Golf and padel tend to dominate the conversation about sport in Marbella, but tennis has its own long history here, and its own dedicated following among residents and buyers. This guide sets out where to play, what each club offers, and how the town’s tennis scene fits into its wider sporting identity.
Puente Romano, Rafael Nadal, Manolo Santana, Royal Tennis Club, Kimpton Hotel Raquet Club: the list, tradition and history of the world-class facilities in Marbella and the Costa del Sol continues to grow. Discover the history and the full guide to tennis clubs and centres in the Marbella, Estepona and Mijas areas.
Marbella’s tradition as home to world-class tennis facilities that attract some of the world’s best travellers dates back over 40 years, to when Puente Romano was founded by Björn Borg. Four years later, Manuel “Manolo” Santana took over, then opened his own club in 1997. Recently named Europe’s best sports destination, the area has continually grown as a lifestyle hub over recent decades, with a range of world-class tennis and other sports facilities opening around the coast.
Now, fast-forward another 28 years, and the world’s many years’ favourite champion, Rafael Nadal, has long followed suit, cementing the location as one of Spain’s and the world’s most loved sports, further adding to the appeal of the lifestyle value of properties in Marbella.
This guide provides a directory of tennis facilities around Marbella and the western part of Costa del Sol, including what each club offers.
Let’s start with a little backstory as to why Marbella has become such a hub for world-class tennis. But beyond local history, tennis has a long national tradition in Spain.
When we talk about Spain’s history with tennis, it all dates back to Manuel Santana: the first Spaniard ever to win a Grand Slam title. His career started when he won Roland Garros in 1961 and 1964, followed by the US Championships in 1965, and Wimbledon in 1966, reaching world No. 1 as an amateur that same year.
Santana led the passion and way for a list of other Spanish champions to follow, including Arantxa Sánchez Vicario who was ranked number one, including 14 grand slam titles between 1989 and 1994, Rafael Nadal, who was ranked number 1 for around four years and won 22 grand slam titles before retiring in 2024, and more recently, Carlos Alcaraz whose career is currently in full swing, first ranked world’s best in 2022, and currently holding 7 grand slam titles, including being the youngest player in history to win the Career Grand Slam.
Looking at Marbella, Manolo Santana had already shaped Marbella’s tennis scene for over a decade before founding his own club: he took over as director of the Puente Romano Tennis Club in 1983, succeeding Björn Borg, and ran it until 1998, before creating his own club. Other champions from around the world followed suit, opening their own academies and clubs to share their love of tennis in the sunny Costa del Sol.
As the area continues to attract more and more international buyers and residents and visitors seeking the dream Mediterranean lifestyle, many wonderful amenities have been opened along the coast, including, recently, the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy, accompanied by various other combined wellness, lifestyle, sporting, and even event facilities. We go through them below.
Puente Romano Tennis Club, in the heart of Marbella’s Golden Mile, was founded by Björn Borg and remains the town’s most recognised tennis address since its inauguration in 1979. Offering eight clay courts, two plexipave hard courts, four padel courts, plus a gymnasium with ARTIS Technogym equipment, the sports facilities here are world-class. These are complemented by a massage room, sauna, Turkish bath, a restaurant overlooking the courts, and a pro shop.
Following its history, the club has a genuine competitive pedigree. It hosted a Davis Cup qualifying tie between Spain and Denmark in September 2025, and its Reserve Cup padel tournament, while a different sport, has turned the wider Puente Romano complex into one of the most closely watched sporting venues on the Costa del Sol each June. It also offers quarterly kids’ tennis classes on afternoons and weekends to pass on the tradition.
Beyond being one of the most prestigious tennis clubs in Spain, everything is on hand here: the beach, paseo marítimo and the full range of Puente Romano and Golden Mile facilities. It’s no surprise that the club attracts world-class professionals who train there regularly.
Manolo Santana Racquets Club sits at Km 2 of the Carretera de Istán, a few minutes from Puerto Banús and the Nueva Andalucía golf valley. It was founded in 1997 by Manuel “Manolo” Santana, the first Spaniard ever to win a Grand Slam title, making the way for Rafael Nadal and now Carlos Arcaras to follow.
The club offers six tennis courts spanning all three Grand Slam surfaces: clay, hard and grass: a rarity in the region, alongside four floodlit padel courts (two plexipave and two artificial grass), allowing for the perfect grand slam training ground.
The club’s Marbella Open has run each summer under Santana’s name, and its padel school operates year-round for members and non-members alike, from complete beginners through to competition level. Santana remained personally involved in selecting the club’s coaching staff until shortly before his death on 11 December 2021, and the club today continues to trade on his legacy both as a serious training venue and as a broader sports-and-social hub with a gym, pool and restaurant.
