Game Set and Wax

SERENA Williams is dominating the opening rounds of the 2018 U.S. Open Tennis Championships in style. After the French Open issued a ban on her black catsuit, the tennis great is making an on-court statement by breezing into the Quarterfinals while sporting stylish tennis tutus. She can now be seen at Madame Tussauds San Francisco wearing one of her stylish tutus, proving she is a champion no matter what she wears.

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Game, Set and Bagel

AT Bruegger's Bagels, a bagel is an authentic, New York-style, kettle-boiled-then-baked ring of bread. But in #tennis, a "bagel" is a set that ends in 6-0. That's why Bruegger's is getting in on the U.S. Open fun and giving away bagels for "bagels."

If there's a "bagel" at any time during the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, or Finals of this year's men's, women's or doubles matches at the U.S. Open, Bruegger's will offer one free bagel and cream cheese to every member of its Bruegger's Bagels Inner Circle rewards program, redeemable from September 18-20.

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Game, Set and Match

AS all eyes turn to the 140th instalment of #Wimbledon for the world’s best loved tennis tournament, Spabreaks.com has put together its pick of Britain’s very best spa resorts and packages for tennis enthusiasts. Whether you’re a wannabe Murray or more of a Cliff Richard, get yourself in shape with a break at one of these great spa hotels.

Best for serious players: Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire
The location for the annual ‘oh-so-British’ pre-Wimbledon Boodles tennis tournament, Stoke Park offers three indoor carpet courts, four clay courts and six Wimbledon specification grass courts – not to mention an award-winning luxury spa.

Best for fair weather players: Chewton Glen, New Forest, HampshireWith two indoor and two outdoor tennis courts, Chewton Glen is the perfect place to practice your volleys regardless of the changeable summer weather! 

Best for health enthusiasts: Champneys Tring, HertfordshireA bastion of health since it opened in 1925, Champneys Tring offers numerous spa treatments from the traditional to the innovative, as well as health facilities including two floodlit outdoor tennis courts.

Best for ladies who lunch: Crowne Plaza Resort Colchester Five Lakes, Essex
Deep in the Essex countryside, Five Lakes offers eight outdoor tennis courts, as well as badminton, squash, table tennis and a spa area with sauna and steam room – plus a relaxation room with three four-poster beds in which to doze or catch up with friends.

Best for groups: Carden Park Hotel, Cheshire
Set on a one thousand acre estate, complete with its own onsite vineyard, at Carden Park tennis is just one of the seemingly unending supply of great activities. The spa features a sauna, steam room, hydrotherapy pool, ‘chatty’ relaxation room and tepidarium beds, and other facilities include a full-size football pitch, golf course and mountain biking trails.

www.spabreaks.com

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Super chic summer shape up

LOU CASTEOU, which means ‘The Chateau’ in old Provençal French was purchased in 2006 by Chris and Morag Baxter, who restored it to its former historical glory, adding touches of modern luxury, such as a home cinema seating 40, heated outdoor pool, and commercial kitchen.

The chateau can accommodate 32 guests in luxury, with inside and outside reception areas, for events of up to 100 people. Lou Casteou offers weddings, with blessings at Lou Casteou’s small historic chapel, or within the chateau’s grounds. With a home cinema and board room facilities, Lou Casteou also caters for conferences and formal events.

Lou Casteou is situated in the Esterel Mountains between Cannes and St. Tropez; forty minutes’ drive from Nice airport and five minutes from sandy beaches, excellent sports facilities, boutiques and restaurants.

This Summer they are offering three luxury residential fitness retreats – salsa, tennis and Body Tonic.

www.loucasteou.com

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Picture Credit: By Tobi 87 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16843888

Anyone for tennis?

EAST ANGLIAN holiday lettings agencies Suffolk Secrets and Norfolk Hideaways have served up a selection of properties with tennis courts. 

Here are some of them …

The Cart Lodge, Brettenham, Suffolk: This restored, traditional property has not only a tennis court but also an outdoor swimming pool. One bedroom, from £358 a week.

The Garden House, Lound, Suffolk/Norfolk border: Formerly a garden centre seed house and sitting in the grounds of Lound Manor, this has been turned into a luxurious bolthole where guests can play tennis. They get a sauna and swimming pool, too. Sleeps two, from £470 a week.

Walnut Barn, Gunthorpe, North Norfolk: A barn conversion in the grounds of the 17th century White Horse Farm, it has a grassed tennis court. Larger groups can book any of the other three barns on the site. Two bedrooms from £950 a week.

