Staged at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano, Marbella, the Andalusia Tennis Experience comes into the bracket of International Series of the (Women’s Tennis Association) WTA. The inaugural event of this women’s tennis tournament was held in 2009 and since then has created buzz around the tennis circuit.

The 2010 edition of the tournament is scheduled to be held in Marbella for the second consecutive year between 3^rd and 11^th April. This time, too, the tournament will bring some of world’s best players, including the reigning World Number 1 Serena Williams.

Besides, the Spanish Anabel Medina Garrigues, Maria Jose Martinez, Anabel Medina and last year’s runner-up Carla Suarez have confirmed their participation.

Players like Martinez, winner of 1994 Wimbledon tournament feels that Andalucía Tennis Experience is one of the best opportunity to see world-class tennis, and also to provide support to Spanish women tennis.

Earlier in the month, Mayoress Ángeles Muñoz had expressed her delight in holding the event and hosting some world-class players in the very stylish Marbella resort town. The Mayoress also stressed on the positive aspect of blending sports and tourism in promotion of city’s image.

The tournament director and former player Conchita Martinez is also expecting another successful event with greater enthusiasm from the locals. As the event is covered by national and international media, the nine-day long sporting extravaganza will also attract large international spectators.

The inaugural Andalucia Tennis Experience title was won by the Serbian Jelena Jankovic who beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the final.

Venue Location

The Club is located in the Costa del Sol region in the very heart of lovely Golden Mile. Just 35 minutes drive from the Malaga Airport, it is easily accessible by public transport, in addition to prepaid taxis and airport transfers.

Fast Facts

Prize Money: $220.000
Number of match days: 9 (From 03 to 11 April 2010)
Number of players Singles: 32
Number of players Doubles: 32 (16 pairs)
Players in wheelchair: 8
Courts: Four clay courts, and the capacity of the Centre Court is 2,500

For more information, you may visit the official website: www.andaluciatennis.com

The magnificent 18-hole par 72 golf course of the Rio Real Golf Club is situated in the heart of the city in a valley in between the Mediterranean Sea and Sierra Blanca Mountains. The golf course is a part of the Rio Real Golf Hotel which offers great accommodation and excellent facility amid an eye-catching natural beauty, spreading over a beautiful valley and crossed by the river Rio Real.

Designed by Javier Arana, the course opened for play in 1965 with wide fairways and surrounding bunkers. The layout is generally flat but there is a gradual inclination towards the sea. Over the years the course has undergone great improvements with long challenging greens with many trees.

Being one of the oldest golf courses and placed at a distance of just 3 km from the Marbella city centre and about 50 km from the Malaga Airport, Rio Real Golf Club is one of the preferred golfing courses amongst the tourists. Furthermore, the 6166-meter long course offers real challenge for all, starting from amateur to all levels.

Golf enthusiasts who want to play their game at different levels may find Rio Real Golf Club one of the best in Costa del Sol in a subtropical climate where temperature remains mild even during the winter, in doing so a perfect condition to play golf the year round.

While 4^th and 5^th holes are a gaze at the seashore, the par 3 sixth hole needs more accurate tee shot in order to avoid the hillside on the right. The 8th is protected by bunkers while the 10th, 11th and par 3 12th are surrounded by lake.

Furthermore, the presence of pine, palm and mimosa trees in the fairways make it quite a difficult shot for many professionals while judging the approaching distance over the ravines.

Golf Academy of Rio Real Golf Club

The academy of Rio Real Golf Club can really be helpful for those who want to learn a few lessons, or even for professional who are in practice of mastering any technique with the best available facilities.

Golf academy of Rio Real Golf Club, Marbella

Golfing lessons have been outlined for individuals, ranging from 30 minutes to one hour long class. 3D Biomechanical analysis, plasma monitor and interpreter of a particular shot, including swing and putt, are also in place to single out the exact error.

