Weekend Retreat Itinerary: Friday: 2pm-4pm Tennis Welcome from Head Tennis Professional – Goal setting

“The first session gives all players the chance to hit a few balls and have their game assessed, meet other players looking to participate in the programme for the weekend, seek equipment advice or simply ask Goncalo about how to take steps forward to improve their play. This session also gives players participating in the course a chance to enter into some goal setting for the days ahead.”

Saturday: 9.30am-11.30 am Coaching Clinic 1: Getting the basics right

“The first coaching clinic of the weekend focuses on getting the key footwork and ball positions correct to maximise success on the tennis court. Players will be encouraged to work on moving to balls in a range of different positions via a series of specific drills which moves players forward and backwards at specific angles. Players are encouraged to find a good contact point with each shot and progress to target orientated hitting skills. The session also covers some basic swing tips on the groundstrokes and volleys and introduces the 3 basic court zones – back court, mid court and front court zones – crucial areas to practice from and enjoy learning to develop a well balanced game. The session is completed with essential work on the serve which is a feature of every coaching clinic at the academy.”

Saturday: 4pm-6pm Coaching Clinic 2: Developing a tactical game

“The afternoon features a chance to start to learn the basic strategies and tactics associated with the game of tennis. Depending on the standard of the players in the group, tactics can range from keeping the ball in play and gaining consistency in your strokes, to building rallies and learning how to finish points of correctly. Tuition is given for both singles and doubles where applicable and the sessions is always finished with good humored point play and some favorite ACTA games.” 

Sunday: 9.30am-11.30am Coaching Clinic 3: Further footwork and technical development

“The first session on Sunday carries on from the on court work on Saturday morning with a series of key drills designed to progress a players footwork and positioning to the ball. Players are encouraged to push their boundaries to cover more of the court and learn how professional players read the game and react quickly to different situations. This session also focuses players on key swing shapes and racket work. Players are challenged to understand their pros and cons of their current grip positions and how to create better swing shapes when playing each shot.”

Sunday: 4pm-6pm Internal / External Competition

“Although there is a tournament at the academy every Friday evening, all participants on Goncalo’s weekend tennis retreat are encouraged to play a round robin tournament or match play situation against another guest or client on Sunday afternoon. This is an opportunity for Goncalo to assess your game in a live tennis game and give you feedback on where you are making mistakes or how to maximize your strengths when playing. Just like the Davis Cup, this session is a unique opportunity to have a coach helping you through a game and giving you the confidence to play better tennis as a result.”

Monday: 9.00am-11.00am Specialty Shots and Summaries

“Monday’s session is designed to be a chance for players to practice some shots that are more specialist areas of the game such as drop shots and smashes as well as ask questions about some previous areas of the weekend’s play. This session will also allow Goncalo to go over any areas that may be necessary to reinforce good habits when leaving the academy. Players are also encouraged to work on an exit strategy from the coaching programme – mostly a discussion on not waiting too long before picking up a racket again! The coaching and weekend is concluded with a summary from Goncalo and a chance to exchange emails so that ACTA can stay in touch with your progress and hopefully see you back on court again very soon!”

Booking Information: email annabelcroftholidays@caribtours.co.uk or call 020 7751 9042

The Annabel Croft Tennis Academy at Pine Cliffs Resort, Algarve is a wonderful place to spend time on court and work at your tennis. It offers a fantastic tennis coaching programme that is suitable for the whole family. The resort is very family focused and there are always large numbers of junior players looking to participate in the programme. The large number of guests interested in playing tennis makes tournaments and social tennis highly popular activities in the timetable when they are scheduled in. The programme runs throughout the year but the academy is especially busy during the school holiday periods where booking in advance is advisable. The programme offers a wide range of coaching services including the academies renowned group based coaching courses, as well as private and shared tennis lessons, court hire and other tennis services. Players choosing to participate in either the adult or junior tennis courses will experience classes using the academies philosophy of “Movement & Repetition” that has been designed by Annabel Croft Using unique hitting sequences, players are encouraged to focus intently on their footwork for each shot in order to gain better control of the ball. In addition, small group ratios encourage a high level of hitting opportunities for each player in order to work on technical and tactical mastery of specific shots and situations. The aim is to get players to gain confidence in all areas of their game, get fitter through good quality training and really enjoy the time spent on court working on improving their game. For our younger junior players, the tennis programme at Pine Cliffs is based on the success of the Annabel Croft Tennis Academy in London. The courses on offer still have the same philosophy at heart but feature more time learning the basics of the game. These courses also feature some great games (our Cookie Tennis Challenge is legendary!) as well as certificates, stickers, activity book and trophies for our players of the week!

Bookings can be made in advance through Annabel Croft Holidays or by calling the academy directly on 0207 751 9042. We strongly advise booking in advance to avoid disappointment but please note there is a 24 hour cancellation policy. All coaching groups run based on a minimum of 50% participation in each class and at the discretion of the head coach. If a group is not running due to a lack of players, alternative arrangements for coaching may be required. For Tennis only booking (no accommodation), please contact us at annabelcroftholidays@caribtours.co.uk, telephone (0351) 289 500 100 or Ext. 3580.