March 21, 2024 – (Howey-In-The-Hills, FL.) – Central Florida’s Mission Resort + Club, which is highly acclaimed for its championship golf and elegant amenities, will host a Beach Tennis USA tournament sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation from May 2-5.
The event will attract nearly 300 players – both professional and amateur – with roughly 80 percent of them coming from outside the United States.
The Appeal of Beach Tennis
Beach tennis combines elements of tennis and volleyball and, as its name suggests, takes place on sand. The sport is now played in over 50 countries by more than half a million people and is poised to take off in North America after surging in popularity throughout Europe – especially in Italy and Spain.
“Here in the United States, beach tennis has just started up as a sport, and it’s already very popular,” said former Bolivian Davis Cup player Cesar Villarroel, who is longtime Director of Racquet Sports at the resort. “One of our pros plays professional beach tennis, and we recently set up a training center here where we offer complimentary clinics to grow interest and participation in this fun and healthy pursuit.
“We hold training sessions, open-play clinics and provide private lessons. Every month at Mission Resort, we get around 150-200 players coming for beach tennis. The sport is already massive in other parts of the world. Just to give you an idea, in Brazil they have about 1.8 million people playing, in Puerto Rico it’s close to a million and in Aruba it’s around 800,000. In the United States, it won’t take long to catch on.”
Complimentary Introductory Clinics Help to Give the Growing Sport a Massive Boost
Mission Resort, which is located among the rolling hills of Lake County and has four beach tennis courts, is certainly at the forefront of the push for this rapidly growing sport in the United States and Villarroel is confident that the clinics he and his team offer have already ignited greater interest in the sport.
“Our goal is to educate people in the United States and our free clinics help potential players to really embrace the sport,” said Villarroel, a USPTA Elite professional instructor who is certified through the National Endurance Fitness Training Association. “Beach tennis is definitely growing in this country but it’s going to take some time before it matches the levels in other parts of the world.”
The first two days of the Beach Tennis USA tournament at Mission Resort will feature professionals while the weekend of May 4-5 will involve amateurs at both intermediary and beginners’ level.
“For the first two days, we will have about 80 players each day,” said Villarroel. “Then we will have about 150 players on the Saturday with another 150 competing on the Sunday. It should be a lot of fun, for both the players and for spectators.”
Mission Resort + Club Offers So Much to Do Near Orlando
Any spectators coming to Mission Resort + Club for the beach tennis tournament will certainly benefit from a memorable experience. The menu of recreational amenities on site is plentiful and the resort features fine dining with four restaurants, two lounges and a poolside bar.
In addition to championship golf, tennis, pickleball and beach tennis, the property features jogging and cycling trails, volleyball courts, an outdoor pool, a spa, a fitness center and a marina offering pontoon and bass boat rentals. More than 30,000 square feet of well-appointed indoor and outdoor event space is available for meetings, banquets, holiday parties, weddings, and special occasions.
A Golfers’ Paradise Awaits
Located in the town of Howey-in-the-Hills, Mission Resort is just a 35-minute drive northwest of Orlando or an 80-minute drive northeast of Tampa, and it is home to two championship golf courses, which are wonderfully complementary.
El Campeón (The Champion) layout, built in 1917 by George O’Neil, is one of the oldest courses in the South with a classic design featuring unusually sharp elevation changes in the typically flat central Florida terrain. It plays host to multiple professional, college and high school tournaments. Las Colinas (The Hills) was created in 1992 by former PGA Tour winner Gary Koch, and it lives up to its name with wide fairways rolling over gentle rises. Both courses at Mission Resort feature undulating greens surrounded by tropical vegetation and incorporate large water hazards on many holes.
