I sized up my opponent across the net. He stood back, playfully holding his racquet in his non-dominant hand to give me a handicap. We’d begun with some respectable rallies, but the spectators’ cheers had ramped up my nerves. Suddenly every ball I swung at seemed magnetically drawn into the net. Empathetically, he broke the rules and shouted, “One more,” giving me a chance at redemption.
The generous do-over made the moment feel even more surreal. I was playing against the world No. 1 men’s player, Carlos Alcaraz, at a clinic for amateurs—an opportunity to face a champion. After three more “one mores,” I couldn’t take advantage and offered to call the game.
Back on the sidelines, I tried to catch my breath while the other five players rotated through their turns. All I could focus on was that the 22-year-old Spaniard looked exactly like he does on TV: head-to-toe Nike, a Babolat in hand, dismantling shots with effortless ease. Meanwhile I felt like a high-school team reject in a Target tennis skirt.
For die-hard tennis fans, playing a champion like Alcaraz is no longer just a dream.
COMO Parrot Cay / LUX Tennis
Part of the surrealism was the setting. We were vacationing in the Turks & Caicos Islands at COMO Parrot Cay, a 1,000-acre private-island resort that defines barefoot luxury with 72 keys across airy rooms, suites, and beach villas with private pools. If I wasn’t relaxed, it wasn’t for lack of an extraordinary backdrop.
COMO Parrot Cay is the very definition of barefoot luxury with a great beach, sublime food, and fabulous spa.
COMO Parrot Cay
The clinic was a partnership between the resort’s COMO Journeys program and LUX Tennis, which offers coaching at luxury hotels around the world. At this location, Alcaraz spent the afternoon hitting with 18 fans across three half-hour clinics, then hosted a sunset meet-and-greet at a private villa with 30 guests. Announced only a month earlier, the event sold out in four days, drawing a mostly 35-and-older crowd flying in from the northeastern U.S. and Canada, according to resort managing director Tapa Tibble.
“In recent years, we have noticed a clear shift in luxury travel,” LUX Tennis founder and CEO Joan Soler told Traveler. “Guests are no longer satisfied with just beautiful surroundings—they crave immersive, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, like direct interaction with sports icons and authentic, behind-the-scenes access.”
LUX Tennis now hosts about 30 events a year, stretching beyond tennis to padel and more recently, pickleball.
COMO Parrot Cay
LUX Tennis launched its LT Star Events in 2021 with ambassadors such as David Ferrer and Martina Hingis, and has since expanded the concept to roughly 30 events annually. The model pairs each luxury property with a player—past matches included Iga Swiatek at One&Only Le Saint Géran in Mauritius, Alexander Zverev at Patina Maldives, Daniil Medvedev at One&Only Reethi Rah, and Frances Tiafoe at One&Only Palmilla—each giving guests intimate time with top professionals.
For athletes, the appeal varies. In Alcaraz’s case, the timing fit: a break in his schedule before exhibitions in New Jersey and Florida left an opening for a Caribbean escape that offered both respite and proximity.
“[In] the past few years, I’ve discovered how important it is to take time to reset, especially somewhere warm with a beach,” Alcaraz told me, citing Spain, Miami, and the Caribbean among his favorites. “Anywhere sunny where I can slow down for a moment. There is nothing more relaxing than that.”
Having already hosted clinics with him at One&Only Palmilla and Abama Resort Tenerife, LUX Tennis invited Alcaraz and about 10 friends to COMO Parrot Cay, where he spent days swimming, boating, fishing, and playing beach volleyball away from prying crowds.
Opened in 1998, this was one of the first properties for the wellness-focused COMO brand.
COMO Parrot Cay
This was a hotel that puts the easy-breezy back into beach life.
COMO Parrot Cay
“We travel so much, the hotel really becomes a temporary home,” Alcaraz said. For him, a good gym, reliable room service, a comfortable bed, and blackout curtains matter—“good sleep makes all the difference.” He appreciates other sports amenities too, like a basketball court, which are “always a nice bonus to unwind and disconnect.”
Outside the scheduled sessions, guests mostly respected each other’s privacy and enjoyed the resort. Some spotted Alcaraz on fast-paced morning runs, others at the gym. Yet he was comfortable enough to dine in the resort’s restaurants alongside other guests rather than seclude himself in a villa. I didn’t realize he was at the next table at the Italian restaurant Terrace until he stood, waved, and left.
The high-school team-team reject and the World No. 1 player.
COMO Parrot Cay / LUX Tennis
LUX Tennis is far from the only organizer of star-studded getaways. Days before Alcaraz’s visit, Novak Djokovic was in Turks and Caicos at Amanyara for a wellness retreat tied to his partnership with Aman. The following week John McEnroe hosted the Baha Mar Cup in the Bahamas, attended by names like James Blake, Jessica Pegula, Tommy Paul, and Victoria Azarenka, which likewise included VIP clinics.
Vacationing with the stars can seem as glossy as Instagram makes it out to be, but these programs also deflate parasocial distance—reminding guests that athletes want the same simple pleasures: calm, privacy, and a place to reset.
As our session wrapped, we were called to pose for a professional photo with Alcaraz. “Thank you for dealing with this remedial student,” I said, trying to hide the sweat. He broke into his trademark ear-to-ear grin and, pulling me into the frame, said with heartfelt kindness, “It was my pleasure!”
