Sicily is not the first island most people pack a racquet for. That is its charm: quieter courts than on Lake Como, golden evening light, and a handful of excellent resorts that have invested properly in tennis. This guide covers the hotels where you can walk from your room to your own court, the clubs that welcome visitors, and the months when playing here is a pleasure rather than an endurance test.
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Quick answer: the best tennis hotels in Sicily
- Best overall: Verdura Resort, Sciacca, with six red clay courts and a full tennis academy.
- Best city stay: Villa Igiea, Palermo, a single court above the bay with private coaching.
- Best for families: Mangia’s Brucoli, near Syracuse, with six tennis courts, two padel courts and a kids club.
- Best for a quiet escape: Capofaro, Salina, a vineyard hideaway with a hard court.
- Best near Cefalù: Mangia’s Pollina Resort, four tennis courts and two padel courts on a pine headland.
If you are building a wider Italian trip around the game, our hub on the best luxury hotels with tennis courts in Italy compares Sicily with Tuscany, Lake Garda and the Amalfi Coast.
Check prices and availability
Sicily’s resort hotels fill quickly for May, June and September, the best months for tennis. Compare rates early if you have fixed dates.
The best luxury hotels in Sicily with their own tennis courts
Every hotel below has tennis on its own grounds. Where surface or floodlighting could not be confirmed, ask the hotel before booking.
Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte Hotel (Sciacca)
On the southwest coast between Agrigento and Sciacca, Verdura is the one Sicilian resort that treats tennis as a headline act rather than an amenity. The Tennis Club has six clay courts, all floodlit, so you can play long after the heat of the day has gone. The Verdura Tennis Academy runs private and group lessons, camps and tournaments for every level, and the resort regularly invites former professionals for its “Academies with the Stars” sessions. A dedicated coaching package bundles three one-hour lessons with unlimited court time. There are also two padel courts and a pickleball court.
Read our full review: Verdura Resort review
Away from the baseline, Verdura has 45 holes of golf, around two kilometres of private coastline and the Irene Forte Spa with four thalassotherapy pools.
Best for: serious players, couples who split time between tennis and golf, and anyone who wants coaching rather than just a court.
Charlotte’s tip: book the floodlights, not the morning
At Verdura, skip the 10am slot entirely in summer. Take an early lesson at 8am, spend the middle of the day at the spa or on the beach, then reserve a floodlit court for after dinner. Clay under lights with a sea breeze is Sicilian tennis at its best. If golf is also on your list, our guide to golf in Sicily at Verdura and Il Picciolo covers the courses.
Villa Igiea, a Rocco Forte Hotel (Palermo)
Villa Igiea is a grand Liberty-style palace on the edge of Palermo, set in terraced gardens above its own small harbour. It has one outdoor tennis court, positioned with views over the Gulf of Palermo, which guests can book from sunrise to sunset. The concierge arranges private and group lessons with professional coaches, plus cardio tennis sessions. The surface is not published, so ask the hotel if you have a preference.
Read our full review: Rocco Forte Villa Igiea review
Off court there is an outdoor pool with its own restaurant, an Irene Forte Spa, boat trips from the harbour and a free shuttle to the historic centre. Play an early set and be inside a Baroque church by eleven.
Best for: city breaks with daily exercise, and players who want one or two hits per stay rather than a tennis holiday. See our guide on where to stay in Palermo for the wider picture.
Mangia’s Brucoli, Sicily, Autograph Collection (Brucoli, near Syracuse)
Reborn as a five-star resort after a major renovation in 2023, Mangia’s Brucoli sits on a sheltered inlet on the east coast, roughly 40 kilometres from Catania airport. For tennis it is arguably one of the best-equipped properties in eastern Sicily: six tennis courts and two padel courts, run with the resort’s partner academy, Sunball Tennis & Padel Academy, which offers individual, partner and group lessons, junior coaching and singles and doubles tournaments. Babolat racquets are available to hire or buy. Surface and floodlighting are not stated, so ask the hotel.