Royal Tennis Club Marbella is one of the area’s long-standing tennis destinations, located in El Rosario on the eastern side of Marbella. The club offers eight clay courts and one hard court, two glass padel courts, table tennis facilities, an on-site restaurant, a gym, and an outdoor swimming pool.
Located just a 10-minute walk from the sea, approximately 15 minutes by car from Marbella’s historic Old Town and around 40 minutes from Málaga Airport, the club combines professional sports facilities with convenient access to the Costa del Sol’s beaches, restaurants and cultural attractions.
The club provides tennis and padel activities for adults and children, including private lessons, group training, children’s camps, seasonal social mix-ins and organised programmes for players of different ages and abilities.
One of Royal Tennis Club Marbella’s particular strengths is its ability to welcome international tennis clubs, academies, coaches and organised groups. Tailored training camps combine court access, professional coaching, accommodation, meals, fitness and recovery facilities in one convenient location. It offers an on-site hotel with 21 rooms, including standard rooms, rooms with terraces, suites and family rooms, making it suitable for individual players, families and organised groups.
With its professional clay-court environment, accommodation, restaurant and sports facilities all in one place, Royal Tennis Club Marbella offers a welcoming and well-organised setting for local players, visiting families and international training groups throughout the year. A strong option for residents who want daily access to competitive-standard courts in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere, without travelling to Puente Romano.
The Rafa Nadal Tennis Center Marbella opened in 2025 within the newly renovated five-star Don Carlos Resort & Spa, following a €45 million refurbishment of the hotel led by Selenta Group and interior designer Jaime Beriestain.
It’s part of a small global network of Rafa Nadal Tennis Centers that bring the long-time world number one to this tennis capital of Marbella. The network enjoys sister facilities already operating in Costa Mujeres (Mexico), Sani (Greece) and Hong Kong, conceived as satellite extensions of the main Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, bringing his training methodology to guests at partner resorts rather than requiring a dedicated academy stay.
The Marbella centre offers seven clay courts built in the tradition of Spanish tennis, plus two padel courts with sea views, all set within gardens that link the hotel with the Mediterranean sea. A relaxing stream that runs down the middle leads the way to the sea. Coaching follows the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar methodology and uses the Wingfield system for gameplay analysis and performance tracking.
Programmes range from single-day sessions to week-long intensives, including combined Tennis & Fitness packages and a “Signature” itinerary that folds in recovery sessions and sports massage at the Don Carlos Spa. A pro shop stocks Nike and Babolat gear, a snack bar overlooks the gardens and sea, and a small exhibition displays memorabilia from Nadal’s career. Like Kimpton and Puente Romano, the centre also offers a five-star beachfront hotel, but on the beautiful, relaxed dune beaches of Elviria, next to Nikki beach and some of the area’s other most famous chiringuitos.
This positions Don Carlos and its surrounding stretch of coastline as a genuine tennis-lifestyle draw in its own right, distinct from the Golden Mile’s older clubs. The centre also hosts World Tennis Masters Tour MT100, scheduled for 23-27 September 2026, which brings together world-class players in this special setting.
A short distance from the coast, located at the Kimpton Hotel, Los Monteros Racket Club combines four clay and three hard tennis courts with six padel courts, along with beach volleyball, a gym, bar, restaurant and a pro Adidas shop. Its proximity to the beach, along with quality restaurant options, makes it a popular choice for a morning on court followed by lunch nearby, and it hosts a stop on The One Marbella Padel Cup series each February. The centre also offers classes for children and adults, as well as holiday camp options, providing a luxury beachfront alternative to Puente Romano on the east side of Marbella. sent
A five-minute drive from Puerto Banus and a short walk from Real Club Padel Marbella, Club Internacional de Tenis offers tennis (clay, pexipave, and hard courts), padel, individual classes, a tennis school for children from 4 years old, and monthly weekend tournaments. Known for its restaurant, it also offers a sports store and free parking: a popular combination for residents of the immediate area.
Part of the prestigious Villa Padierna resort complex on Calle Adriano, Villa Padierna Raquet club sits just 50 metres from the beach and spans over 22,000 m² of sports facilities: 15 padel courts (reports vary between 11 and 15, split across glass-walled and porous-wall surfaces), two artificial-turf tennis courts with stadium-style seating, and two croquet lawns, a rarity on the coast. The Prodigy Padel Academy, led by coach Santiago Moreno, offers group and private coaching for all levels, along with a kids’ club available for summer camps and children’s events. The club also offers a snack bar with good food, and regularly hosts private and seasonal tournaments, including a Semana Santa padel event.
