The popularity of pickleball — a hybrid of paddleball and tennis that’s less physically demanding than either but still packs plenty of competition — has been well-documented. An estimated 36.5 million Americans played pickleball between August 2021 and August 2022, according to the 2023 APP Pickleball Participation Report, representing growth of 39.3 percent in just two years.
And Caribbean resorts have taken notice. In a region where tennis has long dominated in paddle sports—the only Rafael Nadal tennis academy outside Mallorca is here, and people even play tennis on the beach—a growing number of resorts are adding pickleball courts or (more to the chagrin of tennis players) converting tennis courts to pickleball courts or making their existing courts dual-use for both sports.
Whether you’re an experienced “pickler” or are interested in trying out this fast-growing sport, these resorts have some of the top pickleball programs and facilities in the Caribbean.
Pineapple Beach Club, Antigua Elite Island Resorts has been at the forefront of the growth in Caribbean pickleball, and the company’s adults-only beach resort in Antigua has an impressive pickleball offering anchored by six courts designed by top firm Agile Courts.
This luxury all-inclusive, adults-only resort on Antigua’s north coast added a pair of USA Pickleball regulation pickleball courts in 2021 — the first on the island. Part of the Elite Island Resorts chain, Hammock Cove has 42 guest villas with individual plunge pools.
This legendary luxury resort on Antigua offers pickelball alongside a long list of included activities for guests, such as tennis, squash, bocce, shuffleboard, and basketball.
Another Elite Island Resorts property on Antigua, the St. James Club followed Hammock Cove’s lead and installed two pickleball courts to go alongside (but not in place of) its excellent tennis center, which has four lighted hard courts.
The Four Seasons Nevis has a long history of being one of the top tennis resorts in the Caribbean, and has now added pickleball to its mix of activities. The resort’s Troon Peter Burwash International tennis center now has four standalone pickleball courts and offers instruction in the sport, as well.
The Racquet Club at Baha Mar has added two pickleball courts to its six professional tennis hard courts, two Har-Tru clay courts, and one grass court, all of which fall under the aegis of the Cliff Drysdale Tennis program.
H2O Life.Style.Resort, Turks and Caicos
This 25-suite boutique resort on Providenciales’ Long Bay beach has a combination pickleball/basketball court to go alongside its single tennis court and other amenities like rooftop yoga and a 24-hour fitness center.
Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach, Bahamas
Pickleball is now part of the all-inclusive offerings at this Grand Bahama Island resort, which also features activities like sailing, paintball, paddleboarding, flying trapeze, and tennis. The resort has four pickleball courts.
Margaritaville Island Reserve Cap Cana
Opened in early 2022, this luxury resort in the Dominican Republic included pickleball from the ground up, debuting with both tennis and pickleball courts as part of its Sports Hub.
Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club
A 2022 renovation of this Rendezvous Bay hotel added pickleball classes and lessons to an extensive list of activities at the resort’s Entertainment Center, which also has tennis, basketball, bocce, and Anguilla’s only golf course.
Club Med is a pickleball pioneer, installing pickle ball courts at several of its all-inclusive resorts including the Club Med La Caravelle in Guadeloupe and Club Med Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic in the 2010s. The Club Med Turkoise in Turks & Caicos added 10 pickleball courts in 2021, which might be the most at any Caribbean resort.