latest tennis equipment. There are no single-room supplements during the tennis weeks, but it does cost £175 per week in addition to your holiday cost.
The Mark Warner Lakitira Resort, in Kos, runs a tennis week from 6 October, from £912 (includes the £175 supplement): 0844-273 6796, www.markwarner.co.uk
Lakitira Resort, Kos
The two tennis courts at Orient-Express Hotels’ five-star La Residencia hotel in Deià, Mallorca, have seen some star action, and have played host to Virginia Wade and Pierce Brosnan. Shayne Tabb, the hotel’s resident tennis coach from Australia, has coached many celebrities.
As well as private coaching lessons, the hotel also provides video analysis lessons, from £52, where students are filmed, shown how to improve their game, and then filmed again using the new technique. There’s also a Fastest Serve Competition. The Tennis Break package, with three nights luxury accommodation and daily buffet breakfast, one dinner, three hours of private tennis lessons, costs from about £1,012, based on two sharing a classic double room: www.hotel-laresidencia.com
The Annabel Croft Tennis Academy at the Aphrodite Hills Resort in Cyprus has nine floodlit tennis courts, a mix of hard and clay, and a full coaching team. Tennis packages for all ages are on offer: a fiveday ACTA Grand Slam coaching course costs £450. Seven nights with Olympic Holidays in July, costs around £1,279 per person, including return flights, transfers and half board: 0844-576 2386, www.olympicholidays.com
Back in the Caribbean, Holidays Please offers two venues for tennis buffs. Curtain Bluff, Antigua, has four tennis courts overlooking the ocean, three professional coaches and a year-round programme of events. For example, The Curtain Bluff Tennis Challenge (1 to 8 November 2012) attracts top-notch players, including former Davis Cup winner Dick Stockton, for a week of coaching clinics and tournaments. Seven nights all-inclusive costs from £2,545 per person, including British Airways flights.
Or there’s The Bahamas, a favourite with some of the world’s most celebrated tennis stars. The Sheraton Cable Beach, which has 15 tennis courts and a team of coaches, was the official hotel for tennis legends including Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles for a charity exhibition match earlier this year. A seven-night holiday costs from £1,269 per person, including Virgin fl ights: 0844-463 2799, www. holidaysplease.co.uk
TRAVEL NEWS
Free Wimbledon tea Book two nights in a double room at Cannizaro House, the unique boutique hotel on Wimbledon Common – www.cannizarohouse.com – and receive afternoon tea for two FREE. Rooms cost from £165 per night, including breakfast. The offer runs from 6 August to 6 November and is subject to availability. Call 020-8879 1464 and quote ‘The Lady’.
Cannizaro House
Caribbean dream Peter Island Resort & Spa, an 1,800-acre island hideaway in the British Virgin Islands, is offering seven nights for the price of four. Book through Scott Dunn by 30 September for travel between now and 19 December and you pay from £1,615 per person, including fl ights: 020-8682 5020, www.scottdunn.co.uk
Turning Japanese Try the two-hour sushi and sashimi masterclasses on 14 July at Chino Latino pan- Asian restaurants. Tickets, at £35 per person, include wine, soft drinks and, of course, food tasting. Courses start at 3pm: 020-7769 2500.
Wendy can be contacted at Wendy.Gomersall@lady.co.uk