Ljubicic Tennis Academy

An island academy with a Grand Slam pedigree

The Ljubicic Tennis Academy grew from a question Ivan Ljubicic fielded throughout his decades in the sport: what would a training base look like if every choice served player development rather than throughput. In 2021, the former world No. 3 selected Veli Lošinj, a quiet cove on Croatia’s Lošinj archipelago, and began shaping a boutique environment that channels the way he reads matches. The setting is intimate, the coaching team is handpicked, and the year is structured around sustainable gains. The atmosphere speaks to serious players and families who want clarity over razzle dazzle.

Ljubicic’s resume lends immediate credibility. He beat the best to rise inside the top three, lifted the Indian Wells trophy in 2010, helped secure Croatia’s first Davis Cup title, and later guided Roger Federer through a tactical reboot that delivered more majors when most careers are winding down. At his academy, those lessons become a daily practice for juniors, adults, and pros who prefer intelligent work, honest feedback, and purposeful court time.

Why Lošinj matters for tennis

Location shapes training more than most players realize. Veli Lošinj sits at the southern tip of Lošinj Island in the Kvarner Gulf. The microclimate is mild and stable, with abundant sunny days and sea air scented by pines and medicinal herbs. That combination does two things. First, it allows consistent outdoor tennis through most of the year without the extremes that drain sessions. Second, recovery is built into the environment. A cool-down jog drifts into a shaded seaside path, mobility work can happen on a terrace with a cross breeze, and a slow evening walk clears the head before the next day’s load.

The academy operates within the Vitality Hotel Punta sports zone. Courts are positioned on plateaus tucked among pines so that even during peak seasons sessions feel buffered from distractions. Trails, stairs, and promenade loops add natural variety to conditioning menus. For traveling families, the compact campus simplifies logistics and reduces energy leaks. Players eat, sleep, train, and recover within a short walk, which keeps attention on improvement rather than transport.

Facilities built around continuity

The court inventory is designed to teach on purpose, not just to fill a schedule. You will find nine clay courts for the European baseline education that underpins rally tolerance and movement economy. Three outdoor hard courts are covered by air domes through winter, keeping pace and footwork sharp when temperatures drop. A dedicated indoor hard court provides a consistent option on windy or wet days. That spread lets coaches use surfaces as a teaching tool. A player may work forehand height and recovery on clay in the morning, then tune serve patterns and first step speed on hard in the afternoon without leaving the complex.

Strength and conditioning is anchored by a well-equipped gym with sea views. Coaches slot gym blocks between court sessions so that strength work, mobility, and activation link directly to the day’s technical focus. Adjacent to the gym, the Vitality Center and Spa adds pools and thermal zones for hydrotherapy, plus treatment rooms for physiotherapy. A multifunction court, outdoor stations, and a dedicated athletic strip give coaches options for sprint mechanics, acceleration and deceleration work, medicine ball patterns, and change of direction drills.

Because the academy sits within a hotel campus, practical needs are streamlined. Laundry cycles fit between meals. Athletes can nap in quiet rooms between blocks. Nutrition is easy to manage, with menus that can be tuned for allergies or performance goals. The net effect is a training day with fewer friction points and more quality reps.

Coaching staff and a philosophy that leads with tactics

Ljubicic’s method is analytical but grounded in people. The coaching staff prefers small groups, clear language, and a long arc of improvement where tactics lead technique. Head coach Luka Cvjetkovic brings deep experience in junior development and has worked closely with players stepping onto the pro pathway. The broader team includes seasoned Croatian coaches with internationally recognized certifications, fitness specialists who tailor periodized strength plans to growth stages, and an on-site physio who oversees screening and return-to-play protocols.

On court, questions matter as much as instructions. Why a crosscourt here. What picture opens if serve location shifts by a foot. How do you simplify when the match speeds up. Video and whiteboard sessions help players connect patterns without drowning them in numbers. The watchwords are proactive and simple under pressure. Even in group settings, ratios stay low. In the professional pathway, sessions often run two players per court to accelerate feedback loops and accountability.

Programs designed for different timelines

• Summer Camps. From mid June through late August, weekly camps welcome juniors and adults across levels. A typical schedule runs Monday to Saturday and blends technical foundations, situational drilling, and point play. Groups are small, courts are matched by level, and fitness is scaled so adults and juniors share the same campus without sharing the same workload.

• Year-round Weekly Camps. From September to mid June, six-day training weeks operate like a mini preseason. They suit competitive juniors on school breaks, adults seeking a structured upgrade, and families testing fit before committing to longer terms.

• Academy PRO Full Time. The flagship 10-month track for ages 12 to 18 runs September to June. Expect around 15 hours of tennis per week, 10 to 15 hours of fitness, regular physio checkups, and two free afternoons reserved for recovery and study. The program is deliberately boutique, favoring fewer total players for more direct interaction with lead staff and less time waiting in lines.

• Performance Weeks. A flexible option for competitive juniors to schedule six to twenty weeks across the off season and spring. Players train on the full-time timetable and then fit tournament travel around those blocks.

• Custom Pro Blocks. By arrangement, touring players and transitioning juniors build short, high-load blocks to reset patterns, refine serve and return frameworks, or tune movement before a surface change.

Add-on private lessons can be arranged for camp participants, subject to coach and court availability. Court rentals exist on a first-come basis for families who want extra hitting after sessions.

