Croatia is a small country with an outsized tennis record, and it shows the moment you arrive on the coast. Red clay courts sit behind pine trees in Istria, next to campsites in Dalmatia and inside hotel grounds on the islands, and the summer calendar includes an ATP tournament that has been played in Umag since 1990. For travellers who know the clay courts of Italy, Croatia is the natural next step across the Adriatic: the same surface, a similar club culture and a superb coastline. Here is where to base a tennis holiday, what to watch, where to play and when to go.
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The country’s results speak for themselves. Iva Majoli won the French Open in 1997, Goran Ivanišević won Wimbledon in 2001 as a wildcard, and Marin Čilić won the US Open in 2014. Croatia has also won the Davis Cup twice, in 2005 and 2018. It explains why tennis is woven into Croatian summer life rather than bolted on for tourists.
Quick answer: tennis in Croatia at a glance
- Best base for tennis: Umag in Istria, home of the Croatia Open and a large clay court complex at Katoro and Stella Maris.
- Big tournament: the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, an ATP 250 on clay, played 13 to 18 July in 2026.
- Other events: the WTA 125 Makarska Open (June), ATP Challengers in Zadar, Split and Zagreb, and an ITF women’s event in Bol.
- Surface: overwhelmingly clay; pack clay or all-court shoes.
- Best months: May, June and September; play early or late in July and August.
- Currency: the euro, so court fees and hotel bills will feel familiar if you are coming from Italy.
This page is the starting point for our Croatia tennis guides. For the tournament and the courts in Istria, read Umag and the Croatia Open; for resorts with their own courts, see tennis hotels in Croatia; and if you are comparing with the other side of the sea, our hub on luxury hotels with tennis courts in Italy covers the Italian options.
Check prices and availability
Umag is built around clay courts, and tournament week books up early. Reserve well ahead if you want to stay near the stadium in July.
The best regions for a tennis holiday
Istria and Umag
Istria is the most complete tennis region in Croatia. Umag, on the northwest tip of the peninsula, is built around tennis in a way few Mediterranean towns are. Plava Laguna, the company behind the tournament, lists 113 tennis courts across its properties in Istria, and the Umag Tennis Academy at Katoro is a dedicated complex with changing rooms, a shop and a restaurant. The tournament stadium sits a short distance away at Stella Maris, right by the sea.
Istria is also the easiest region to reach from Italy. Trieste airport is a short drive from Umag, and Venice is a realistic drive, which makes a few days of tennis in Umag an easy add-on to a stay in the Veneto or Friuli. Between sessions you have Rovinj, the hill towns of Motovun and Grožnjan, and Istrian Malvazija: our Rovinj and Istria guide covers the rest of the peninsula.
Kvarner
Kvarner, the gulf around Rijeka, Opatija and the islands of Krk, Cres and Lošinj, is the quieter choice. Opatija was a Habsburg resort long before it was a beach destination. Tennis here is more about a court at your hotel or a local club than a dedicated tennis centre, so check facilities hotel by hotel. The Opatija and Kvarner Riviera guide is the place to start.
Dalmatia: Split, Makarska and Brač
Central Dalmatia combines a proper tennis infrastructure with the islands. Split has clubs that host an ATP Challenger each spring, Makarska’s tennis centre hosts a WTA 125 event, and Bol on Brač has a long history of women’s professional tennis, with a large clay court complex beside the Bluesun Elaphusa hotel. It suits players who want to mix tennis with island hopping.
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a city break first and a tennis destination second, but there are courts in and around the city, at clubs and at some of the larger hotels in Lapad and Babin Kuk. Our guide to where to play tennis in Dubrovnik and Split lists the venues that accept visitors.
Tournaments for spectators in 2026
Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. The headline event is an ATP 250 on outdoor clay, played in 2026 from 13 to 18 July, with qualifying on 11 and 12 July, according to the ATP Tour. It has been held in Umag since 1990, and the centre court is the ATP Stadium Goran Ivanišević at Stella Maris. The ATP lists Carlos Moyá as the player with the most titles in Umag (five), Carlos Alcaraz as the youngest champion (2021, aged 18), and Marin Čilić (2012) as the last Croatian winner. The tournament website gives the centre court a capacity of 4,032 spectators. In 2026 the singles title went to Daniel Mérida.
