Annabel Croft  Weekend Retreat – 10 Hour Adult Coaching Course  

 The Annabel Croft Tennis (ACT) Weekend Retreat is an intensive tennis coaching course that allows players to get on court from Thursday to Sunday. Players need to be in resort on the afternoon of their first day in order to check in comfortably and then attend a Tennis Welcome session in order to meet the coaching team and get ready for the days ahead. Outlined below is the tennis programme for the course with a sample of what each session on court might involve dependent on your standard. Weekend retreat courses are available as packages with a range of accommodation and board options depending on your preferences.  

Weekend Retreat Itinerary

Thursday: 6pm-7pm – Tennis Welcome and Assessment / Goal Setting with Coaching Team

“For all ACT coaching courses, players are invited to attend an initial tennis welcome session for 1 hour with the teaching professionals. This session gives players the chance to hit a few balls and have their game assessed, meet other players looking to participate in the programme for the week, seek equipment advice or simply get to know the set up at the Academy. This session also gives players participating in the course a chance to enter into some goal setting for the days ahead.” 

Friday: 9am-11am – Coaching Clinic 1: Getting the basics right

“The first coaching clinic focuses on footwork drills similar to drills the tour players use regularly but can be applied to any standard. Players will be encouraged to work on their movement patterns by playing balls in a range of different positions via a series of specific ACT drills and repetition.  The session also covers some basic swing tips on the groundstrokes and technique on volleys and introduces the 3 basic court zones – back court, mid court and front court to gain confidence transitioning throughout the whole court. . The session is completed with essential work on the serve and return which is a feature of every coaching clinic at ACT”

Friday: 4pm-6pm – Coaching Clinic 2: Developing a Tactical Game

“The afternoon session on the first day 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 off with a winner. Tuition is given for both singles and doubles where applicable and the session finishes with point play and some favorite ACT challenges.”
Saturday: 9am-11am – Coaching Clinic 3: Footwork Progressions and Technical Development
“The first session on Saturday carries on from the on court work on Friday morning with a further series of key ACT 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 react quickly to different situations. Confidence starts to build through repetition and players are encouraged to aim at targets as well as experiment creating angles and spin. They will also work on balance and tracking the flight of ball.
Saturday: 4pm-6pm – Becoming a Stronger Competitor
“Although there is a tournament at the Academy every Thursday evening, all participants on the weekend tennis retreat are encouraged to play a round robin tournament or match play situation against another guest or client on Saturday afternoon. This is an opportunity for your coach to assess your game in a friendly competitive situation and give you feedback on how to maximize your strengths.”
Sunday: 9am-11am – Specialty Shots and Summaries

“Sunday’s session is designed for players to practice some specialist areas of the game such as drop shots, drive volleys, lobs and smashes as well as ask questions about some previous areas of the weekend’s play. This session will also allow your coach to go over any areas that may be necessary to reinforce good habits when leaving the academy. – The weekend is concluded with a summary from the coaching team and a chance to exchange emails so that ACT can stay in touch with your progress and hopefully see you back on court again very soon!”

NOTES: The Weekend Retreat Coaching Course costs €330.00 per person and features a 1:4 coaching ratio. Daily rates are not available for this course. All ACT Courses are subject to availability.

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

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!

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 weekly timetable at the Annabel Croft Tennis Academy at Pine Cliffs changes according to the season. All coaching courses for adults and juniors run are scheduled at the same time (usually 9.30am-11.30am) in peak season. Courses are recommended to players over 5 days (Monday-Friday) but bookings can be made on individual days to suit your own personal holiday timetable. The timetable features a number of carefully selected events each week including tennis tournaments, club nights for social tennis and cardio tennis classes.

All players wishing to participate in the programme are invited to attend a free Tennis Welcome session which is held on Sunday afternoons and gives the coaching team a chance to assess individual player’s level of play (standards are rated from 1-6), goals for their time on court and medical background.  Additionally, it ensures groups are evenly matched in terms of ability and content. Players looking to try tennis for the first time are encouraged to attend this tennis welcome and speak to a member of the team about what coaching is most appropriate for their development.

The Annabel Croft Tennis Academy at Pine Cliffs features the following facilities:

• 2 Red Clay Courts
• 3 Acrylic Hard Courts
• Padel Tennis Court
• Tennis Hut / Pro Shop
• Patio and Watching Area

The facilities are high quality surfaces with some of the only clay courts available in the Algarve. They are suitable for all standards of tennis from recreational to professional play. Court hire can be purchased for players own use either as individual hours or as discounted blocks of court time. Rackets and balls are available for purchase or hire along with clothing, footwear and accessories.

One of the unique features of the Annabel Croft Tennis Academy is its use of UK based coaches and teaching framework overseas. Using LTA guidelines for licensed tennis coaches, our coaching team comprises of predominantly British tennis professionals during the peak season.

If you are visiting the academy from the UK, our coaches will instantly recognize your current playing standard by rating or ranking, or your child’s mini tennis rating. Our coaching team’s expertise in this area enables us to offer follow on advice to players returning back to the UK or advice on how to carry on your coaching at suitable clubs and programs when returning home. We have even been known to run ratings tournaments and post results if we have enough of the same players in the resort at any one time!

For players outside the UK, we make sure that we complement our UK based coaches with highly qualified International coaches capable of delivering tennis lessons in a variety of languages including Russian, German, French and Spanish.