Some courts you play to win. Others you play for the view. There is a small, rarefied group of hotels around the world where the tennis court is not an afterthought tucked behind the car park, but one of the best seats on the property — a rectangle of clay or grass set against a cliff, a lake, a mountain wall, or an open plain where the wildlife wanders past between points.
These are the courts worth booking a whole trip around. Some belong to serious tennis hotels with coaching pedigrees that draw players back year after year. Others have a single court that happens to sit in one of the most beautiful spots on earth. A few are so striking that the score stops mattering somewhere in the first set.
Here are twelve of the most scenic hotel tennis courts in the world right now — where they are, what you'll play on, and why each one is worth the racket in your luggage.
TL;DR: The world's most scenic hotel tennis courts turn the match into the reason to travel. Play on a clifftop above Positano at Il San Pietro, a clay court hovering over Lake Como at Passalacqua, a floating court in the French countryside at Domaine des Étangs, or beneath the open Serengeti sky at Singita Sasakwa. Twelve courts worth planning a trip around.
What Makes a Tennis Court Worth Travelling For?
It's the setting, not the surface. A great destination court frames the game inside a landscape you'd cross the world to see — a cliff over the Mediterranean, a Serengeti plateau, an alpine valley — and usually pairs it with a court kept in genuinely good condition and a coach on call. Most of these are reserved for hotel guests, which is reason enough to stay the night.
Il San Pietro di Positano — Amalfi Coast, Italy
This is the one that launched a thousand bucket lists. Il San Pietro di Positano carved its regulation court into the cliffs roughly 90 metres below the hotel, a green rectangle suspended between the rock face and the Tyrrhenian Sea, reached by an elevator drilled straight through the stone down to the beach club.
It's regularly called the most beautiful tennis court in the world, and in person it earns the title — you serve with the Mediterranean glittering beside you and boats drifting past the baseline. The court is complimentary for guests and booked through the concierge; rackets, balls and a trainer are all on request. Pair it with a few days exploring our Positano and Amalfi Coast guide.
Passalacqua — Lake Como, Italy
At Passalacqua, the 18th-century villa above Moltrasio that has topped the World's 50 Best Hotels list, the red-clay court sits on the lowest terrace of seven acres of gardens, right at the water's edge. Insiders call it the "infinity court" because it appears to hang out over Lake Como, with the lake and mountains filling the far end.
It's a properly maintained modern clay surface, but the panorama makes it hard to keep your eye on the ball. Afterward, refreshments are best taken poolside in the LaDoubleJ-designed Winter Garden. For more of the lake, see our Lake Como travel guide.
Singita Sasakwa Lodge — Serengeti, Tanzania
Few courts come with game drives. Singita Sasakwa Lodge sits atop Sasakwa Hill in the Grumeti reserve, an Edwardian-style manor looking out over the Serengeti plains, and its two private courts — one clay, one all-weather — share that same vast view.
Wildlife sightings mid-rally are common; the grasslands roll out to the horizon beyond the fence line. Rackets and balls are supplied, and you can be back in a Land Cruiser tracking lions within the hour. It is, by some distance, the most cinematic warm-up in tennis.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel — Big Island, Hawaii
The Seaside Racquet Club at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is built right along the Kohala Coast lava shoreline, its courts strung out above the surf with the Pacific on one side and, on a clear day, Maui on the horizon. It has long ranked among the top tennis destinations anywhere.
There are nine courts plus pickleball, a full pro shop, clinics and lessons, and a shaded lanai for the post-match recovery. Open to resort guests and the Mauna Kea community, it's the rare big tennis program where every court has an ocean view.
Bawah Reserve — Anambas Islands, Indonesia
On a private archipelago 160 nautical miles northeast of Singapore, Bawah Reserve keeps things gloriously old-fashioned: a manicured grass court on the activities lawn between the boutique and the permaculture gardens, ringed by palms and jungle.
This is lawn tennis in the original sense — a slow, barefoot-adjacent game followed by afternoon tea in the Garden Pavilion. Mallets and racquets are provided for both tennis and croquet. After the all-inclusive seaplane in, it may be the most remote grass court you'll ever play.
Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt — Going, Austria
At the foot of the Wilder Kaiser massif in Tyrol, the Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt runs one of Europe's most respected tennis operations — eight outdoor clay courts and five indoor, home to the Peter Burwash International school for more than four decades. Business Insider once called it the most beautiful setting in the world to play.
The outdoor clay sits in open meadow with the jagged grey peaks of the Wilder Kaiser rising straight behind the baseline. It's a serious place to actually improve your game, in a setting that makes every practice serve feel like a postcard.
