Last Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain successfully defended his title as the Wimbledon men’s singles champion in a rematch of last year’s final with Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The 21-year-old Spaniard made it abundantly clear that he was a force to be reckoned with, defeating Djokovic in straight sets, winning 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Alcaraz’s win means that he now has four Grand Slam titles under his belt, including a 2022 US Open title and a French Open victory from last month.
After the match, the current world number three told the media that he had dreamt of winning Wimbledon since the age of 11 or 12 and noted that “I’m living my dream, [but] I want to keep going.”
A similarly intense match was played during the Wimbledon women’s singles, which saw Barbara Krejčíková of the Czech Republic win her second Grand Slam title by triumphing over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
“It’s unreal what just happened,” the 28-year-old said to the media in a post-match interview. “The best day of my tennis career and the best day of my life.”
With such spectacular games, it is little wonder that tennis continues to be one of the most popular sports in the world. Macao has not been immune to tennis fever, having hosted both the MGM Macau Tennis Invitational and the Chinese Tennis Association Tour Professional Finals and National Tennis Championships late last year.
With so much going on in the world of tennis, there’s never been a better time to enrol in one of the classes below and brush up on those tweener shots. Perhaps you might surprise yourself and find you have what it takes to become Macao’s very own Roger Federer or Venus Williams.
Macao International Tennis Centre
Macao International Tennis Centre (MITC) offers all-inclusive tennis classes for students across every age group and skill levels, and says it imparts the necessary skills to them into proficient players.
The head instructor, Ram Raj speaks English and is an International Tennis Federation Level 2 coach who has a wealth of experience under his belt. He was involved with the Macao Tennis Association for five years, during which he collaborated with the Macao Team for the East Asian Games and built up their programs.
[See more: Macao will host the Chinese Tennis Association Tour Pro Finals in December]
MITC offers a broad range of class types, including individual, semi-individual, small group, adult and mini lessons. There is also a year-round tennis camp program that features intensive drilling, with an emphasis on tactical training, point play and match play. Classes are held in public tennis courts in Taipa, with price on application.
For further details, get in touch with Coach Ram by visiting his Facebook page.
Dream Star Tennis (夢想之星網球協會）
Dream Star Tennis is a tennis school that opened in the Red Market area in 2023 and is the first in Macao to offer indoor tennis lessons for children.
With nineteen years of tennis coaching experience, the founder of Dream Star Tennis, Ramson Cheong, was inspired to open up his own indoor tennis training centre after visiting different places, including Shanghai where he witnessed children being taught tennis in a range of ways, often in limited spaces.
[See more: Karen Khachanov triumphs at the ATP Zhuhai tennis championships]
Dream Star Tennis currently has a range of classes available, some of which are available in English. Children between the ages of 5 and 9 can register for the kids’ tennis and rope skipping classes (handy for improving fitness and footwork). The cost is 799 patacas for four classes. Meanwhile, 45-minute indoor tennis experience classes for children and adults, which cost 99 patacas and 198 patacas respectively, are available as well. The school is also currently offering a summer programme for kids between the ages of 3 and 12, which is scheduled from June to August.
Dream Star Tennis can be contacted here.
Macao Tennis Youth Academy (澳門少年網球學校)
Eighteen years after its establishment, the Macao Tennis Youth Academy remains one of the best places for children to receive tennis training in Macao.
The school is jointly organised by the Sports Bureau and the Macau Tennis Association and classes, which cost 150 patacas, are taught in a systematic manner by experienced coaches from the Tennis Association at Rua de Ténis in Cotai.
[See more: Here’s where to learn to swim in Macao]
However, there is one caveat – the school has a limited number of seats and can only afford to train the best of the best picked out through their annual Selection Day. The recruitment process for the 2024 classes has already ended, but the new round of selection for 2025 should begin at the end of this year or in early 2025.
Get updates about the academy’s future classes by checking out this page.
