Become a Weekend Tennis Warrior

kiri | 29th January 2017

 By Leila Stocker

This weekend Roger Federer magnificently reclaimed the Australian Open trophy in Melbourne. Watching his gruelling five-set duel with Nadal, I longed to be practising my serves and tightening up my topspin again, as I was on my recent tennis break at La Manga Club in Spain.

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As one of the sporting largest resorts in the world, La Manga Club is a well-known paradise to the global tennis community.

 

Many a pro has perfected their game on one of the 28 manicured clay courts. Not to mention the top football and rugby teams who descend upon La Manga’s vast pitches every year to train and the well-healed jet set who own luxury villas on-site.

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And La Manga’s ‘Weekend Warrior Academy’ course is the perfect way to sharpen up a rusty game before spring arrives.

 

The course includes eight hours of focused sessions and match play, with a fabulous, experienced coaches, at a ratio of one to every four students. Each session is tailored to ability for optimum improvement

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An ex-pro himself, Antonio our lead coach was warm, funny and essentially a fantastic player. Each day we started with a bracing warm up; consisting of sprints, hip openers, stretches, ball games for co-ordination and then service box drills.

 

And I was in love with the courts. Many coaches believe that clay is the best surface to train on because the slow bounce allows players more time to calculate the ball and decide upon the best shot selection.

 

We concentrated on our groundstrokes – cross-court & down the line, plus serve & return, net & game play, and defence & attack, with lots of feedback and constructive tips.

 

The adult weekend warrior tennis academy course is run Friday to Sunday, perfect a short tennis break. And you won’t get bored after the sessions finish. La Manga also has three golf courses, eight football pitches, an expansive spa, fitness centre, outdoor swimming pool and fifteen restaurants and bars on site.

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The Weekend Warrior academy costs from €200 per person. Choose from luxury hotel or villa accommodation at La Manga. Find the cheapest return flights to Murcia searching on travel site momondo.co.uk.I flew from Stansted – book tickets to the airport from central London with the Stansted Express.