Pickleball is taking the sports world by storm, becoming one of the fastest-growing sports in the world - alongside padel tennis. Bringing together tennis, badminton, and ping pong, pickleball is fun, social, and fast-paced.
Make the most of the pickleball courts with our inclusive intro to pickleball sessions, social pickleball, free play, and weekly pickleball tournament.
The lowdown
Proud to sponsor the England Seniors Pickleball team at the English Open tournament
Play at Messini, Alana and our two new clubs in Mauritius and Sicily
Easy to play and pick up
Combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis
Coaching and equipment included
For players of all ages and abilities
Inclusive
What is pickleball?
Pickleball was invented in the USA in 1965 by three friends to entertain their children and named after the family's dog, Pickles! Pickleball arrived in Europe in 2011 and has been gaining in popularity ever since.
Even though pickleball is like tennis, it is much more accessible. The court is best described as similar in size to a badminton court with a slightly modified tennis net. The games can be played in singles or doubles and players use solid paddles to hit a plastic ball with small holes over the net.
The ball is much slower than a tennis ball and the service is underarm, so you have a game that is easier to play than tennis and suitable for all ages. Come and give it a go!
Inclusive
How to play pickleball
In Pickleball, the ball is served underarm, and the player serving starts on the right side of the court. The serve is hit diagonally to the opponent's service court. The ball must bounce before it is returned, and the serving side must also let the ball bounce. After which, you can volley or let the ball bounce before hitting it. There is a non-volley zone near the net where players are not allowed to volley the ball.
Points can be scored by both the serving and receiving sides and the first team to reach 11 points with a two-point advantage wins the game.
Inclusive
Pickleball equipment
The paddle looks a little like a larger version of a table tennis paddle – it has a solid surface and no strings. Like tennis rackets, they come in different shapes, sizes, and weights.
The balls are plastic with holes and come in different colours, typically yellow or white.
The equipment is easy to use for all ages and abilities and is lightweight.
Inclusive
Are pickleball lessons included?
Pickleball is an inclusive activity at Messini Beach Club in Greece and Alana Beach Club in Croatia, Neilson x The Ravenala Attitude in Mauritius and Neilson x Mangia's Torre del Barone Resort in Sicily. We have 6 courts at Messini, 2 courts at Alana, 4 courts at Torre del Barone Resort and Ravenala Attitude, all with 'intro to pickleball' coaching sessions included on your holiday. They are a great introduction to the game.
If you want to continue playing, you can book a pickleball court for free play.
In addition to pickleball, we have a daily programme of tennis coaching for all abilities at Messini, Alana, Ravenala Attitude and Torre del Barone Resort plus social tennis, and extras such as super drills (available as a supplement).
Inclusive
Can children play pickleball?
At Messini Beach Club, we offer a 30-minute pickleball session each week for children aged 6 and above during school holidays. At Alana Beach Club, the 30-minute session is exclusively for our Waveriders (14-15 years) and TAG (16-17 years) groups.
Children over the age of 14 can join the adult sessions. Additionally, if you book a court for free play, the whole family, regardless of age, can join in for a fun game of pickleball.
There's also a fantastic range of inclusive kids' clubs for all ages, offering activities like paddle boarding, dinghy sailing, tennis, beach games and so much more.
Brilliant holiday. All the teams were amazing, from the sailing, tennis and biking teams, to the waiters and bar staff to the cleaners. They couldn’t have done more.
We did lots of activities every...
Brilliant holiday. All the teams were amazing, from the sailing, tennis and biking teams, to the waiters and bar staff to the cleaners. They couldn’t have done more.
We did lots of activities every day. Bike rides, guided and non guided, (including e-bikes sometimes which were relatively cheap to hire), tennis lessons, pickle ball, sailing (including RYA Level 1), joyride in a catamaran, kayaking, paddle boarding, table tennis, yoga, Pilates, swimming.
Loved the pickle ball courts and enjoyed learning to play pickle ball. Barnaby was very helpful on the first morning giving us tips and teaching us the rules.
Joined in the tennis coaching. It was a...
Loved the pickle ball courts and enjoyed learning to play pickle ball. Barnaby was very helpful on the first morning giving us tips and teaching us the rules.
Joined in the tennis coaching. It was a treat having Mark Petchey helping with the coaching. The young coaches were very polite, helpful and knowledgable esp the two Georges, Harry and Barnaby - they also made the group lessons fun.
Perfect location room for us 530. Quiet and lovely space of green and open view from patio area. Delicious food. Wednesday evening particularly Five Star Plus. Compliments to the chefs. Every meal...
Perfect location room for us 530. Quiet and lovely space of green and open view from patio area. Delicious food. Wednesday evening particularly Five Star Plus. Compliments to the chefs. Every meal had so much choice and all so well presented. Restaurant staff always pleasant and so dedicated to their work. Always run like clockwork. Amazing.
Neilsons staff a happy dedicated bunch too. We’ve been doing Neilsons holidays for many years. It always seems to get better. We tried Intro to Pickle Ball this time.👍I hope we never get too old to come!😊😊🌅⛵️🏊🏻♂️🚴♂️🧘
