Within four months, the Sisi Lassithi area, thanks to a private initiative, has become one of the most beautiful tennis venues in Europe with 26 courts. Investments exceeded 3.5 million euros and are aimed at expanding the tourist season through the organization of international tournaments.

The village of Sisi in Lassithi may be unknown even to the majority of the Greek population. And in this village, and specifically in the vicinity of the hotel “Kalimera Crete”, a few weeks ago, the country’s largest tennis complex was completed. Twenty clay courts and six synthetic grass are built on an area of ​​25 acres overlooking the Cretan Sea. There are also two padel courts in the area and three more are expected to be built soon. Businessmen have chosen to invest in high-level sports tourism rather than building tourism halls with… bracelets.

The stadiums began construction on November 1, 2022 and were ready by April 1, 2023. It may look like… an April Fool’s joke, but it’s not. Crews worked over 12 hours a day and the green-focused slide turned into an impressive multi-level sports facility. The athlete will be able to compete surrounded by Cretan nature, he will smell her herbs, and the air will “caress” him with the salinity of the Minoan Sea.

“Building at different levels increased the cost, but that’s the beauty of it. We have preserved the terrain. I wanted tennis included in the hotel. It’s like it’s a natural extension of it. “Kalimera Crete” can turn into a sports tourism center because, in addition to tennis and paddle tennis courts, there are beach volleyball, football, swimming pools and gyms. We are interested in thematic tourism in order to achieve high occupancy in the low season,” Anna Mantonaki told www.kathimerini.gr.

Fifty thousand cubic meters of rocks were turned into material that was used in the stratification for the courts. Nisyros “donated” 800 cubic meters of pumice to keep the humidity. The property has its own well as the clay courts require daily watering. To finish the clay surfaces, 800 tons of red mud had to be brought in from Italy, a country with a tradition of clay fields. Field lighting was built to specifications for television shots. Even after heavy rain, the tennis player will be able to play, because there is a drainage system and within an hour the water is diverted outside the playground.

The facility was built according to the plans of the leading travel agency in Europe, specializing in the development of tennis and fitness tours and, of course, the organization of tournaments. The investment has already begun to bear fruit as more than 750 people visited the hotel within a month to take part in tennis events, and in fact, at a time when the season had not yet opened in Crete. Tournaments are already planned for the autumn months, and in 2024 the first event will begin on March 23, which will lead to an extension of the season for the hotel, as well as the creation of new jobs.

We also met Patrick Koenen on the courts. The German, a former professional tennis player, has reached number 43 in the world rankings. “This is a beautiful facility and the perfect place to play tennis. In your country there are people with a smile and a good mood. I am happy every time I am here,” he told www.kathimerini.gr.

The construction of 26 fields is just the beginning of the project. Ten more are planned. Among the owners’ dreams is to turn the area into a training ground for top athletes before the clay court season begins, which, if realized, would advertise Crete and Greece as a whole.

From May 22, the interest of tennis fans will be focused on the clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris. The best tennis players in the world will compete for prestigious trophies. Perhaps some of them will appear on the tennis courts of Sisi Lasithiou in the near future, as far-sighted tourism entrepreneurs have realized that Greece, as a tourism product in the modern era, needs more than cultural heritage, the sea and … moussaka.