West Barn Cottages, Knodishall, nr. Aldeburgh, Suffolk: One of two -restored traditional barns, West Barn Cottage has a large, fully-equipped kitchen. When not playing tennis on the hard-court, there are large grounds for garden games. Larger groups can book the adjacent East Barn Cottage for parties of up to twelve. The beaches of Thorpeness and Alderburgh are two and three miles away respectively. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and one dog allowed. Rates from £575 a week.

The Old Rectory, Stanfield, North Norfolk: With a private hard tennis court and games room, this Georgian house is in four acres of gardens. It has a large farmhouse kitchen, formal dining room, and four bathrooms. Five bedrooms, from £1,195 a week.

www.norfolkhideaways.co.uk
www.suffolk-secrets.co.uk

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Anyone for virtual tennis?

THE #WIMBLEDON LAWN #TENNIS MUSEUM in #London will launch a virtual reality experience on June 20, giving visitors the chance to play a part in famous tennis matches. 

Visitors wearing the virtual reality headsets will be immersed in matches that made Wimbledon history, featuring players such as John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Martina Navratilova, and Serena Williams.

The experience – using HTC Vive VE headsets – will be one of the first of its kind in England. 

Also new for visitors is ‘Reinventing The Racket’, an exhibition highlighting the museum’s most iconic and unusual rackets. Other highlights at the museum include a holographic image of John McEnroe walking through a re-creation of the 1980s Gentlemen’s Dressing Room and the chance to see Wimbledon trophies close up.

One of the most popular features is the one-hour tour of Wimbledon, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the tennis grounds, revealing areas normally unseen by the public. Guests can finish the tour on the Centre Court.

During Wimbledon fortnight (June 27-July 10), the museum is open only to Championships ticket-holders at an extra charge. Tours will run daily until June 12 and recommence on July 16.

wimbledon.com

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Picture Credit: Jamie Murray serve</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin

La Manga Club set for 2016 take-off with Dublin flights

FROM MARCH 27, Aer Lingus will operate four flights a week from Dublin to Murcia-San Javier airport, which is a 20-minute drive away from the multi award-winning #LaMangaClub sports resort. 

In an area three times the size of Monaco, the resort's facilities include: 

• Three 18-hole #golf courses and a nine-hole academy course, 
• A Leadbetter golf academy – the only one of its kind in mainland Spain 
• A 28-court #tennis centre 
• Eight full-size football pitches

Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey was among the thousands of golfers to enjoy a golf holiday at the resort last summer. ‘I played the north and south courses again and they strike a really good balance between providing a challenge and being fair. The climate is perfect, the facilities are top-class and it all makes for a great golfing experience for those who want to get away from the unpredictable British and Irish weather.’

The resort's other facilities include a high performance sports centre, a spa and fitness complex, a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses, and more than 20 bars and restaurants.

www.lamangaclub.com

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La Manga Club voted among world's best tennis resorts

LA MANGA CLUB in Murcia, #Spain has enhanced its position as a firm favourite with players across the globe after being named among the world's top 75 tennis resorts in a poll of users of Tennis Resorts Online. 

The survey asked users to rate their favourite tennis resorts and training camps, taking into account more than 20 different aspects of a tennis holiday. #LaMangaClub was voted second best in Europe.

The accolade is a further endorsement of La Manga Club's tennis facilities, with the venue already the official overseas winter training base of Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association, as well as having extended its partnership this year with Tennis Europe for a further two years.

The resort was named as Spain's leading golf complex at the 2015 World Golf Awards for the second year running earlier this month, as well as being voted Best Golf Resort in Spain by UK readers of Today's Golfer magazine.

La Manga has 20 clay courts, four hard courts, and four on artificial grass.

www.lamangaclub.com

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503155594@N01/382710059">Tennis Balls</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)

Anyone for underwater tennis?

FROM the You-Couldn’t-Make-It-Up-But-Somebody-Has Department comes a proposal for an underwater tennis stadium in Dubai.

The idea has been served up by Krysztof Kotala, a Polish architect, who says a good spot for an underwater tennis complex would be offshore in the Persian Gulf between Burj al Arab and the Palm Jumeirah islands.

His plan is for a sports arena covered by a rooftop coral reef enabling, presumably, spectators to watch the fish when the tennis gets boring. A single piece of glass large enough to cover the structure and strong enough to withstand the water pressure would be required … along with vast amounts of cash and optimism.

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Picture Credit: Palm Jumeirah on 19 January 2008 by Imre Solt - Dubai Construction Update Part 10 Page 15 at Post 281.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons