Puglia is better known for olive groves, whitewashed masserie and long lunches than for tennis. Yet the coast around Savelletri di Fasano has become the region’s sporting address, and a few resorts in Salento and on the Ionian coast have followed. This guide covers the hotels with their own courts, what we could and could not confirm, and when to play.
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Quick answer: the best tennis hotels in Puglia
- Best overall: Borgo Egnazia, Savelletri di Fasano, with three tennis courts, three padel courts and private lessons.
- Best for tennis plus golf: Masseria San Domenico, Savelletri di Fasano, with two tennis courts and San Domenico Golf next door.
- Best year round: Il Melograno, Monopoli, listed as open throughout 2026.
- Best for families on the Ionian coast: Ethra Reserve Kalidria, Castellaneta Marina, a five-star resort in a pine reserve.
- Best all-inclusive in Salento: Vivosa Apulia Resort, Ugento, with tennis, padel and an instructor.
- Best small hideaway: Masseria Le Mandorle, near Ugento, with its own court and coaching on request.
If you are planning a wider Italian trip around the game, our hub on the best luxury hotels with tennis courts in Italy compares Puglia with Sicily, Tuscany, Lake Garda and the Amalfi Coast.
Check prices and availability
The Fasano coast, home to Borgo Egnazia and Masseria San Domenico, books up early for June and September, the best months for tennis. Compare rates now if your dates are fixed.
The best luxury hotels in Puglia with their own tennis courts
Every hotel below advertises tennis on its own grounds or within its resort complex. Where surface, lighting or coaching could not be confirmed, ask the hotel.
Borgo Egnazia (Savelletri di Fasano)
Built to look like a whitewashed Apulian village between the olive groves and the Adriatic, Borgo Egnazia is the most complete sports resort in the region. Its sports area has three tennis courts and three padel courts. Racquet hire is complimentary, and private lessons with instructors are available for all levels, with group sessions during the season. In high summer padel courts are often fully booked, so reserve on arrival. The court surface and floodlighting are not published, so ask the hotel if you are particular about clay or hard courts.
Off court there are four outdoor pools and a heated indoor pool, the Vair Spa, a beach club at Cala Masciola and the 18-hole San Domenico Golf course next door. The resort runs seasonally with a winter break; the 2026 season opened on 14 March, so ask the hotel about late autumn and Christmas dates. Our Borgo Egnazia review covers rooms and kids clubs.
Best for: families, mixed groups of tennis and padel players, and anyone who wants coaching, golf and a beach club in one place.
Masseria San Domenico (Savelletri di Fasano)
A historic fortified masseria about 500 metres from the sea, San Domenico is the older, quieter neighbour of Borgo Egnazia and shares its golf course. It has two tennis courts on site. Surface, floodlights and whether there is a resident coach are not published, so ask the hotel; we found no mention of padel.
The rest of the stay is built around water: a large brackish water pool set among natural rocks, an indoor pool, and a thalassotherapy spa using seawater and olive oil treatments. La Nassa serves seafood lunches by the sea, and guests use two beaches, La Fonte and San Domenico a Mare. The hotel closes in winter: for the 2025 to 2026 break it was shut from 2 November to 1 April, so check 2026 to 2027 dates with the hotel.
Best for: couples who want an early set, a round of golf and a thalasso treatment in the same day.
Check rates at Masseria San Domenico
Charlotte’s tip: split the day between Savelletri and the hills
On the Fasano coast, book a court for 8am, swim before the beach clubs fill up, then drive 30 minutes up into the Valle d’Itria for lunch in Cisternino or Locorotondo. Come back for a padel game at 6pm when the sea breeze picks up. Our Puglia guide covers the hill towns and the coast in more detail.
Il Melograno (Monopoli)
A family-run masseria in the countryside outside Monopoli, surrounded by olive trees, and the closest of our picks to the trulli country of the Valle d’Itria. Our research turned up contradictory information here: one hotel guide describes two floodlit tennis courts, while a regional booking platform lists one tennis court and one padel court, and a UK tour operator lists a single court. It was not clear to us which applies, so confirm the number of courts, floodlighting and padel with the hotel before you book. One source adds that equipment is free and lessons are paid locally.