Makarska Open. A WTA 125 tournament on clay at the Tennis Center Makarska, played 2 to 7 June in 2026. Makarska is an easy day trip from Split.
ATP Challengers. Croatia hosts several Challenger events on clay, which are excellent value for spectators: the Zadar Open (16 to 22 March 2026), the Split Open (23 to 29 March 2026) and the Zagreb Open (11 to 16 May 2026), which also includes an ITF women’s event.
Bol. Bol on Brač hosted WTA tournaments for years, including a WTA 125 in 2021. In 2026 Bol hosted two back-to-back W35 events (an ITF World Tennis Tour level) on clay, from 18 to 24 May and from 25 to 31 May.
| Event | Town | Level | 2026 dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zadar Open | Zadar | ATP Challenger, clay | 16 to 22 March |
| Split Open | Split | ATP Challenger, clay | 23 to 29 March |
| Zagreb Open | Zagreb | ATP Challenger and ITF women, clay | 11 to 16 May |
| Bol | Bol (Brač) | ITF W35 (two events), clay | 18 to 31 May |
| Makarska Open | Makarska | WTA 125, clay | 2 to 7 June |
| Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag | Umag | ATP 250, clay | 13 to 18 July |
All of the 2026 events have now been played. Dates for 2027 had not been confirmed when we checked, but the calendar has followed a similar rhythm in recent years, so use the table as a planning guide and confirm on the ATP, WTA or tournament sites before you book.
Clubs and courts that accept visitors
Much Croatian tennis happens at clubs (teniski klub, shortened to TK), but the coast also has large tourist tennis centres, run by hotel groups, that rent courts by the hour. That makes Croatia easy for a visiting player.
- Umag: the Umag Tennis Academy at Katoro and the courts around the Stella Maris stadium are the obvious choice. Court counts differ between sources: Plava Laguna’s tennis page describes a 20-court complex, while its own hotel page lists 26 courts (25 clay, one hard, four of them covered). Our research could not settle this, so treat the exact figure as approximate. The Istrian tourist board lists further courts at Punta and at the town stadium.
- Split and Dubrovnik: city clubs and hotel courts, with access rules that vary by venue. The details, including how non-members book, are in our Dubrovnik and Split court guide.
- Makarska and Bol: both have tournament-grade clay complexes. Ask at the tennis centre reception about hourly hire and coaching.
Bring clay or all-court shoes with a herringbone sole.
Tennis hotels: an overview
Our full guide to tennis hotels in Croatia compares the options in detail. These four give a sense of the range.
Adriatic Istria Resort, Savudrija
The former Kempinski Hotel Adriatic, a few minutes north of Umag on the coast at Savudrija. Minor Hotels took over management in February 2026, and the resort operates in 2026 under the Adriatic Istria Resort name before a planned refurbishment and relaunch as Anantara Adriatic Istria Resort in early 2027. It has 186 rooms and suites, tennis and padel courts, a large spa with indoor and outdoor pools, and an 18-hole golf course alongside. Ask the hotel how the refurbishment will affect stays and facilities, especially outside the summer season.
Best for: players who also golf, and anyone wanting a five-star base close to the Umag tournament.
Check rates at Adriatic Istria Resort
Hotel Pelegrin Plava Laguna (formerly Hotel Coral), Umag
A four-star, adults-only hotel at Katoro, just outside Umag, renamed Hotel Pelegrin Plava Laguna for the 2025 season after a full renovation (older listings still call it Meliá Coral or Hotel Coral), with the Umag Tennis Academy inside the same resort area. It has 244 rooms and six junior suites, an outdoor seawater pool, a heated indoor seawater pool, the Coral Spa (free for guests with a reservation) and a Blue Flag beach about 50 metres away. Court hire and coaching are charged separately.
Best for: couples on a serious tennis week who want courts on the doorstep.
