The first Pickleball club in a resort complex in Spain will be on the Costa del Sol.

The Costa del Sol will host the first Pickleball club in a resort in Spain following a partnership between Holiday World Resort and Pickleball Europe to manage the four professional courts, which have already begun construction on the terrace of La Cabaña restaurant at Holiday World Beach Club. They are expected to be operational by next December for the practice of this paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, played on a smaller court than tennis, using a rigid paddle and a perforated plastic ball.

Mari Francis Peñarroya, General Manager of Holiday World Resort, is convinced that "Pickleball Europe is the best partner for this new project due to their track record in this sport. Today, they are one of the clubs managing the most courts in Andalusia, to which those at Holiday World Resort will now be added." He anticipates that "together we aspire to become the benchmark in the area. The experience of our new partner in promoting and disseminating pickleball, combined with our unbeatable location and the wide variety of quality services we offer at the resort, makes us confident in our great success."

The new partners recall that pickleball has grown exponentially over the last five years worldwide. Moreover, according to the World Pickleball Federation, this sport is now present in more than 70 countries, with significant growth in Europe, where it already has over one million players and more than 70,000 courts. They warn that "tourism associated with this sports discipline is growing rapidly, driven by the popularity of this sport around the world. In the United States alone, it is estimated that there are 8.9 million travelers related to this activity." In this regard, they consider the Costa del Sol, with its privileged climate and international air connectivity, as an ideal destination for hosting this type of active tourism.

The latest data published by Growth Market Reports estimate the revenue from this tourism at 1.470 billion dollars in 2024, with a projection towards 2033 that shows growth to 4.250 billion dollars driven by North American sports tourism. In the case of Spain, they point out that it already has more than 20,000 players and is regulated by the Pickleball Committee of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET).

Juan Luis Cebrián, co-founder of Pickleball Europe, who attended the signing of the agreement along with Miguel Aróstegui, asserts that "since we started our journey in 2022, we have seen how pickleball continues to grow worldwide, but undoubtedly the most exponential growth across Europe is happening in Spain, and the team at Pickleball Europe is proud to have been part of it." Cebrián states that the opening of these new facilities at Holiday World Beach Club marks a new phase, which he describes as "wonderful. We have the best travel partner possible, and their more than 20 years of experience support this."

It is important to note that Holiday World, the largest all-inclusive vacation resort on the Costa del Sol, is a benchmark in sports tourism in the area. The complex hosts a significant volume of professional and amateur sports groups each year, in disciplines as varied as basketball, soccer, hockey, rugby, cycling, judo, and volleyball, among others. "This business segment already generates almost 5% of the resort's total revenue, and is mainly concentrated in the months before and after the tourist season, making it a fundamental element in the strategy of deseasonalization," they specify.