Amor & Paz Tennis School (Pepe Imaz Tennis)

A different kind of high performance

Most tennis academies lead with volume: more hours, more reps, more balls. Amor y Paz Tennis School in Marbella takes a different tack. Founded and led by former professional player and mentor Pepe Imaz, the school centers training on the person first, player second. Here, competitive growth starts with simple but demanding habits: paying attention, listening to the body, and treating every session as a chance to learn rather than to accumulate. The project lives within a friendly neighborhood club near Puerto Banús, where clay and hard courts sit amid palms and Andalusian light. The daily reality is small groups, direct contact with the core coaches, and a consistent through line of love, respect, acceptance, and understanding.

This is not a factory. It is a workshop where details matter. The tone is warm, the expectations are clear, and the methodology asks for the courage to face yourself. Players who thrive here usually want intimacy, stability, and honesty more than the noise of a mega-campus.

Where it began

After his own playing career, Pepe Imaz moved into coaching with a philosophy he calls Amor y Paz, meaning love and peace. The idea is disarmingly straightforward: lasting performance follows from emotional clarity. He began working with juniors and touring professionals while building a small program in Marbella that asked as much of the heart as it did of the forehand. His approach drew wider attention when he collaborated with top-level pros on the mental and emotional side of competition. That period introduced many fans to Imaz’s language and practices, but the school in Marbella remained what he intended from the start: independent, human in scale, and focused on a handful of committed players instead of crowded squads.

The academy grew person by person, not by marketing pushes. Families arrived after a conversation, a recommendation, or a visit that felt right. Today the school still caps its core group to keep attention high and distractions low.

The setting: Marbella’s microclimate and year-round play

Marbella’s Costa del Sol climate is one of the quiet advantages of training here. Winters are mild, the sun is generous, and rain is usually episodic. Clay stays playable through much of the year, and hard courts dry quickly when storms pass. For juniors and pros building momentum, fewer cancellations mean steadier rhythm across the calendar. The club’s location also helps traveling families. Lodging, beaches, and good food are close. Tournament hubs across Andalucía, Gibraltar, and the wider Iberian Peninsula are a short drive away, which makes the school a practical base during competitive stretches.

The setting shapes the day in subtle ways. Morning light invites early work. Afternoons often suit match play and scenario-based sessions. Evenings allow for reflection or a walk on the promenade to unclutter the mind. The environment teaches as much as the coaches do, and players gradually learn to use the rhythm of the place to regulate effort and recovery.

Facilities you actually use

Amor y Paz operates inside a local club rather than a gigantic campus. That choice is deliberate. The courts cover both clay and hard surfaces, giving players the variety they need to prepare for regional and international circuits. There is a simple clubhouse with changing rooms, a pro shop and stringing, and an outdoor terrace that overlooks the courts where parents can watch without hovering. Nearby fitness options and physio partners are available when needed, but the school avoids building a performance center for show. The emphasis stays on sessions that count, not on facilities that sell themselves in photos but go unused.

Boarding follows the same logic. Instead of dormitories, the academy arranges homestays with coaches or trusted local families. This model is quieter and more personal. Players learn daily rhythms that resemble real life: waking up in a home, sharing meals, participating in ordinary conversations. For many teenagers, the homestay is the keystone of their maturity here. It replaces the anonymity of a large residence with the accountability of living closely with adults who care.

Coaching staff and daily contact

The staff is small by design. Pepe Imaz is present on court and off it. He does more than feed balls. He observes, listens, calibrates intensity, and links the emotional state of the player to the technical and tactical objectives of the day. Sessions are not about showing how hard a coach can work; they are about helping an athlete access their best attention.

An experienced assistant coach complements the program, often taking live-hitting roles and managing continuity when travel or competitions pull part of the group away. The staff knows each player’s tendencies and patterns. They are comfortable slowing down to teach a grip change or speeding up to push decision-making under pressure. There is no revolving door of visiting instructors. The faces are familiar, the language consistent.

