Rome 2026 Recap
Thanks so much to everyone who attended our trips to Rome in May for the Italian Open. These are proving to be very popular trips, featuring an ever improving venue, perfect weather and just great company. A special shout out to Bryce from Canada whose fun and entertaining personality contributed greatly to the group bonding. Bryce is positioning himself as a rival to Naomi Osaka for the title of trendiest tennis player on the planet. His attention to detail and colour coordination goes beyond what most club players would aspire to but we love him for it!
Due to the popularity of these trips, we have already planned for 2027 and taken some bookings!
If interested click HERE.
Thanks so much to everyone who attended our trips to Rome in May for the Italian Open. These are proving to be very popular trips, featuring an ever improving venue, perfect weather and just great company. A special shout out to Bryce from Canada whose fun and entertaining personality contributed greatly to the group bonding. Bryce is positioning himself as a rival to Naomi Osaka for the title of trendiest tennis player on the planet. His attention to detail and colour coordination goes beyond what most club players would aspire to but we love him for it!
Due to the popularity of these trips, we have already planned for 2027 and taken some bookings!
If interested click HERE.
How does playing padel help your tennis?
I recently opened Racket Barn, a new indoor padel and pickleball centre in Glasgow. I'd say that the majority of the tennis players who play padel regularly at our centre are experiencing an improvement in their tennis volleys and smashes.
This is mainly due to the volume of volleys and smashes that you hit in padel compared to tennis. The technique for volleys is also very similar in both sports apart from the swingy vibora shot in padel (which I have yet to master).
Lobs are also used often in padel which is an extremely important shot in tennis doubles in particular. Also, the footwork required to move back for a smash is the same in both sports, and since it happens often in padel, it's another transferable skill.
I am explaining these similarities and mutual benefits because I often hear tennis players worry that playing padel will negatively affect their tennis game. In my opinion it couldn't be farther from the truth, as I explained above.
So..... why not join us in Sicily at the end of summer where you can develop both your tennis and padel skills at the same time?
Trapani - 12th to 19th & 19th to 26th September
Click HERE for more info.
Did anyone see the new Stanley Tucci programme on Disney+ where he is touring Sicily in one episode, and he visited Trapani, the town where we host our special tennis/padel holidays? This was a great advert for our amazing location in Sicily. It's a wonderful series of his culinary and cultural trips around Italy which helps one understand the beauty and various charms of Italy.
I recently opened Racket Barn, a new indoor padel and pickleball centre in Glasgow. I'd say that the majority of the tennis players who play padel regularly at our centre are experiencing an improvement in their tennis volleys and smashes.
This is mainly due to the volume of volleys and smashes that you hit in padel compared to tennis. The technique for volleys is also very similar in both sports apart from the swingy vibora shot in padel (which I have yet to master).
Lobs are also used often in padel which is an extremely important shot in tennis doubles in particular. Also, the footwork required to move back for a smash is the same in both sports, and since it happens often in padel, it's another transferable skill.
I am explaining these similarities and mutual benefits because I often hear tennis players worry that playing padel will negatively affect their tennis game. In my opinion it couldn't be farther from the truth, as I explained above.
So..... why not join us in Sicily at the end of summer where you can develop both your tennis and padel skills at the same time?
Trapani - 12th to 19th & 19th to 26th September
Click HERE for more info.
Did anyone see the new Stanley Tucci programme on Disney+ where he is touring Sicily in one episode, and he visited Trapani, the town where we host our special tennis/padel holidays? This was a great advert for our amazing location in Sicily. It's a wonderful series of his culinary and cultural trips around Italy which helps one understand the beauty and various charms of Italy.
Sinner is out so who will win the French Open??
Unbelievably Sinner lost in the French Open after experiencing a total loss of energy that he attributed to an illness and not the extreme heat! He was 2 sets and 5-1 up and then only won 2 more games!
This is a great opportunity for someone else to win a slam after Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated for so long.
The top half of the draw is wide open with no real favourites in my opinion. I would give Cobolli the edge in this half but only just with so many other strong clay court players like Tabillo, Francisco Cerundolo and Berrettini.
The lower half is much stronger with Zverev the favourite but I would think that Djokovic will be delighted that Sinner is out. He has a tough draw needing to get past Fonseca and then maybe Ruud. If he can manage that without expending too much energy, he will be so hard to beat. I hope and think that Ruud could go all the way as he is playing so well and has been in the final before. My outside bet would be on the new young Spanish player, Jodar, who would need to get past Zverev but he has the game to do it.
This is great for the men's game, as there will be a very good chance of a new first time slam champion obviously if Novak doesn't pull it off which would also be good for the game in my view.
All thoughts welcome.
Ian
[email protected]
Unbelievably Sinner lost in the French Open after experiencing a total loss of energy that he attributed to an illness and not the extreme heat! He was 2 sets and 5-1 up and then only won 2 more games!
This is a great opportunity for someone else to win a slam after Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated for so long.
The top half of the draw is wide open with no real favourites in my opinion. I would give Cobolli the edge in this half but only just with so many other strong clay court players like Tabillo, Francisco Cerundolo and Berrettini.
The lower half is much stronger with Zverev the favourite but I would think that Djokovic will be delighted that Sinner is out. He has a tough draw needing to get past Fonseca and then maybe Ruud. If he can manage that without expending too much energy, he will be so hard to beat. I hope and think that Ruud could go all the way as he is playing so well and has been in the final before. My outside bet would be on the new young Spanish player, Jodar, who would need to get past Zverev but he has the game to do it.
This is great for the men's game, as there will be a very good chance of a new first time slam champion obviously if Novak doesn't pull it off which would also be good for the game in my view.
All thoughts welcome.
Ian
[email protected]
