The Ultimate Tennis Holiday

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I was so fortunate to be able to escape the UK in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

We were actually booked to go on an Active Away Tennis Holiday in May of 2020, but unfortunately this was cancelled.

Before the Tennis Holiday:

Active Away were absolutely exceptional, they personally phoned me within a week of the news breaking and offered to defer the holiday, take a credit note or have a refund. I’ve had various dealings with many travel companies and none were as efficient or professional as Active Away.

I decided to take the ‘defer’ route and moved my holiday to Corfu in September 2020. I chose Corfu because I’d heard great things about the island. I liked the fact it was only 25 minutes from the Airport to the Hotel, and that it was an All Inclusive Tennis Holiday - meaning I wouldn’t have to worry about spending anything whilst in the resort.

Start of the Tennis Holiday:

It was an early start on the way out, but I definitely like to get there in the middle of the day rather than arriving late at night. On arrival I was greeted with smiles from Josh and Tom who were at the airport to greet me. They explained some key information for the rest of the day (distance to hotel / meeting times / plan for the rest of the day) and I was whisked away by a very friendly taxi driver.

As I was travelling on my own - this is normally very daunting, but I have to say this was a fantastic way to start the holiday and a very smooth experience.

Upon arrival at the hotel, the check in process was quick and the updated Covid-19 regulations were explained to me. I felt very confident that the hotel had everything under control. I was then able to go straight to my room, check in and have a little afternoon sleep!

I met the rest of the group later that day for dinner and everyone seemed very friendly, I just couldn’t wait to get on the tennis court the next day.

During the Tennis Holiday:

We started the first day of tennis with a group welcome meeting, where the coaching team gave information about how the week would work. In essence there were 6 parts to the day:


• Group Breakfast (normally around 08:30)
• Tennis Coaching based around improving your doubles (10:00 - 12:00)
• Lunch - normally at the beach or the main restaurant (13:00)
• Tennis Masterclass based around a topic of doubles (16:30 - 17:00)
• Tennis Club Afternoon - where you’d mix in and play doubles against different people (17:00 - 19:00)
• Dinner at one of the restaurants - including the superb italian/greek a la carte restaurants (20:00)


The Tennis Coaching on the Tennis Holiday:

I really didn’t know what to expect from the coaching on the holiday, but I have to say it was simply incredible. I’ve never experienced Tennis Coaching like it. The level of thought, care and engagement from the team was second to none.

We truly learned how to play doubles, from where to stand, how to work with your partner and some ‘quick win’ tactics.

I came away feeling great about my game, and being honest at the start I wondered how much I could learn from a week. Absolutely brilliant.

The Social Aspects of the Tennis Holiday:

This was also a brilliant surprise. Travelling on your own is definitely a little nerve-racking, but I’ve never met such a lovely bunch of people. Everyone was able to connect through a mutual passion - tennis, and was up for a laugh. The other great thing was that it isn’t forced - you can do as much or as little of the holiday as you want, you aren’t pressured to do anything. I did have a slight vision of a ‘happy-clappy’ tennis holiday and this was certainly not that.

I’d describe the social elements as ‘fun, friendly, inclusive and not-forced.’

The Food & Drink on the Tennis Holiday:

There was so much! With the tennis holiday being completely all inclusive, it made for a super easy experience. We were able to dine in a variety of restaurants, including the beach restaurant, greek restaurant, italian restaurant and the main buffet restaurant. The variety of food was superb, taste excellent and it was great to share these moments with the other group members on the tennis holiday.

There’s nothing quite like a cocktail on a balcony, overlooking the sea after a full day’s tennis. We called these ‘sundowners.’ I have to admit it was one of my favourite parts of the day. I also loved the variety of wine on offer and the fact the minibar was also included with no extra charge!

My top Active Away Tennis Holiday tips:


• Book early! Our holiday was fully booked, and many of Active Away’s holidays do get booked up quite quickly, so don’t miss out!
• Check out their Calendar Active Away do a big calendar launch (normally in August) where they offer the chepest and best way to book a tennis holiday with them. Keep an eye out for it, as you can save some £.
• Go for it! If you are like me and a little worried about travelling on your own - don’t Active Away will make sure you are well looked after and you’ll meet some lovely people.




Tennis Holiday Summary

This was simply an excellent Tennis Holiday. I fully recommend Active Away and will be returning on many future Tennis Holiday’s with them.


You can check them out on activeaway.com.

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Comments

[Katy Allison]

Great Blog - Love Tennis Holidays!
Really enjoyed reading this and will check them out.