Read our full review: Mangia’s Brucoli review
The resort is large (around 400 rooms) and built for families, with three outdoor pools including an adults-only one, a complimentary kids club, a five-a-side pitch and a basketball court. It operates seasonally, with the pools closed from early November to mid-April.
Best for: families and groups who want lots of courts and structured coaching, within easy reach of Ortigia. Our guide on where to stay in Ortigia and Syracuse has more options in the area.
Check rates at Mangia’s Brucoli
Almar Giardino di Costanza Resort and Spa (Mazara del Vallo)
Formerly a Kempinski, this five-star country resort sits among vineyards and olive groves inland from Mazara del Vallo in the far west. It has around 90 rooms, and several sources describe tennis as included for guests, which would be a pleasant change from resorts that charge by the hour. The hotel does not publish court numbers, surface or lighting, so ask before you travel if tennis is the priority.
Read our full review: Almar Giardino di Costanza review
The appeal here is calm: indoor and outdoor pools, the Almablu Day Spa, and a private beach club reached by complimentary shuttle.
Best for: a quiet rural base in western Sicily with tennis on site.
Check rates at Almar Giardino di Costanza
Capofaro Resort (Malfa, Salina)
A Relais & Châteaux hideaway wrapped around a working lighthouse and a six-hectare Malvasia vineyard on Salina, the greenest of the Aeolian Islands. Booking sites and older listings mention a hard tennis court and a padel court on the grounds, but the current official website mentions neither. Tasca d’Almerita sold the hotel to the Licitra family after the 2024 season (Tasca keeps the vineyards and wines), and our research could not confirm whether the courts are still in use, so ask the hotel before you book.
Read our full review: Capofaro Resort review
The rest of the stay is wine, sea and silence: a freshwater pool, massages and yoga, a restaurant led by chef Matteo Manco and boat days to Panarea and Stromboli. The season runs from about mid-April to late October.
Best for: couples who want a hit before breakfast and a glass of Malvasia at sunset. Read our guide on where to stay in the Aeolian Islands to plan the rest of your island hopping.
Mangia’s Pollina Resort (Pollina, near Cefalù)
Set on a pine-covered headland about 15 minutes east of Cefalù, Pollina is the sister to Brucoli on the north coast. It is a four-star resort rather than a five, but the sports offer is strong: four tennis courts and two padel courts, coached by the same partner academy with private and group lessons, junior sessions, tournaments and racquet hire. One German tour operator lists the courts as hard courts, which the resort itself does not state, and floodlights are not confirmed, so check with the hotel.
Read our full review: Mangia’s Pollina review
Beyond the courts there is a beach bar, a gym, five-a-side football, a kids club and a teen club.
Best for: active families on the north coast who want plenty of court time without five-star prices.
Check rates at Mangia’s Pollina Resort
UNAHOTELS Naxos Beach Sicilia (Giardini Naxos, below Taormina)
Taormina’s cliffside hotels have little room for courts, so the practical option is this four-star beach resort in Giardini Naxos, a short drive below the town. It has floodlit tennis and padel courts, four outdoor pools including two for children, children’s pools and a private beach. The 2026 factsheet lists one floodlit tennis court and two floodlit padel courts (one tour operator mentions two tennis courts); the surface is not published, so ask the hotel, and note that sports and entertainment run roughly from late May to mid-September.
Read our full review: UNAHOTELS Naxos Beach review
It is less polished than the other hotels here, but it solves a real problem: staying near Taormina and playing daily. Otherwise see the clubs below and our guide on where to stay in Taormina.
Best for: Taormina-area stays where daily tennis matters more than five-star finish.
Check rates at UNAHOTELS Naxos Beach
Check prices and availability
Prefer a city base and a club court? Palermo is the easiest place in Sicily to combine culture, food and regular tennis.