Check rates at Hotel Pelegrin Plava Laguna
Bluesun Hotel Elaphusa, Bol
A four-star resort hotel on Brač, a short walk from the Zlatni Rat beach and Bol town, with a large clay tennis centre next door that has hosted professional women’s tournaments. Sources differ on the number of courts (we found both 21 and 26 quoted), so ask the hotel. There are indoor and outdoor seawater pools and a thalasso wellness centre. Ask the hotel about its 2026 season dates.
Best for: families and groups combining tennis with island beaches.
Check rates at Bluesun Hotel Elaphusa
Le Méridien Lav, Podstrana
A large seafront resort in Podstrana, south of Split, with around 800 metres of pebble beach, indoor, outdoor and infinity pools, a big spa and a marina. Tennis courts are listed among its facilities; confirm current court availability and booking with the hotel before you travel. It is a convenient base for the Split Challenger and for day trips to Makarska.
Best for: combining Split, the islands and some tennis in one stay.
Check rates at Le Méridien Lav
Check prices and availability
Staying in Umag puts you within reach of dozens of clay courts, the tournament stadium and the Istrian hill towns. Compare hotels across the town and the Katoro area.
Padel in Croatia
Padel has followed the same path in Croatia as in Italy: it started at a handful of clubs and is now appearing at resorts and city sports centres. The Adriatic Istria Resort in Savudrija, for example, lists padel alongside tennis. Coverage is still patchier than in Italy or Spain, so if padel matters to you, check whether your hotel or the nearest club has courts before you pack the bat.
Best months, heat and clay
Croatian summers are hot, and clay holds the heat. The most comfortable months for a tennis holiday are May, June and September, with late April and early October also good in Istria and Dalmatia if you accept some risk of rain. In July and August, book courts for early morning or after about 6pm, drink more than you think you need, and use floodlit courts where available.
Many outdoor tourist courts are seasonal. The Istrian tourist board has listed the outdoor centres at Punta and Stella Maris as open from March to October, while covered courts at Katoro operate year round; check current dates with the centre.
How booking works
Booking is often simpler than at Italian circoli, because the big tourist centres are set up for visitors. There are four routes:
- Walk up or call: the large centres in Umag, Bol and Makarska have reception desks; a phone call or email the day before is usually enough outside peak weeks.
- Through your hotel: resort hotels with their own courts book for guests, sometimes including court time in packages.
- Booking apps: some clubs, especially for padel, take bookings through apps such as Playtomic, but many still do not. Ask the venue how it prefers to be booked.
- Tennis camps: European tour operators sell tennis weeks in Umag and Bol that bundle hotel, courts and coaching.
Court fees are paid in euros; ask whether a venue takes cards, and keep some cash for smaller clubs. If you are travelling from Italy, the seasonal ferries and catamarans across the Adriatic make it easy to carry kit: our guide to Italy to Croatia by boat covers the crossings.
Watching the Croatia Open: practical notes
Evening sessions are the most atmospheric and, in July heat, the most comfortable. Buy tickets through the official tournament site, and book accommodation early, since players, teams and fans fill the town. If you want to play during tournament week, reserve your court time in advance and ask whether any courts are set aside for player practice. The full ticketing and seating guide is in our article on Umag and the Croatia Open.
Charlotte’s tip: pair Umag with Trieste
Fly into Trieste rather than a Croatian airport for a tennis week in Istria. The drive to Umag is short, you can spend a night in Trieste on the way in or out, and the Italian and Croatian sides of the Gulf feel like one long holiday.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Croatia Open in Umag?
In 2026 it ran from 13 to 18 July, with qualifying on 11 and 12 July. It is usually held in July; check the official tournament site for 2027 dates.
Are tennis courts in Croatia mostly clay?
Yes. Clay dominates on the coast, with some hard and covered courts at the larger centres. Bring clay or all-court shoes.
Can visitors play without staying at a tennis hotel?
Yes. The big tennis centres in Umag, Bol and Makarska rent courts by the hour, and many clubs in Split and Dubrovnik accept visitors. Booking ahead is wise in July and August.
What is the best month for a tennis holiday in Croatia?
June and September offer the best balance of warm weather, open courts and manageable crowds. May is also good, especially in Dalmatia.
Planning more tennis in Croatia and Italy?
