Monte-Carlo Country Club - Tennis School

A Riviera setting that shapes how young players learn Perched above the Mediterranean on the border between Monaco and France, the Monte-Carlo Country Club has been synonymous with clay-court tennis since its Art Deco clubhouse opened in 1928. The club’s tennis school operates inside this living piece of tennis history, using the same stepped terraces and red clay that professionals compete on each April during the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. That context matters. Children are not just taking lessons at a neighborhood park. They are learning the game in a venue that hosts one of the sport’s most storied tournaments, with year-round outdoor play and sea views that make even a tough drill feel special. The school focuses on the earliest stages of the sport, building a foundation for ages 3 to 11 through the Mini Club and the core junior school. It is not a boarding academy, and it does not aim to be one. Instead, it offers a clear, age-appropriate pathway anchored in a club culture that has been refined for nearly a century. Families come for the clay, the coaching, and the sense that their children are entering tennis with the right habits from day one. ## Location, climate, and access The club sits at 155 avenue Princesse Grace in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, literally steps from Monaco’s eastern edge. The microclimate of the French Riviera is one of the quiet advantages of this program. Mild winters and dry springs allow outdoor training in every season, which means children develop movement patterns specific to clay without the stop-start interruptions that can plague colder regions. Even during rare rainy spells, the grounds crew is practiced at turning courts around quickly, and indoor options keep momentum going when needed. Families find access straightforward. Trains into Monaco Monte-Carlo station and local buses make the commute workable for school-age children, and car drop-off is manageable along the seafront. For those who like details, the grounds sit at roughly 43.7517 latitude and 7.4407 longitude. The point is not the numbers but what they represent. This is one of the most tennis-saturated corners of Europe, and the daily presence of the sport is visible everywhere from club terraces to public courts just up the coast. ## Facilities that reward repetition ### Courts Facilities are a genuine highlight. The Monte-Carlo Country Club maintains 21 red clay courts set in terraces that step down toward the sea, along with 2 hard courts. Fifteen courts have lighting, which preserves training time during short winter days and allows the school to run compact late-afternoon blocks for children after classes. Two indoor clay courts give coaches the option to keep technical themes consistent when weather turns. The vista is pretty, but it also serves a practical purpose. A clean horizon line helps younger players track flight and depth and teaches them to use height and spin to create margin, both essential skills on red clay. Court allocation is handled daily on site. That keeps the place dynamic and avoids ghost bookings. A classic dress code and clay-appropriate shoes are expected. It is a small detail that signals respect for the surface and helps families assemble the right kit. ### Gym and physical preparation spaces Off court, the club has invested heavily in physical preparation. Two recent pavilions house three dedicated fitness areas of around 175 square meters each. One is a cardio and multi-training room with high-end stations for interval work and endurance. A second area focuses on strength and mobility, with space for bodyweight progressions that suit younger athletes. A separate studio supports group classes, balance work, and movement circuits. For recovery and routine comfort, renovated locker rooms sit alongside heritage spaces from the 1928 clubhouse, and compact saunas help older juniors learn simple recovery habits. ### Aquatic zone and daily life amenities From May to September, members use a heated 25-metre infinity pool with lifeguard supervision. Aqua-gym sessions and gentle baby-swim blocks on weekends make it a genuine family area, not just a hotel-style showpiece. The pool’s SunSet restaurant and the panoramic club terrace provide an easy rhythm for parents who want to combine a lesson block with lunch and homework time on site. Add table tennis, squash, a putting green, and snooker rooms, and you have a campus that can absorb a full afternoon without a car ride between activities. ## Coaching staff and school leadership At the entry levels, the Mini Club for ages 3 to 6 is led by coach Valérie Albaret, who also offers private or small-group sessions for very young children on non-school days. The tennis school for ages 7 to 11 is coordinated by Albaret alongside Julien Matile, ensuring continuity as players move from foundational motor skills into technical strokes and first rallies. This leadership duo anchors the junior pathway that runs primarily on Wednesdays from September to June, with additional sessions and camps during school holidays. Parents manage enrollment and practicalities through the club reception, which keeps communication simple and responsive. The staff culture emphasizes patience, clarity, and progression. Drills are purpose-built for clay, and coaches are surprisingly hands-on about footwork sequencing, showing children how to decelerate into a slide safely and recover