Best of the Maldives: In Water Table Tennis – Soneva Jani

Soneva Jani - in water table tennis

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: Table Tennis Area – Rihiveli Beach

Rihiveli Beach - table tennis area

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

Zitahli Kudafunafaru - ping pong

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

Soneva Fushi table tennis pavillion

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

Dusit Thani - astro-turf tennis courts

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

Constance Halaveli referee chair

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.

 

Constance Halaveli tennis chair

Best of the Maldives: Tennis Tournament – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah tennis game

 

US Tennis Open finale today features two of the stars Djokovic and Nadal who seem to have no difficulty finding each other in the big tournaments in recent years.

While it’s not a problem reading by the beach or going to the gym, finding someone to play against can be a challenge for tennis fans travelling. Sure many resorts will offer resort staff to play, but if you want a full fledged tourney of competition, then you need to go to One & Only Reethi Rah. Reethi feature a weekly visitor tennis tournament…

“Every Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm our Tennis Club hosts a social tournament where guests will compete against each other in mixed teams. This social tournament is a great way to meet new people and discover our tennis facilities.”

No sign up required and complementary. Though watch out if repeat guest, who opened their tennis court, a guy named ‘Djokovic’, is on one of the teams, be warned that he’s a bit of a ringer.

Best of the Maldives: Kids Tennis – LUX Maldives

LUX Maldives teddy tennis

The youngsters at This Wimbledon are pushing the old guard out of the way (a record number of retirements, veteran upsets in early rounds). And one resort keen to aid the youngest tennis generation is LUX Maldives with its ‘Teddy Tennis’ programme…

“Aimed at children aged three to eight, Teddy Tennis combines music, pictures and teddy bear stories to make a child’s first experience of tennis fun and rewarding…Children are introduced to the programme via the story book, ‘Danny Bear joins the Teddy Tennis Academy’, which includes stories that encourage good practices such as eating healthy foods and exercising. A host of Bear characters, such as Molly (who likes to volley) and Boris (who loves to bounce) are used to demonstrate basic tennis movements. Music is used to emphasize the rhythm of the moves. Children then copy the moves on court helped by Head Ted – the tennis coach. Teddy Tennis is a very structured programme, with three core components: Play Sessions, Activities and Music. Children are divided into two age groups: 3 to 5 1/2 (Danny Bear) and 5 ½ to 8 (Johnny Mac Bear). Teddy Tennis Play Sessions are carefully devised to take account of differences in the age, ability and experience of the children involved. Teddy Tennis Music has been specifically created to provide the right rhythm and timing to play each game or activity. Teddy Tennis Activities – over 50 in total – focus on three areas of skill development: Movement Skills, Ball Skills and Racquet Skills.”

Ace!

LUX Maldives teddy tennis 2