The World’s Most Romantic Courts:
cliffs, jungles, the Alps and the vast expanses of the Serengeti
Nine hotels where the tennis court is not an amenity but a destination — cliffs, jungles, Alps, and the open Serengeti.
The finest tennis courts in the world are not at the Grand Slams. They are carved into the cliffs of Amalfi, suspended above Lake Como, and laid out on the open plains of the Serengeti — where the score on the board loses all relevance.
The world’s greatest players come here not to train — they come to savour the view. Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova are bound to Aman not by contract, but by conviction. Roger Federer returns to Cheval Blanc Randheli again and again — quietly, without fanfare. At Gstaad Palace, Roy Emerson has spent more than five decades turning alpine clay into the most personal tennis school on earth.
Here are nine places where a court is never just a court — a stage, a discovery, and sometimes the most romantic spot in the entire hotel.
Il San Pietro di Positano
AMALFI COAST, ITALY
Hard Court — Sea Level
Set into the cliff face at the water’s edge, and reached only by private elevator drilled through solid rock. In place of walls: lemon trees and bougainvillea. The Mediterranean here is not just part of the scenery, it’s a living presence: between rallies, the surf is audible. One court. Always empty. Those who find it treat it as a private discovery.
NOTABLE GUESTS: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Sting, Barbra Streisand
Passalacqua
LAKE COMO, ITALY
Clay — Infinity Court
A clay court on the lower terrace of an 18th-century villa that once welcomed Napoleon and Bellini. Regulars call it the infinity court: it appears to dissolve directly into the lake. A further distinction — Passalacqua was named the World’s Best Hotel in 2023.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney, John Legend
Monte-Carlo Country Club
ROQUEBRUNE-CAP-MARTIN, FRANCE
21 Clay Courts — ATP Masters
Where the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is held every April — and where Monaco residents Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev train in between tournaments. Members play on the same courts as the professionals. The Monaco Grand Prix is held every year on the street circuit one level below.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc
CAP D’ANTIBES, FRENCH RIVIERA
5 Clay Courts — Cannes Season
Five courts shaded by Aleppo pines, palms, and olives — where the Cannes Film Festival and the clay season meet every May. In 2024, Venus Williams filmed a Lacoste advertising campaign here. The defining address of Riviera glamour since 1870.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Venus Williams, F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Cannes film set
Singita Sabora Tented Camp
GRUMETI RESERVE, SERENGETI, TANZANIA
Clay — Serengeti Plains
The only court in the world where calling a let for a grazing zebra is entirely legitimate. Set within a private reserve of 350,000 acres. Baboons have been known to serve as ball boys. The court is not the reason anyone comes here. But it is what they remember.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, George and Amal Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Sydney Sweeney
Amanpuri
PANSEA BEACH, PHUKET, THAILAND
6 Floodlit Courts — First Aman
Six floodlit courts within a teak pavilion village — the first hotel in the Aman network, opened in 1988. Since 2023, Novak Djokovic has served as the group’s global wellness advisor: his Longevity Pathways programme was conceived in partnership with Aman. Maria Sharapova chose Amanpuri for the launch of her first retreat.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova
Cheval Blanc Randheli
NOONU ATOLL, MALDIVES
Private Tennis Island
Cheval Blanc Randheli has its own dedicated tennis island — Maakurandhoo — accessible only by speedboat. A floodlit court surrounded on all sides by palm trees and the Indian Ocean. Roger Federer is a confirmed and returning guest, returning here with his family, season after season.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Roger Federer, Jürgen Melzer
Bawah Reserve
ANAMBAS ARCHIPELAGO, INDONESIA
Lawn Tennis — Seaplane Only
Six islands, three lagoons, one lawn tennis court. Reachable only by seaplane. The most private address on this list — no press, no paparazzi, no confirmed celebrity sightings. Its guests are discerning travellers from Singapore and Southeast Asia for whom unspoilt tropical wilderness, far removed from everything, remains the only true definition of luxury. Ultra-private — and not a name on record. Precisely as intended.
NOTABLE GUESTS: No guest record kept. Precisely as intended.
Gstaad Palace
BERNESE OBERLAND, SWITZERLAND
Alpine Clay — Roy Emerson Weeks
Roy Emerson has held his tennis weeks here since 1973 — more than five decades. Alpine clay resembles no other surface in professional tennis. Federer won the Swiss Open on the Roy Emerson Arena in 2004. Casper Ruud and Dominic Thiem have both taken the ATP title here as well.
NOTABLE GUESTS: Roy Emerson (50+ years in residence), Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Casper Ruud
THE SCORE
The courts on this list were not chosen for their surfaces or their facilities. They were chosen for the feeling they evoke -a kind of vertigo when you realise the score on the board stopped mattering long ago.
A cliff above the Mediterranean. A lake dissolving at the baseline. The Serengeti plains reaching to the horizon. Tennis here is not sport. It is perspective.