Comparison table: tennis hotels in Sicily at a glance
| Hotel | Area | Courts and surface | Extra sports | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdura Resort | Sciacca, southwest | 6 clay, floodlit, academy | Padel, pickleball, 45 holes of golf | Serious players |
| Villa Igiea | Palermo | 1 outdoor, surface: ask the hotel | Cardio tennis, boat trips | City and sport |
| Mangia’s Brucoli | Brucoli, east coast | 6 courts, surface: ask the hotel | 2 padel, football, basketball | Families |
| Almar Giardino di Costanza | Mazara del Vallo, west | Included for guests, details: ask the hotel | Spa, beach club | Quiet countryside |
| Capofaro Resort | Salina, Aeolians | 1 hard court | Padel, yoga, boat trips | Couples |
| Mangia’s Pollina Resort | Near Cefalù, north coast | 4 courts, surface: ask the hotel | 2 padel, football | Active families |
| UNAHOTELS Naxos Beach | Giardini Naxos, near Taormina | Floodlit courts, surface: ask the hotel | Padel, water sports | Taormina area |
Tennis clubs in Sicily where visitors can play
If your hotel has no court, a local club is often the better experience anyway. Policies for non-members change, so ask your concierge to call ahead.
- Taormina: the tennis section of the Taormina Sporting Club, founded in 1925, has three clay courts inside the Parco Duca di Cesarò public gardens, a short walk from Corso Umberto. Visitors can book a court, hire a racquet and take lessons with the club instructor. Summer hours run from 8am to noon and 4pm to 9pm, which tells you everything about when to play.
- Palermo: the Circolo del Tennis Palermo on Viale del Fante, at the edge of the Parco della Favorita, celebrates its centenary in 2026. It has clay and synthetic courts, a covered court and padel. It is a members’ club, so access for visitors is not guaranteed: ask your hotel to enquire.
- Syracuse: the Tennis Club Siracusa on Viale Santa Panagia, north of the centre, is the city’s established club. Court numbers and guest rules are not published, so call ahead or ask your hotel.
For Taormina itself, our piece on why Taormina keeps you coming back covers the town’s sporty side alongside its wine and boats.
When to play tennis in Sicily
Sicily’s tennis calendar is shaped by heat rather than rain.
- April to June: the sweet spot. Warm, bright and green, with courts easy to book.
- July and August: temperatures routinely pass 30°C and the sirocco can push them much higher. Play before 9am or after 6pm, choose floodlit courts, drink more than you think you need, and keep the middle of the day for the sea.
- September and October: my favourite months. The sea is warm and crowds thin out after mid-September.
- November to March: many beach resorts close, including Capofaro and the Mangia’s properties for at least part of the period. City hotels and clubs stay open, and mild days are playable in Palermo and Taormina.
Charlotte’s tip: pack for clay
Most Sicilian club courts are clay. Bring proper clay-court shoes rather than trainers. If you love clay by the water, compare Sicily with our guide to the best tennis courts on Lake Como, where summer mornings are noticeably cooler.
Hotels we looked at but did not include
Il Picciolo Etna Golf Resort is excellent for golf but does not advertise tennis, and Donnafugata Golf Resort near Ragusa is closed for renovation, with a relaunch planned for 2027. Grand Hotel Minareto in Syracuse appears with a court on some booking sites, yet the hotel has pointed guests to courts a 15-minute drive away. If setting matters more than sport, our guide to the best luxury hotels in Sicily by region covers them in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which hotel in Sicily is best for tennis?
Verdura Resort near Sciacca, by a clear margin: six red clay courts, a resident academy, padel and pickleball.
Can I play tennis in Taormina without staying at a resort?
Yes. The Taormina Sporting Club has three clay courts in the Parco Duca di Cesarò, with racquet hire and an instructor available. Visitors can book a court directly.
Is it too hot to play tennis in Sicily in summer?
Not if you plan around the heat. In July and August play early in the morning or in the evening, ideally on floodlit courts. April to June and September to October are far more comfortable for daily play.
Do Sicilian tennis hotels also have padel?
Increasingly, yes. Verdura, Mangia’s Brucoli, Mangia’s Pollina, Capofaro and UNAHOTELS Naxos Beach all have padel courts on site, which makes them a good choice for mixed groups of players.
No court at your hotel? Our guide to where to play tennis in Sicily covers the clubs in Taormina, Palermo, Catania and Syracuse that take visitors.
