Elite Island Resorts is leaning into the pickleball boom as its Verandah Antigua property hosts 'The Pickleball Pro Series' from June 8–17, 2026 — a week-long program that integrates championship-level instruction directly into the resort experience. The event is headlined by Frank Solana, the 2022 US Open Champion and founder of Luna Pickleball, alongside professional player and content creator Shea Underwood.
The programming spans complimentary daily clinics open to all guests through an immersive two-day camp, giving the property a structured, tiered offering that caters to casual players and serious enthusiasts alike. For hospitality operators watching sport tourism trends reshape Caribbean resort bookings, the model is worth noting: anchoring a dedicated activation around a credentialed name gives the resort a tangible reason-to-book that extends well beyond beach access and dining.
Pickleball's explosive growth has not been lost on resort operators across the region. Properties that once relied on tennis courts as a premium amenity differentiator are now converting or supplementing those courts to meet demand. By bringing in ranked professionals to lead structured programming, The Verandah is signaling that the sport is no longer a casual add-on — it is a primary pillar of the guest value proposition.
For food and beverage operators embedded within resort properties, high-participation sport events like this carry direct revenue implications. Extended on-court sessions, multi-day camp formats, and a concentrated influx of athletically motivated guests create predictable demand spikes for hydration, recovery-focused menu items, and casual post-play dining. Properties that align F&B programming with sport event calendars — early-morning fuel menus, post-clinic social hours — are better positioned to capture that spend. Coverage from Food & Beverage Magazine has tracked how resort F&B teams are increasingly developing sport-adjacent menus to serve this exact traveler profile.
Antigua's emergence as a pickleball destination reflects a broader pattern of Caribbean resorts using experiential sport programming to compete against land-based leisure destinations and differentiate on booking platforms where amenity specificity drives conversion. The Verandah's week-long format — rather than a single-day event — suggests a commitment to building repeat visitation and community around the sport, a strategy that hospitality and restaurant operators within resort ecosystems can leverage through coordinated programming.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
