During our Florida trip, we decided to check out and play tennis at the happiest place on the planet, Orlando, Florida. We used to live in California with year round perfect weather and the best tennis community. We have been searching for a similar place within a short flight to the New York area. We were drawn to visit the USTA National Campus and a couple of resorts near Disney World to see if we could find something close to what we had in California.
USTA National Campus:
Our first stop was the USTA National Campus. The center is located a short drive from the Orlando airport (MCO), in Lake Nona, and about thirty minutes to Orlando. the USTA National Campus has put itself on the tennis travel map with its state of the art facilities which include nearly 100 tennis courts, family courts, pickleball and padel courts. The campus continues to grow and will offer it's own hotel on property, soon! (Travel tip: Closest hotel is the Courtyard by Marriott, Lake Nona). The tennis center had an active "racquet bar" for your tennis stringing needs, a Pro shop for everything tennis, and outdoors there many tennis, pickleball and padel courts in every direction. Most tennis clinics are held in the morning and in the evening. (Register in advance by downing loading Court Reserve app, and register before you visit. You may register for tennis or pickleball! You can also add family members to your registration).
I prearranged for a tennis lesson with one of the tennis Pros. After not playing a lot of tennis...I had one of my very best private tennis lessons, ever (Coach Dave Hernandez). I realized that I truly enjoyed playing at the USTA National Campus and I could not wait for my next tennis opportunity.
Hyatt Grand Cypress, Orlando, Florida
Just blocks from the entrance of Disney World is the Hyatt Grand Cypress. We found a wonderful tennis Professional to hit with over 10 years ago, on one of our trips to Orlando. Lynn Bottger is the Director of Tennis for the Hyatt Grand Cypress, Orlando, Florida. The hard court and har tru courts were located near the golf course, with Cypress trees and beautiful foliage everywhere. We enjoyed our tennis lesson with Lynn as she fine tuned our tennis games in an hour and a half. We like to take at least one thing away from a tennis lesson each time. This time we had many take-aways. It was amazing to see and play with Lynn, after so many years!
Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Florida
Our next stop was The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Florida, also minutes away from Disney World! Our room was newly renovated; as was most of the resort! The property was shared by a JW Marriott, lakeside and adjacent to their golf course. This resort offered many amenities, bikes, pool with lazy river, fishing excursions, golf, mountain bike trail (included in resort fee), scheduled shuttles to Disney World and other parks and a beautiful spa. The tennis courts were located near the JW Marriott, near the golf course.
The beautifully manicured tennis courts required reservation by the concierge, or through the golf pro shop. The three lighted, hard court tennis courts were located near the golf course. There was no need to check in for a tennis reservation if you had your own tennis equipment. If not, then simply stop at the golf pro shop to borrow equipment. One hour of tennis court time was part of the daily resort fee. If you desired a private lesson or tennis drill, then that needed to be arranged by the concierge, in advance. One of the tennis courts had pickleball lines painted within the tennis lines, with four portable pickleball nets.
Orlando, Florida surprisingly checked many boxes, with the fabulous USTA National Tennis Campus, many wonderful resorts (with tennis), entertainment and great weather year round.
Learning Moments:
Reserve court or register for tennis clinics at USTA National Campus, download app: https://courtreserve.com/mobile/
Disclosure:
We are a participant in the Marriott Affiliate Program , designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Marriott.
We are in partnership with the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy , designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy
Questions/more information….Please contact Cynthia@tennistravelsite.com regarding booking your trip for the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy or Rafa Nadal Tennis Centers.