How training works day to day

Technical. The staff teaches from the contact point backward. Grip clarity and racket face orientation come first. Spacing and footwork rules protect the contact window under pace. Clay blocks matter here, so expect open-stance repetition with specific attention to recovery steps, directional control out of the corners, and balance on change of height.

Tactical. Points are framed around first-strike patterns and stable neutral patterns. Players are pushed to state an intention before the rally. Serving sessions are purposeful. Target ladders, second-serve aggression under score constraints, and body serves that set up forehand patterns show up often. The idea is to rehearse choices, not just mechanics.

Physical. Weekly menus cover maximal strength for older athletes, robust core and hip integrity for younger ones, and sprint mechanics across the athletic strip. Conditioning avoids mindless volume. Acceleration and deceleration qualities are tracked inside drills and live points, and coaches teach change-of-direction angles as skills rather than leaving them to chance.

Mental. The culture is transparent. Players set a small number of daily goals. Coaches deliver unvarnished notes. Post-set debriefs separate decision quality from the scoreboard. The goal is a default calm under pressure, with patterns simple enough to execute when everything speeds up.

Education. For full-time juniors, the academy helps families coordinate schooling, typically through online programs or local arrangements. Study blocks are protected on the timetable. The aim is to make training and learning coexist without constant tradeoffs.

Who passes through and what they take away

The academy is young, but its namesake is not. The staff’s track record with elite players is a clear asset, and Ljubicic’s years with Federer inform much of the method. Coaches on site have supported athletes who reached tour level, and the performance staff includes specialists accustomed to the demands of Grand Slam schedules. The resident junior cohort grows more international each season, with many families using Performance Weeks as a bridge to longer commitments. Adults often return for a second or third camp armed with clearer technical notes and a practice plan that actually sticks back home.

Culture and daily rhythm

What surprises most families is how calm and walkable the place feels. Players sleep, eat, train, and recover inside one compact zone. In free time there are shaded paths along the water, outdoor gym stations, and a small climbing wall near the courts. English is the main training language, and staff also speak Croatian, Italian, German, Slovak, and Czech. For younger campers, unaccompanied stays are possible from about age fourteen with parental consent, while younger children typically attend with a parent and often turn the week into a low-stress beach holiday.

Meals can be tailored for allergies or performance targets through the hotel’s vitality menus. The island is known for clean air and a wellness mindset, so the non-tennis hours tend to support recovery rather than undermine it. Parents who work remotely during camp weeks often base themselves in quiet corners of the hotel or by the sea and rejoin for the evening set.

Costs, access, and scholarships

Weekly camp prices focus on tennis and fitness. Accommodation and meals are booked separately, with preferential options at the partner hotel on site. Full-time enrollment and Performance Weeks are priced individually based on duration and room choice. Scholarships are limited and typically reserved for exceptional competitive profiles. Families for whom financial flexibility is a deciding factor should ask early, as spots are kept intentionally tight to preserve ratios. Court rentals for extra hitting are available on a first-come basis.

How it compares and what sets it apart

There is no attempt to be everything to everyone. Scale is intentional. This is not a 200-player complex. The smaller footprint allows real continuity with the head staff and fewer compromises on court ratios. The surfaces are configured for teaching flexibility, with clay and hard options that can be bubbled through winter, plus an indoor hard court for consistency on difficult days. Recovery is built in, with gym, spa, pools, and physio next door. The coaching culture values candid feedback and small daily goals. That clarity accelerates self-correction and turns match-play debriefs into useful information rather than emotion.

For readers mapping the European landscape, it helps to frame Ljubicic’s academy against better-known names. A larger campus such as the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca offers a school-integrated, league-like community that suits players who thrive in big ecosystems. A high-energy option like the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France doubles as a media-visible complex with wide programming. By contrast, Ljubicic’s project is quieter by design. Its appeal aligns more closely with athlete-centered models that prioritize low ratios and direct access to senior staff, akin in spirit to focused centers like the Piatti Tennis Center.

In short, the differentiators look like this:

• Scale with intention. Fewer total players, more time with lead coaches, and less waiting.
• Surfaces on demand. Clay and hard options, winter domes, and a dedicated indoor court enable curriculum-driven surface choices.
• Recovery next door. Gym, spa, pools, and physio minimize the gap between training load and recovery.
• Honest coaching culture. Clear standards, small goals, and direct feedback shape daily habits.
• A setting that supports focus. Island calm, clean air, and simple logistics keep energy where it belongs.

The future and what to expect next

The academy plans to keep its boutique scale while deepening the professional pathway. Expect continued investment in coaching education, more structured testing and benchmarking during the year, and selective partnerships for competition blocks at key times in the season. The vision is steady rather than flashy. That suits the founder’s reputation for clear thinking and reinforces a long-term promise to athletes who buy into a patient process.

Bottom line: is it for you

Choose Ljubicic Tennis Academy if you want an intimate European base where court time is purposeful, feedback is candid, and recovery is part of the plan. Competitive juniors who thrive in small groups will find daily structure without noise. Adults seeking a serious but welcoming week of work leave with practical technical notes and a set of tactical patterns they can rehearse at home. If you crave the buzz of a large academy with a full on-campus school, you will likely be happier elsewhere. If you value a focused environment on a beautiful island that nudges you to improve, this place belongs on your shortlist.