Beach tennis, anyone? Long known for its successful tennis programs, Central Florida’s Mission Resort + Club, on May 2-5, will host a Beach Tennis USA tournament sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation. The event is expected to attract nearly 300 players – professional and amateur – with approximately 80 percent of them coming from outside the United States.
Cesar Villarroel, longtime Director of Racquet Sports at the resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, recently introduced the sport into his programs. The resort currently has three beach tennis courts and is looking to add more.
“Beach tennis is similar to beach volleyball,” Villarroe told me. “But it’s played with a paddle. You volley – you can’t let the ball bounce.’’
If that sounds a bit like pickleball, consider that a net on a pickleball court is 34 inches high in the middle, while a beach tennis net is five-and-half-feet tall.
“You use the paddle and fitness,’’ in beach tennis. “It’s a very interesting game. At Mission Resort, we want to be among the first to offer beach tennis in the U.S.. We hold training sessions, open-play clinics and provide private lessons.’’
“The sport is already massive in other parts of the world. Just to give you an idea, in Brazil they have about 1.8 million people playing, in Puerto Rico it’s close to a million and in Aruba it’s around 800,000. In the United States, it won’t take long to catch on.
“One of our pros plays professional beach tennis. We recently set up a training center here where we offer complimentary clinics to grow interest and participation.’’
Each month, according to Villarroel, Mission Inn hosts between 150 and 200 beach tennis players.
“Our goal is to educate people in the United States. Our free clinics help potential players to really embrace the sport,” Villarroel said.
The first two days of the Beach Tennis USA tournament at Mission Resort will feature professionals while the weekend of May 4-5 will involve amateurs at intermediary and beginners’ levels.
“For the first two days, we will have about 80 players each day,” said Villarroel. “Then we will have about 150 players on the Saturday with another 150 competing on the Sunday. It should be a lot of fun for the players and for spectators.”
Any spectators coming to Mission Resort + Club – 40minutes north of Orlando – or the beach tennis tournament will certainly benefit from a memorable experience. The menu of recreational amenities on site is plentiful and the resort features fine dining with four restaurants, two lounges and a poolside bar.
The centerpieces of Mission Resort’s recreation offerings are its two golf courses – El Campeon and Las Colinas. One of the older (1917) and more acclaimed courses in Florida, El Campeon features striking elevation changes and pristine, tree-line fairways.
Las Colinas (The Hills) was created in 1992 by former PGA Tour winner Gary Koch, and it lives up to its name with wide fairways rolling over gentle rises. Each course features undulating greens surrounded by tropical vegetation and incorporates large water hazards on many holes.
In addition to golf, tennis, pickleball and beach tennis, the resort features jogging and cycling trails, volleyball courts, an outdoor pool, a spa, a fitness center and a marina offering pontoon and bass boat rentals. More than 30,000 square feet of well-appointed indoor and outdoor event space is available for meetings, banquets, holiday parties, weddings, and special occasions.
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