CAP CANA, Dominican Republic — Tennis in paradise. At the heart of the Caribbean, the tour has arrived to stay — and it has brought something very special with it.
Cap Cana Ciudad Destino has won over the tour. A new tournament launched in 2025, the Copa Cap Cana, has emerged as a relaxed stop on an always demanding calendar, seducing players and their families — as well as fans of a sport that never stops — with an offer unlike anything else on tour.
Between the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000s, there is now an incredibly attractive fixture on the calendar. A tournament that offers players comforts unimaginable at any other tour event: staying at five-star resorts, with fine dining and rooms overlooking the turquoise sea just minutes from the court. All-inclusive, of course.
“Everything here is designed so the player can enjoy themselves. The saddest thing for an athlete is to go somewhere where there is nothing to enjoy outside of tennis, outside of their work. Here it is the complete opposite,” Jorge Subero Medina, executive president of Cap Cana, tells CLAY.
“The aim is for the player to feel they are not just in another city — to feel at home, to enjoy the Caribbean, the beaches, the Dominican Republic, and to come back another time with their family and experience everything we have to offer,” he adds.
Free time here is not for staying indoors. Cap Cana has a long and varied list of activities for those looking to make the most of it. Golf is one of the favourites.
Jack Nicklaus, the most successful golfer in history, designed a course at Cap Cana so special that playing it feels like being inside a video game.
Punta Espada opened in 2006 and quickly ranked among the best in the world: GolfWeek named it the “Best Golf Course in the Caribbean and Mexico,” and Golf Digest placed it 35th globally.
The 18-hole course, with eight holes running alongside the sea, between palm trees and sand traps, is irresistible: golf has several tennis players obsessed, who see it as an escape from the constant pressure of the tour, and also as an activity that sharpens the mind.
“I do think of it as therapy, because in the end it frees you from the stress of tennis and lets you think about something else — even if you are still competing. Golf, even when you play it casually, demands mental strength,” Mexican player Santiago González told CLAY.
González put forward an idea that could well become a reality at Cap Cana: “There should be a golf tournament for tennis players.” If not on the spectacular Punta Espada course, it could take place at Las Iguanas, the other Nicklaus-designed course that has become a favourite in the area.
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Subero explains that Cap Cana is growing sustainably, and that is reflected in the range of activities available to players and visitors alike.
“Players here have access to theme parks, an adventure eco-park (Scape Park), and the El Dorado water park. They can also visit equestrian areas — there is football, padel. It has become a truly complete sporting environment,” he says.
Sport fishing is another highlight: yachts set out from the Cap Cana Marina in search of schools of white and blue marlin. “We hold the record for marlin catch-and-release in the Atlantic Ocean.”
The reason behind this phenomenon lies in the biology of the area: the waters off Punta Cana serve as a blue marlin spawning ground, which guarantees a constant presence of young specimens in the zone. That combination — abundance and renewal — explains why Cap Cana has become one of the most productive marlin fishing destinations in the world.
The Copa Cap Cana organisation thinks big. They want to make the experience more memorable every year. A sunset party for the players on board a catamaran? Anything is possible.
“The players who came in 2025 noticed positive changes this year: better organisation, improvements to the courts and a more comfortable and entertaining player’s lounge,” explains Subero.
The courts at the Cap Cana Racquet Village are identical to those at the Miami Open, making them the perfect preparation for the second Masters 1000 of the year.
Just ask Jakub Menšík, who suffered an early exit at Indian Wells in 2025. The Czech travelled to Cap Cana to find his rhythm and confidence, reaching the semi-finals. His campaign in the Dominican Republic proved vital: days later in Miami, he beat Novak Djokovic in the final.
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Cap Cana is no longer just a holiday destination. The development, long known for its all-inclusive resorts and sport fishing offer, has expanded its proposition towards a model of permanent living. A school with more than 400 children from 27 different nationalities is today one of the clearest signs of that shift.
“We have integrated supermarkets, offices, shopping centres. It is not just about coming to an all-inclusive and never leaving: here you can live, mix with Dominican people and be part of the lifestyle,” explains Subero.
Behind that ambition lies a geographical argument. The Dominican Republic is two hours from Miami, four from New York and eight from Europe — a proximity that Subero identifies as a concrete advantage over other Caribbean destinations.
What if tennis players chose Cap Cana as their base of operations? The idea fascinates Subero.
“The vision is that they could even come to live here. The Dominican Republic has one advantage: connectivity […] What people are looking for today is quality of life, and Cap Cana offers the infrastructure for that,” he says.
Subero insists on the invitation to the tennis tour’s protagonists. When the time comes to enter the March 2027 tournaments, he urges them not to hesitate and put their name down for the República Dominicana Open. He guarantees that Cap Cana will give them a fascinating week: “You can compete and enjoy yourself at the same time.”
Read all of CLAY’s coverage from Cap Cana by clicking here.
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