Group size stays deliberately small. The core high-performance group is usually eight to ten players, which allows close feedback and real accountability. For younger kids’ camps and the social program, additional coaches support the sessions so that every child can be seen and encouraged.

Programs in practice

The school offers a compact menu built for depth rather than breadth.

• Year-round high-performance training. This is the backbone for juniors and aspiring pros. Training blocks are customized to the player’s calendar. Some days the work is a shorter, sharper two-hour load that hits the technical target and stops before fatigue dulls learning. Other days include point-based scenarios, set play, and targeted conditioning. Homestays can be arranged for families traveling in.

• Junior Tennis School. Children from around three to sixteen learn fundamentals in a values-based environment. Parents are invited to understand how empathy, respect, and patience shape trust on court. The technical work is serious, but the tone stays warm. Coaches prefer clear demonstrations, precise language, and an encouraging tempo.

• Social Tennis School. This free community initiative welcomes families with limited resources. Children and parents share court time and simple routines that model the academy’s core values. The goal is access and belonging, not finding the next star. The program is a point of pride inside the club and a window for newcomers who might never have approached the game.

• Summer Kids Camp. A morning program that blends fun and fundamentals. Sessions typically include movement skills, cooperative rallying, and games that teach without jargon. The last stretch of the morning is often reserved for fruit, board games, and conversations that help coaches read each child’s temperament.

• Summer Stage immersion. For highly committed juniors, a short residential period with the Imaz family is possible. It blends daily court work with simple routines off court, guided reflection, and a calm, predictable household rhythm.

Training and player development

The academy’s player pathway treats technique, tactics, physical preparation, and the mental side as a single system.

• Technical. Grip work and contact fundamentals are taught quietly and precisely. If a player needs a new contact height on the forehand or a cleaner slice backhand, the coach builds a short progression, uses feeding only as long as it serves the skill, then moves quickly into live patterns to anchor the change. The school values the economy of session length when that serves learning. Quality first, then volume once the pattern stabilizes.

• Tactical. Decision-making is coached through constrained games and scoreboard scenarios. Players rehearse specific identities: front-foot aggressor, counterpunching resetter, first-strike server. Coaches connect choices to the player’s emotional state, asking when stress narrows options and how to widen them through breath, routine, and focus cues. Match play is rarely open-ended. It is a laboratory with hypotheses and debriefs.

• Physical. Conditioning is pragmatic. Court-based movement and point-based fitness are integrated into tennis hours. The staff guides players to local gym and physio resources when needed, but avoids overcomplicating with exotic tools. Movement quality, injury prevention, and repeatable effort across a tournament week are the priorities.

• Mental and emotional. This is the school’s hallmark. Meditation, breathing, and brief reflective writing are built into weekly rhythms. Players learn to notice when internal narratives get loud and to return attention to the present task. Language on court is plain and human. The goal is not to suppress emotion but to understand it quickly and act skillfully. Parents are invited to participate so they can reinforce the same cues at home and during tournaments.

• Education and life skills. Homestays and small groups create natural moments to practice independence: time management, nutrition, sleep, and respectful communication. The academy expects players to carry themselves well, greet people, and tidy up. These small habits support the bigger athletic goals.

Alumni and success stories

Because the academy is small, success is measured in more than rankings. Juniors who arrived with fragile confidence often leave with stronger presence and cleaner games. Tour-level players have dropped in for blocks to reset their mental approach and refine specific weapons. The school is known for helping athletes who feel stuck regain clarity, then transfer it to competition. Results follow from alignment, not from louder slogans.

Culture and daily life

Culture shows up in the first five minutes of the day. Players arrive on time, greet the coaches, and begin a simple warm-up without drama. Feedback is respectful and specific. The atmosphere is friendly, with a bias toward quiet focus rather than constant noise. Parents have access but are encouraged to trust the process. Mealtimes in homestays are unhurried, with conversations that include tennis but also drift into music, school, or whatever curiosity the day invites. Evenings often include stretching, reading, or a walk on the beach. The accumulation of calm days builds resilient athletes.