Bürgenstock Resort — Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
High on a ridge 500 metres above Lake Lucerne, the Bürgenstock Resort plays its tennis inside the Diamond Domes — a striking timber-latticed pavilion with glass walls that open the indoor clay court to the forest and the Alps beyond. There's an outdoor synthetic-clay court too, facing the valleys.
It's run as a year-round LUX Tennis centre, with coaching pedigree and ambassadors to match. Few indoor courts anywhere are this architecturally beautiful, or this well placed for the view between games.
Amanzoe — Porto Heli, Greece
Aman's Peloponnese retreat sits on a hilltop above the Aegean, a colonnaded ode to a modern Acropolis. Amanzoe's two floodlit hard courts are framed by olive groves and cypress, with the countryside and a sliver of sea stretching out beyond.
The resort partners with LUX Tennis for tailored coaching, so you can play seriously or simply hit at golden hour with the light doing the work. Spetses and Hydra are a short boat ride away when you've had enough of the baseline.
Verdura Resort — Sicily, Italy
Rocco Forte's Verdura Resort spreads across 230 hectares of southern Sicilian coast near Sciacca, with nearly two kilometres of private shoreline. Its tennis centre runs six red-clay courts looking out over olive groves and the rolling countryside toward the Mediterranean.
This is a real tennis destination — clay courts under floodlights, a clubhouse with a terrace, padel and pickleball alongside, and camps with visiting pros through the year. Between sets, there's a 60-metre infinity pool and two championship golf courses to fall back on.
Reschio — Umbria, Italy
On a 1,500-hectare estate centred on a thousand-year-old castle, Reschio hides its two astroturf courts a short stroll from the hotel and the stables. From above, they sit in a clearing among cypress and oak, the Castello and the Umbrian hills glowing behind them at dusk.
A pavilion stocked with refreshments waits between sets, and each August the estate's houses field doubles teams for the inter-house tournament and its coveted cup. With only two courts, booking ahead is wise — and well worth it for the setting.
Gstaad Palace — Gstaad, Switzerland
A fixture of the Bernese Oberland since 1913, the turreted Gstaad Palace looks down over its village from a wooded hill — and over four clay courts that come alive each summer. Tennis great Roy Emerson has been associated with the Palace's courts for decades, lending his name to its long-running tennis weeks.
You play on clay with the chalets and alpine slopes as a backdrop, then retreat to one of Switzerland's grandest hotels. In bad weather, three indoor courts nearby keep the game going.
Domaine des Étangs — Massignac, France
The most playful court on the list belongs to Domaine des Étangs, a 13th-century château on 2,500 forested acres in the Charente, now part of Auberge Resorts Collection. Its tennis court floats — set on a platform over a tranquil pond a few steps from the pool, with shaded viewing benches on the bank.
Framed by trees and water, with the château's turret peeking through the greenery, it's tennis as art installation. The estate leans into the outdoors: rowing, fishing, riding and forest walks fill the days between matches on the water.
Which Scenic Tennis Court Should You Book First?
For the single most jaw-dropping setting, it's Il San Pietro di Positano — the clifftop court is unmatched. For a serious tennis trip with the scenery as a bonus, Stanglwirt, Verdura, and Bürgenstock have the coaching and the courts to back it up. Want the court that doubles as a story? Domaine des Étangs floats on a pond, and Singita Sasakwa comes with a side of the Serengeti. You won't play better tennis at any of them — but you'll never play it anywhere more beautiful.
What You Actually Want to Know
Do you have to be a hotel guest to play? At most of these, yes — the courts are reserved for guests and usually booked through the concierge. Mauna Kea's Seaside Racquet Club is the most open to outside players; resort clubs like Verdura and Bürgenstock welcome lesson bookings through their tennis centres.
Which court is the most scenic of all? Il San Pietro di Positano's clifftop court is the consensus pick, with Singita Sasakwa's Serengeti backdrop and Domaine des Étangs' floating court close behind.
Where should serious players go? Stanglwirt (home to a decades-old coaching academy), Verdura, Amanzoe and Bürgenstock (all run year-round tennis programs), and Gstaad Palace (with its Roy Emerson tennis weeks) are built for players who actually want to train.
When's the best time to go? Late spring through early autumn for the European and Mediterranean courts; year-round for Bawah, Mauna Kea and Singita. Alpine courts like Gstaad and Stanglwirt are summer affairs.
A court like one of these can be the whole reason for a trip — and matching the right one to how you actually want to travel, from a coaching week in Tyrol to a single dreamlike set above Positano, is exactly the kind of thing a good advisor sorts in one conversation. Noon's team knows these properties. Tell us where you want to play.
By Noon Travel Editors | June 7, 2026
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