One of Estepona’s largest community tennis centres, founded in 1988 and spanning 24,000 m², this club combines tennis (including five clay courts and five professional fast courts), six World Padel Tour–standard padel courts and, since 2024, four pickleball courts, alongside a youth academy set in a beautiful green setting. The club is a key grassroots venue for local junior training rather than an international tournament host.
A well-known and loved tennis club in this popular part of the New Golden Mile, Club de Tenis y Padel Bel Air is situated centrally on the Marbella/Estepona border. Known for well-maintained clay and hard courts and a strong community feel, it offers six hard courts and 4 clay courts, five glass padel courts, tennis and padel schools, lessons and tournaments, as well as mix-in games throughout the week. With the school led by Sergio Gomez-Barrio, a former Grand Slam and ATP Tour competitor previously ranked in the world’s top 22, the club offers high-quality facilities at competitive prices compared with the larger resort-linked clubs nearby.
Located in the El Paraíso urbanisation between Benahavís and Estepona, RozaRossa is a genuinely large facility offering eight tennis courts, including clay, hard and grass surfaces, plus two padel courts. The club also offers a beautician, sports physiotherapy, a swimming pool, a Mediterranean restaurant, a yoga school, on-site sports accommodation, and mini-golf, positioning it as much a family sports retreat as a club. Located around a 10-minute walk from the beach on this popular part of the Golden Mile, RozaRossa offers an inclusive health and wellness sporting experience.
Part of the Los Arqueros Golf & Country Club complex, this club offers padel, tennis, and pickleball courts, alongside a restaurant, a golf and sports shop, and free parking, serving the golf-valley communities around Benahavís village.
Each town offers its own public sports facilities for the town’s residents and visitors. These multisports venues offer a range of sports, including tennis, basketball, padel and other outdoor equipment and playgrounds.
Founded by Australian tennis legend Lew Hoad Tennis Club, three-time Wimbledon champion (1953, 1955, 1956), this club was built around an old Andalusian farmhouse at the foot of Mijas, overlooking the Fuengirola coastline. Its guest history reads like a who ’s-who of the era: Lady Diana and Alfonso de Hohenlohe among the aristocracy, Sean Connery and Frank Sinatra among the celebrities, and tour players such as Tony Roche and Stan Smith.
With seven plexicushion courts, six crystal paddle courts, the club runs four established annual tournaments ( the New Year, Easter, O’Mamma Mia and the ITF International Memorial Lew Hoad and Open 500 tournaments) and today combines tennis and padel courts with classes, mix-ins, a gym, saltwater pool, restaurant and event spaces used for weddings and celebrations.
This smaller, coaching-focused club, also known as Tomas Karlsson Tennis School or Tomas Tennis, was founded and run by the Swedish professional player since 1991. The club offers two clay and three hard courts, with the mountains as a backdrop, and is well regarded for personalised instruction from three years old, including tournament training, plus padel and pickleball facilities, with a relaxed pergola area for those waiting or working between sessions.
Part of the extensive La Cala Golf Resort, the racquet club offers tennis, padel and squash ( a rarity, since squash courts are uncommon on the Costa del Sol) alongside a golf academy, wellness, spa, football, restaurant and full gym facilities. The club offers regular weekly tournaments perfect for residents and visitors to enjoy throughout the year. sent
A non-members tennis club at the heart of the Miraflores resort in Mijas Costa, known for six well-regarded clay courts (and two padel courts) in a picturesque, family-run setting with group classes from 10 years old, mix-ins, restaurant, bar, events and pool, the club hosts events and many enjoyable local meals and hangouts.
Located in Mijas Costa, just up the hill from the Max Beach area, Riviera Sport club combines tennis and padel with a large gym and group fitness classes (cycling, Zumba, yoga), positioned as a lifestyle-oriented sports centre near Riviera beach. The club also offers group lessons, football, skate and a snack bar.
For buyers who play regularly, or investors looking for a sound opportunity, the wealth of sporting and other lifestyle amenities on the coast, as well as proximity to a specific club, is often a more practical consideration than it first appears.
The Golden Mile puts owners within walking or a short drive of Puente Romano, while properties in Bahia de Marbella or Los Monteros sit closer to Los Monteros Racket Club, offering a similar but more relaxed lifestyle logic in an area set to host more ultra-luxury hotels over the next decade. While the New Golden Mile area of East Estepona also hosts a variety of high-end tennis and wellness facilities, the quality and variety of lifestyle amenities on offer indicate the broader value of properties. Finally, Mijas Costa offers a range of tennis clubs and sporting facilities throughout the countryside.
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Melinda Rendina Content Writer & Marketing Coordinator
Melinda is an experienced writer specialising in real estate, urban planning, lifestyle, architecture and design. A seasoned Marbella resident, she holds an Undergraduate Degree in Social Science with Honours in Politics, and a Masters degree in Urban Planning.
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