Facilities at Rio Real Golf Club

Rio Real Golf Club offers a wide range of facilities and services include: round the clock room service, restaurants, bars, Pro shop, Buggy hire, Hand Cart hire, driving range, medical assistance, airport transfer, corporate centre, etc.

So, just take a break from your usual busy schedule to experience the grandiosity of Rio Real Golf Club and Hotel with luxurious accommodation and picturesque views amid a perfect weather.

Contact Rio Real Golf Club

Urb. Rio Real S/n
29603 Marbella, Spain
Te. +34 952 765 732
rioreal.com‎

For reservation and query on golfing lessons, please contact the golf department of Rio Real Golf Club by telephone on +34 952 765 733 or simply send an e-mail to reservas@rioreal.com

Screenshot of Google map for Rio Real Golf Club

Malaga or Costa del Sol comes under the most populous part of Andalucia region and is regarded as the tourism capital of southern Spain. Of course, the main driving factor of its popularity is the excellent weather and a number of bustling cities and town famed for luxury beach resorts, scenic golf course, festooned with a typical Spanish way of life. In Malagaweb you will find some of the best travel and tourist information.

Visiting Malaga will be a treat for anyone with its plethora of travel options and varieties of activities such as beach life, historical tours, art museums, golfing vacations, shopping, cuisine, etc. There are a multitude of venues where you can relax and unwind whilst enjoying the luxury of a resort or taking time out in a small bar or café inside a Costa del Sol village.

Whether it is the luxurious resort town Marbella, the picturesque Marina Puerto Banus or the fertile valley of Estepona you will get the best of Southern Spain with some delicious local Spanish dishes, hospitality, along with stunning sea views and with a portrait of the age-old Andalucían history and tradition.

Described as a paradise on the Costa del Sol, Marbella offers you a superb chance get yourself lost in the natural beauty, sunny warm weather, the culture and a rich way of life that the town offers. The sun, sand and beach life might be the frontline tourist attractions but a tour to the Old Town or churches and monuments in Plaza de Los Naranjos, together provides you a time of your own.

If you are coming from any other country, Malaga airport is the ultimate starting point to begin your travel expedition. Regular domestic as well as international flights make it quite easy for holidaymakers to land here and then book a train, bus or taxi to move to the desired location with much ease. Frequent direct coach services are available from Malaga airport to Malaga bus station. The city is also well connected to other surrounding areas with public transport service.

Again, after arriving at the airport, you can opt for Malaga car rental service to book a taxi in advance to take you to your hotel or apartment. Considering the increasing number of tourist inflow during peak summer season, it is always recommended to hire a car before coming, in order to avoid long queue at the taxi or bus terminal. You can even compare prices of top rated car rental companies before reaching a deal.

Car hire services are available from the airport to all corners of the city at an affordable price, and the quality of service further makes it the best way to roam around for low cost. Moreover, if you are planning to move to the outskirts of Malaga or a coastal rural village in Marbella, public transport won’t be the best option due to the less frequency.

For more detailed information on Malaga weather, sightseeing, city guides, golf courses, entertainment options, recreational activities, or any other information related to transportation, accommodation and travel destinations, visit www.malagaweb.com .

Public transport in Spain is not as developed as in some other European countries, so some journeys without a car can be difficult to say the least! Rural villages away from the coast and not on railway line often only have one bus a day in and one out so journeys have to be planned with a great deal of attention to timing. Don’t spend to long in the restaurant or it’s an expensive cab journey for you!

However the really good news is that RENFE, the Spanish rail system, is about as far removed from the British one as you can get. Trains are clean; they run on time and are relatively cheap. Unfortunately the Costa del Sol part of the network is still limited-no rail line yet between Fuengirola in the east and Algeciras in the west. Plans are afoot for an expansion as far as San Pedro but this is a long term project.