The club community adds texture. On the terrace, older members sip coffee and watch a few games. Young kids from the social program share courts with ambitious teens, and everyone plays by the same rules of courtesy. The academy insists that character and competitiveness are not opposites. When the ball is in play, compete. When it is not, be kind.

Costs, accessibility, and scholarships

Because groups are small and schedules are customized, pricing is set for each training block rather than published as fixed tiers. Families should expect tuition to reflect the intensity of on-court work, coach involvement, and any travel support during tournaments. Homestay arrangements add housing and meal costs that are typically more affordable than resort lodging and more stable for teenagers.

The Social Tennis School is free by design, supported by the club community and donors who believe that access matters. For aspiring competitors with financial constraints, the academy occasionally assembles partial scholarships or sliding-scale arrangements. These are limited and allocated case by case, with priority for athletes who demonstrate commitment, strong work habits, and alignment with the school’s values.

Accessibility extends beyond money. The staff accommodates reasonable school schedules, organizes transport when possible, and plans weekly rhythms that allow recovery and academics. The goal is to build something sustainable rather than squeeze families into a rigid template.

What makes it different

• Human scale. A small roster keeps attention high and prevents drift. You know the coaches, and they know you.

• Emotional literacy built in. Breath, reflection, and the language of acceptance are not add-ons. They are part of the operating system.

• Practical environment. A real club with real players, not a branded campus that feels isolated from normal tennis life.

• Homestays that grow people. Living with a family requires responsibility and offers the support teenagers often need most.

• Clear tactical identity. Sessions pursue specific game plans instead of generic rallying.

How it compares in the region

Families exploring the Costa del Sol often look at more than one option. For a larger performance environment with a broader squad structure, the nearby SotoTennis high performance setup can be a useful contrast. If you prefer a big-campus ecosystem with on-site schooling and a large tournament calendar, the Rafa Nadal Academy model in Mallorca shows the opposite end of the spectrum. Marbella itself has a long tennis heritage, and players curious about classic European clay traditions often read about the Hofsaess Academy legacy to understand how different coaching cultures shape similar goals.

These comparisons are not about better or worse. They are about fit. Amor y Paz suits players who want closeness and depth, who already have or seek a strong family partnership, and who prefer to grow in a steady climate with a calm daily rhythm.

Tournament support and travel

The academy helps families plan competition schedules across Andalucía, Gibraltar, and into Portugal when it serves the player’s development. Coaches can travel selectively for key events. The emphasis is on learning to compete well, not on collecting entries. Match debriefs are brief and practical. Players leave with one or two focus points to carry into practice.

Future outlook and vision

The school intends to stay small. Growth will come from doing the work better, not by scaling the headcount. Plans include deepening the social program, strengthening partnerships with local schools and physios, and refining the homestay network so that more visiting families can access stable, welcoming homes. The staff continues to study, to borrow from sport science where it helps, and to discard tools that add noise without value. The question guiding every change is simple: does this help a young person become a steadier competitor and a kinder human being?

Is it right for you

Choose this academy if you value contact time with senior coaches and the kind of feedback that demands honesty. Choose it if you believe that the best tennis flows from a quiet mind and a body connected to simple cues. If you want the energy of a giant complex with hundreds of players, there are other places built for that. If you prefer a workshop where the routine makes sense, where the adults are present, and where a teenager can grow up while learning to hit the ball cleanly and think clearly under pressure, Amor y Paz is a compelling option.

In a tennis world that often confuses louder with better, Amor y Paz offers something rarer: a place where attention is the most valuable currency, where a few words are worth more than another bucket of balls, and where the person you are becoming matters as much as the player you want to be.