There is a large outdoor pool among the olive trees, the Petramare Spa with an indoor pool, Turkish bath and gym, and Mummulo restaurant for Mediterranean cooking. In summer a shuttle runs to the Le Tamerici beach club, about 8 kilometres away. A regional booking platform lists the hotel as open from 1 January to 31 December 2026; confirm with the hotel.
Best for: off-season trips and travellers who want a real masseria close to Monopoli and the Valle d’Itria.
Ethra Reserve Kalidria (Castellaneta Marina)
On the Ionian coast west of Taranto, Kalidria is the five-star hotel of the Ethra Reserve, a resort complex in the pine woods of the Stornara nature reserve, designed by the architect Emilio Ambasz. Tennis is offered, but the set-up needs explaining. Our research turned up contradictory information here: a regional booking platform lists seven tennis courts, a large booking site describes a single outdoor tennis court, and the operator explains that Kalidria guests use the sports facilities of the neighbouring Valentino and Calanè resorts in the same complex. It was not clear to us which applies, so confirm with the hotel how many courts you can book, the surface and whether lessons run during your stay. The operator has also added four panoramic padel courts across the Ethra Reserve.
Away from the courts there is the 3,500 square metre Ethra Thalasso Spa with its seawater pool, a private beach along the dunes, pools for children and kids clubs. For 2026 the hotel is listed as open from 14 April to 29 September, so it is a summer-only option.
Best for: families who want a big five-star beach resort with plenty of sport and a serious spa.
Check rates at Ethra Reserve Kalidria
Vivosa Apulia Resort (Ugento)
Down in Salento, near the Ionian beaches south of Gallipoli, Vivosa is a four-star superior eco-resort built from local tufo stone in the pine forest of the Litorale di Ugento regional park. It is large (around 300 rooms) and less polished than the masserie above, but strong on sport. There are tennis courts with a synthetic surface and padel courts, plus a tennis instructor; racquet hire is charged. Court numbers and floodlighting are not published, so ask the hotel.
The resort runs on a luxury all-inclusive plan, with buffet and à la carte restaurants, several pools including one with slides, the Vivosa Organic Spa (from age 18), kids and junior clubs, and a private sandy beach reached by a wooden walkway through the dunes. It is seasonal: a regional booking platform lists the 2026 season as roughly May to early October, but the date format was ambiguous, so confirm with the hotel.
Best for: active families who want tennis, padel and the beach without extra bills.
Check rates at Vivosa Apulia Resort
Masseria Le Mandorle (Ugento)
A small converted farmhouse near Ugento and the sister property of Castello di Ugento, Le Mandorle suits players who want a casual daily hit rather than a tennis week. Its own court doubles as a basketball and multi-sport field, and coaching can be arranged. Surface and lighting are not published, so ask the hotel. It is rated four stars on booking sites.
Expect an outdoor pool with a terrace, a rooftop hot tub, a hammam and massage room rather than a full spa, and a restaurant that cooks Salento’s cucina povera, with a wood-fired oven for pizza. Lecce is about 40 minutes away; minimum stay three nights. Opening dates are not published, so ask the hotel about spring and autumn.
Best for: couples and small families who want a quiet masseria in Salento with a court on the doorstep.
Check rates at Masseria Le Mandorle
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Heading south to Salento? Lecce is the natural base for the Baroque old town, the Ionian and Adriatic beaches and the resorts around Ugento.