Most cities such as Malaga and Cadiz have direct links to at least two or more major cities, without changing, and the increased investment levels to upgrade the tracks to make them suitable for the high speed AVE can only make things easier. Malaga now has a high-speed link (the Talgo 200) to Madrid. Madrid to Malaga in just over 4 hours and soon to be quicker when the faster AVE is introduced on this line! Other direct high speed connections from Madrid in our area include Seville, Cadiz and Algeciras (the Altaria train).Madrid is also linked with Huesca and Lerida in the North and will soon be to Alicante and Barcelona.(which are high-speed linked themselves).

However all journeys don’t need to be fast and soulless. Two great journeys on slow trains can be taken from Algeciras. Taking the early morning train to Ronda and watching the sun rise over some of the most beautiful scenery in Southern Spain, as you chug uphill through spectacular gorges, is a must. The other must (and soon, before they abandon this slightly old fashioned service) is to take the overnight sleeper to Madrid from Algeciras-or vice versa. You can take your car too! Settle in your sleeping compartment, have a great meal, a full nights sleep and hey presto Madrid!

The RENFE website is very easy to use too (www.renfe.es) with on-line booking.

Buses in Spain are also fairly reliable, cheap and clean compared with the UK’s. Most towns have a central bus terminal, often near the train station, where local and long distance buses can be caught. Local or urban buses are quite frequent in towns and cities and you pay the driver. Tickets for long distance buses must be bought in advance and, as most Spanish university students use the buses at weekends to return home, popular routes can be full during term time! Most towns have a good selection of direct destinations even to France and the UK.

In this round-up we can’t forget the metro nor the ferry. Larger cities have metro lines and several more are in the process of being built. e.g. Seville. Same again-clean and cheap! Ferry services depend on where you are but the frequent fast ferries to Morocco from Algeciras are the star.

Another popular mode of transportation to roam in and around Marbella is bus. The Marbella bus service is quite reliable and comfortable which runs through all major towns in Andalucia and connects even the interior parts of Spain. Tourists, who don’t want to hire a car and enjoy the bus ride, can easily board a bus to get more information about any exact locale.

There is a wide-range of bus from local, domestic to international service available from enrolled points such as airports and railway stations. The frequency of bus service inside Spain is quite good, while the availability of modern air-conditioned buses during summer makes the journey even more comfortable.

Marbella Bus Station
Main Marbella Bus Station or Portillo Bus Station is located slightly north on the outskirts of Marbella on the Avenida Trapiche, and hardly takes a five-minute ride from the centre of the town. From here, you can catch a bus to the Victoria Bus Station in London, a bus to the Alhambra in Granada and a bus journey to Sevilla and La Linea on the border of Gibraltar.

The bus station is on 24 hours operation and almost links all destinations around the Costa del Sol. The fares depend on the destinations, and also vary among air-conditioned, non-air conditioned, express and local minibuses. During summer months, the service is quite good, but during the low season, in the winter, the frequency is reduced.

Beside, you can locate a taxi stand, parking lot for private vehicles, shopping area, cafeteria and restaurants in the premises of the bus terminal. Again, just outside the Marbella bus station, one can easily get shuttle coaches and minibuses to travel in a group.

Malaga Airport to Marbella
The airport is one of the important entry points to Spain, and hence well-connected with all important cities of Spain including Marbella. The Special Malaga Airport bus service takes you directly to the Marbella bus station from where you can arrange your taxi for further journey.

The drive between Malaga Airport and Marbella is on the toll road with no major bus stops in between. This makes it pretty trouble-free in reaching at the bus terminal and then to your primary destination with a taxi or car of your preference.

Thus, if you are planning a vacation in Marbella then it’s better to take advantage of cheap and reliable domestic bus services here in Marbella. Transport communication links, especially the public bus service, have improved a lot in the recent years. Once you are here, just take the option of bus riding and reach even at some of most visited sites to explore the scenic beauty while discovering traces of ruins of this medieval city.