with their hips facing the court. That emphasis on movement literacy is one of the distinguishing features of the school and a reason families return year after year. ## Programs for early development and playful progress The weekly school is the backbone, but the club layers in multiple pathways so children can keep progressing without losing the joy of play. - Mini Club, ages 3 to 6: motor patterns, throwing and catching games, ball tracking, and first contact points using red and orange balls. Sessions are short, focused, and fun, with lots of movement variety to keep attention high. - Tennis school, ages 7 to 11: stroke mechanics move into focus, with emphasis on consistent contact points, topspin production, and early tactical choices like depth versus angle. Rallies and live-ball games build quickly so children learn to construct points rather than memorize feeds. - Multi-Activity Sports Camp, ages 7 to 12: afternoon blocks on Wednesdays and Saturdays blend tennis with broader athletic discovery such as mini football, mini basketball, relays, basic putting, and table tennis. This is a smart format for juniors who need a wider movement base before specialization. - Holiday camps: themed camps during school breaks include Mini Club camps for ages 3 to 8 and summer formats that combine tennis and swimming. Recent examples have included member pricing in the 170 to 190 euro range for Mini Club camps, and around 237 euros for combined tennis and pool blocks for ages 4 to 14. Non-members typically add a French Tennis Federation license fee. Specific fees vary by session and are published ahead of each term so families can plan. Competition has a place here too. The club fields youth teams that compete in regional interclub leagues, with coaching staff captaining squads and using those matches to teach routines like warm-ups, match charting, and doubles formations. Each July, the Monte-Carlo Country Club hosts an international Junior Tournament for ages 11 to 16, along with Green-level Galaxie events for ages 7 to 10. The 2025 edition drew hundreds of participants from France and abroad, which gives local children a taste of big-draw tournament energy without getting on a plane. ## How the school teaches the game ### Technical progression For the youngest, instruction emphasizes posture, balance, and rhythm more than perfect grips. Coaches teach children to set a stable base, turn shoulders early, and meet the ball out in front. As players grow, lessons shift toward spin production, height over the net, and directional control. On clay, those skills are not optional. The surface rewards margin and depth, and the school’s method reflects that. Basket work shows up as short, high-quality bursts, followed quickly by live-ball games to anchor technique under movement. ### Tactical literacy From ages 7 to 11, children learn to read court geometry. Coaches use constrained games to illustrate choices: heavy crosscourt that opens down the line, short angles that create space, and depth that buys recovery time. Decision trees are simple, repeatable, and age-appropriate. Even in beginner groups, you will hear coaches asking players to call target zones, describe the height they want, and explain why they chose a pattern. This is where the setting becomes a teacher. Watching pros later in the year, children recognize patterns they have practiced. ### Physical development Fitness blocks are short and gamified. Agility ladders, cone patterns, and multi-station circuits teach children to link first step, split step, and recovery. Because the program sits inside a full-service club, swimming and basic strength work appear in camps and older junior sessions to support shoulder health and general durability. Coaches keep the focus on movement quality rather than load, and they talk openly about sleep, hydration, and simple nutrition around training. ### Mental and educational habits The school builds routines rather than slogans. Players learn to arrive with enough time to warm up, check draws, manage a light snack, and cool down after each match. Coaches model composure in small ways, like resetting after a missed ball or counting breathing cycles between points. In tournament weeks, children sometimes shadow the rhythm of the professional event on site, which makes mental skills feel less abstract and more like standard operating procedure. ## The pull of a pro venue The Monte-Carlo Country Club is the stage each spring for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, a Masters 1000 event on the men’s tour. For a junior who watches tennis, this is an instant motivator. The grounds transform in April, and many of the world’s best players walk the same paths that children use for their weekly sessions. Even outside Masters week, being able to point to the main show court from a practice court makes goal setting feel real. Since 2021 the club has also hosted edition-based junior showcases that bring top European prospects to the Riviera, keeping high-level junior tennis visible for local families. The message is not that every child must chase that level. It is that the environment exposes them to excellent habits. ## Alumni and success stories Unlike academies that recruit teenagers from across the world, this school serves mostly local and visiting families in the foundational age bands. Success is measured less by ranking points and more by steady progression. Parents talk about children who came in shy at five and left