Comparison table: tennis hotels in Puglia at a glance
| Hotel | Area | Tennis | Padel | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borgo Egnazia | Savelletri, Fasano coast | 3 courts, lessons, surface: ask the hotel | 3 courts | From mid-March, winter break |
| Masseria San Domenico | Savelletri, Fasano coast | 2 courts, surface: ask the hotel | Not advertised | April to early November |
| Il Melograno | Monopoli | 1 or 2 courts (sources differ) | Sources differ | Listed as all year |
| Ethra Reserve Kalidria | Castellaneta Marina, Ionian coast | Shared resort courts, number unclear | 4 courts in the complex | 14 April to 29 September 2026 |
| Vivosa Apulia Resort | Ugento, Salento | Synthetic courts, instructor | Yes | Roughly May to early October |
| Masseria Le Mandorle | Near Ugento, Salento | 1 multi-sport court, coaching on request | Not advertised | Ask the hotel |
“Not advertised” means we found no padel court listed by the hotel or booking platforms at the time of writing.
Where else to play tennis in Puglia
Few Puglia clubs publish visitor policies in English, so your concierge is your best route to a court.
- Taranto: the new Magna Grecia Tennis Center has eight courts and was a central venue for the Mediterranean Games, held in Taranto from 21 August to 3 September 2026. We found no announcement on public access after the Games, so ask locally before you go.
- The Valle d’Itria: we could not confirm a luxury hotel with its own court in Alberobello, Locorotondo or Cisternino, so stay on the coast and drive up.
- Lecce and Salento: if your hotel has no court, ask reception to book one at a local club. Bring your own racquet, as hire is not guaranteed.
Comparing regions? Sicily has a full resort tennis academy at Verdura, covered in our guide to tennis hotels in Sicily, and our guide to tennis hotels on the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento works well if you are pairing Puglia with Naples. For clay in cooler summer temperatures, see tennis hotels on Lake Garda or tennis hotels in Tuscany.
Hotels we looked at but did not include
Rocco Forte Masseria Torre Maizza has a 9-hole executive golf course but advertises no tennis. For Masseria Torre Coccaro and Canne Bianche, one booking platform lists a tennis court, while the hotels’ own descriptions and other platforms do not; it was not clear to us which applies, so we left them out. The same goes for Palazzo Ducale Venturi near Otranto. Masseria Cimino, Baglioni Masseria Muzza, Masseria Le Carrube and Don Ferrante in Monopoli are lovely hotels but have no court of their own. If setting matters more than sport, read our reviews of Palazzo Daniele and Masseria Li Reni.
When to play tennis in Puglia
- April to June: the best window. Mornings are fresh, courts are easy to book and most coastal hotels have reopened.
- July and August: temperatures regularly pass 30°C and Puglia fills with Italian holidaymakers. Play before 9am or after 6pm, and confirm floodlights if you want evening tennis.
- September to mid-October: my favourite time. The sea is still warm, the light is golden and resorts are calmer after the first week of September.
- November to March: most beach resorts close, including Masseria San Domenico, Kalidria and Vivosa, and Borgo Egnazia takes a winter break. Il Melograno is the exception on our list.
Charlotte’s tip: email before you book
Puglia’s hotels are generous hosts but vague about their courts. Email three questions before booking: what surface, are the courts floodlit, and is a coach available on your dates. Flying into Bari or Brindisi? Our Italy travel planner covers transfers and car hire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which hotel in Puglia is best for tennis?
Borgo Egnazia in Savelletri di Fasano, with three tennis courts, three padel courts, complimentary racquet hire and private lessons.
Do Puglia tennis hotels have clay courts?
Most hotels on this list do not publish their court surface. The one confirmed surface is synthetic, at Vivosa Apulia Resort. Ask the hotel directly if you need clay.
Can I play tennis in Puglia in winter?
It is possible but limited. Most coastal resorts close from around November to March. Il Melograno near Monopoli is listed as open all year in 2026, and mild winter days are playable.
Is padel available at Puglia hotels?
Yes, increasingly. Borgo Egnazia has three padel courts, the Ethra Reserve complex at Castellaneta Marina has four, and Vivosa Apulia Resort also has padel. Book early in summer, as courts fill quickly.
Planning more tennis and travel in Italy?
