The trademark of this blog has been identifying distinctive features at Maldives resorts. Things I have never seen in my 20+ years of visiting over 120 properties there. In my online research and other world travels, I sometimes I also come across distinctive things I also haven’t seen in the Maldives. This particular item at The Standard, I have not seen in the Maldives, not come across elsewhere in the world, and in fact, didn’t even know such a thing existed. In fact, if you told me that it did exist, I still would have trouble conceiving it. But not as much trouble as I had playing it! In fact, as the video above demonstrates, it seems near impossible to play. And I’ve played a fair amount of table tennis in my time having a table in our basement growing up and in our adult home. Playing it for a little while, I think the objective of the game is not really competitive and getting the ball past your “opponent”, but rather collaborative in terms of striving to see how long a rally can continue before the crazy, three-dimensional randomness prevails.
Best of the Maldives: Outdoor Badminton – Meeru
In the Maldives, some hard surface badminton courts are indoor, and there a many outdoor courts in the sand, but Meeru offers the professional court outdoors for those who want a bit of al fresco competition.
Best of the Maldives: Padel Tennis – Emerald
I’ve still not seen “Pickleball”, but now the very latest racquet sport trend is “Padel Tennis”. And that *has* been introduced by Emerald with the installation of 2 soft Astro-turf courts in apropos cerulean blue.
Best of the Maldives: In Water Table Tennis – Soneva Jani
The Maldives exists at that sweet spot right on the edge of land and ocean. The lagoon shallows make it one of the best places in the world for wading in mill pond calm water with refreshing ocean cooling your feet. Soneva Jani brings that vibe into its Den kids club with its in-water table tennis set-up. Cool!
Best of the Maldives: Beach Volleyball and Beach Badminton Tandem – Dhigufaru
I’ve seen some impressive beach badminton and beach volleyball set ups in the Maldives, but Dhigufaru is the first I’ve seen with equally top flight facilities (eg. fixed ribbon line markets, night lights, padded fixed poles, etc.).
Best of the Maldives: Table Tennis Area – Rihiveli Beach
Pretty much every resort will offer a table tennis table. Some even have elaborate outdoor pavilions, but I haven’t seen any ping pong area as stadium-eque Rihiveli Beach’s beach bar. They have set the table in a sunken area with a couple of rows of raked seating around the sides. Perfect for that family holiday grand championship tourney.
Best of the Maldives: Ping Pong Protection – Zitalhi Kudafunafaru
A more practical consideration to table tennis pavilions is chasing the darn ball. Especially in the hard surface areas where it’s extra bounciness means it just keeps bouncing and bouncing as you go chasing it. When we set up a ping-pong table in our garage we rigged up and bunch of flat boxes to provide a back-stop to either side of the table to reduce such frenetic chases (and occasional lost balls). Zitahli Kudafunafaru has provided a more sophisticated solutions with netting on either side of its top quality table. It let’s the light and air through, but keeps ping-pong balls under control.
Best of the Maldives: Table Tennis Pavilion – Soneva Fushi
The smaller “table” version of tennis is almost always set in covered areas and pavilions at the Maldives resorts. Usually in entertainment buildings. But Soneva Fushi has given the full first class treatment to its “ping pong” pavilion – natural construction, thatches roof, Maldivian-style lounger chairs for spectators. All set on natural soft sand which might slow your panther-like reactions, but keep the game more comfortable and more “outdoors” as you toes sink into the warm sand.
Best of the Maldives: Astro-Turf Tennis Courts – Dusit Thani
Happy St. Patricks Day. The day for celebrating all things green. So a tip of the old leprechaun’s hat to Dusit Thani and their brilliant green astro-turf tennis courts. This surface combines the benefits of softer playing and less heat retention and reflection in the bright equatorial sun. A few other resorts also offer astro, but Dusit is the only one with two!
Erin go bright-green!
Best of the Maldives: Tennis Court Accessories – Constance Halaveli
Most resorts have tennis courts, many will provide a player to have a match against, Reethi actually organises regular competitions, but Constance Halaveli provides a tennis referee. And a proper ref chair to sit in (see above). His name is Nilantha Kuarage (not in photo…that’s me) and he can also serve as a coach, teacher and partner too.
The courtside facilities also feature a well equipped “coach”/spectator seat with a parasol shade and cabinet for a water cooler (see below).
The US Open season with this week’s tennis additions has tipped the balance for adding a “Racquet” for racquet sports to the blog category list.