confident at nine, who now serve with a consistent toss, or who learned to compete without melting down after mistakes. In club leagues, the youth teams are known for tidy footwork and a calm presence on changeovers. That sort of identity does not come from slogans. It comes from repetition on a surface that rewards patience and smart choices. ## Culture, community, and the rhythm of a day The atmosphere blends Riviera elegance with a day-to-day rhythm that works for families. On a typical Wednesday, you can watch a Mini Club session finish with a game of rolling rally, then see older juniors jog to the fitness pavilion for a 20-minute movement circuit. Parents settle on the terrace with coffee, siblings drift to table tennis or the pool in summer, and coaches circulate between courts. The Wild Card Bar, a modern take on the club’s original 1928 bar, is a relaxed meeting point after sessions. Because the club is affiliated with both the Monegasque and French federations, practicalities like licenses for non-members are handled smoothly. ## Costs, accessibility, and scholarships The tennis school is a program within a private members’ club. There is no on-site residence hall, and there is no academic tutoring arm. International families who plan multi-week stays typically book accommodation in Monaco, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, or nearby Menton. Pricing is posted for specific camps and varies by session and membership status. As a recent guide, Mini Club holiday camps have been listed in the 170 to 190 euro range for members, while a summer tennis and pool block for ages 4 to 14 has been listed around 237 euros for members. Non-members usually add a federation license fee. Private lessons are available for the youngest players outside the main school day and are billed separately. Formal scholarship programs are not advertised for these early-age formats, although member pricing effectively acts as a discount compared with non-member rates. If you require boarding or a full-time pathway with combined academics, consider the boarding model at alternative programs. For example, families who want a residential environment often compare the boarding model at [Mouratoglou Tennis Academy](/ academy/mouratoglou-tennis-academy) or look at clay-focused programs at SotoTennis Academy in nearby Spain. If you seek something closer to the Riviera but with a different structure, the Riviera option in Nice Tennis Academy offers another local benchmark. ## What sets it apart - Setting with purpose: few junior programs can claim a daily training environment that doubles as a Masters venue. The visual scale, the stepped terraces, and the clay itself shape how children perceive the sport. - Clay fluency from the start: with red clay as the default surface, children learn to slide safely, construct points, and value height and spin early. Lighting on many courts and two indoor clay courts preserve continuity when weather turns. - Multi-sport pathway: structured exposure to other sports during the week reinforces general athleticism without diluting tennis fundamentals. This helps retain children who might otherwise drift away between ages 8 and 10. - Infrastructure for physical prep: three purpose-built fitness spaces and a pool give coaches tools to teach warm-ups, mobility, and basic conditioning in a controlled way. - Heritage that motivates: the annual professional event brings best-in-class standards into daily view, making good habits the norm rather than the exception. ## Outlook and ongoing improvements The club has modernized steadily while keeping its 1928 character. Recent multi-phase projects delivered new fitness floors, a modern pro shop, and improved back-of-house logistics that make tournament weeks run smoothly without disrupting junior programming. Expect incremental upgrades rather than flashy overhauls. The guiding idea is continuity. Families want the clay to play the same way in March as in October, and they want coaches who know their child’s tendencies from one school year to the next. Plans under discussion prioritize surfaces and spaces that serve children. That means keeping the indoor clay courts tuned, protecting after-school training slots with lighting and maintenance, and expanding camp capacity without overloading courts. The result is a facility that feels current while its heritage pieces remain as a signature. ## Is it for you Choose the Monte-Carlo Country Club’s tennis school if you want a junior program embedded in a historic, year-round club rather than a boarding academy. It fits families who live in or frequently visit Monaco and the French Riviera, who value clay-court learning, and who like the idea of children training where top professionals compete. If you need on-site housing, all-day academic tutoring, or a closed campus, this is not the right format. If you want a reliable weekly school for ages 3 to 11, well-run holiday camps with clear schedules, and a genuine sense of place on one of tennis’s most iconic sites, it is hard to match. This is a place where the setting teaches. Children learn patience because clay demands it. They learn to value spin and height because points reward it. They learn routines because the venue models them every spring. For young players at the start of their tennis journey, the Monte-Carlo Country Club’s tennis school offers a rare mix of tradition, structure, and day-to-day joy that sets a healthy foundation for whatever comes next.