20 Years of Active Away: Looking Back on the Journey So Far
19th October 2026 | Celebrating 20 Years of Active Away
Today marks 20 years of Active Away - and what a journey it's been!
What started as a small number of tennis holidays has grown into a business welcoming thousands of guests each year, with holidays and events covering tennis, padel, pickleball and skiing.
A lot has changed in those 20 years. We've visited new destinations, welcomed new faces, developed our coaching programmes and worked with some incredible people along the way.
But some things haven't changed, particularly our love for sport, great holidays and bringing people together.
To celebrate our 20th birthday, we thought we'd take a trip down memory lane, revisit some of the moments that shaped Active Away and recognise the people who have made it all possible.
Where It All Began
Our story actually starts a couple of years before Active Away officially existed.
In 2004, our founder, Steve Davies, organised his first tennis holiday under the name Tailored Tours, taking a group of guests to La Manga in Spain.
The following year, another trip followed to Beach Club, Mallorca, a resort we still visit today!
The idea was straightforward: bring together people who loved tennis, provide some great coaching and enjoy a fantastic holiday in the process.
In October 2006, Active Away was officially incorporated, and in 2007, the first holidays under the Active Away name took place at Royal Mare, Crete(again, a resort we still frequent today!), running over three weeks.
At the time, it was still a relatively small operation, but the foundations were there for something much bigger.
The Early Years: Sani, Royal Mare and a Spare Room
It's fair to say things looked a little different in the early days.
For a long time, Active Away was run from the spare room of Matt's mum, Ally. Quite a contrast to the business today!
Matt Allen had been involved in the Royal Mare holidays in 2009 before officially joining Active Away in 2010.
That same year, we added Sani Resort in Greece to the calendar, and it quickly became a popular destination.
With 48 guests and just six green clay courts, Steve and Matt had their work cut out. The group was split into two, with coaching sessions running throughout the day to make sure everyone got their time on court.
Then, in 2011, came a fairly significant moment.
For the first time, Steve and Matt hosted separate holidays, with one at Sani and the other at Liberty Lykia, Turkey.
Until then, they'd largely delivered the holidays together. Splitting up meant finding out whether Active Away could run two successful holidays at the same time, without both of them being there.
It worked, and looking back, that was an important step towards the business growing beyond those original trips.
The People Behind Active Away
Of course, Active Away wouldn't be where it is today without the people who have helped build it.
Steve started the business and established the approach to tennis holidays that remains at its heart today. Matt became a key part of developing the holidays, looking after operations and making sure the experience worked just as well off court as it did on it.
Then, in 2014, Josh Thompson joined Active Away as a Sales Executive.
Josh quickly became an important part of the team, bringing new ideas and a real drive to grow the business.
He became Sales and Marketing Director in 2017, before taking over as Managing Director in 2021.
Over the years, Josh has played a huge part in Active Away's development. From improving the way the business operates to introducing new systems, processes and growth strategies, much of what has allowed us to expand has been down to his work behind the scenes.
And while guests might not always see that side of things, it's made a real difference to the business and the holidays we deliver.
Steve started Active Away, Matt helped establish and develop it, and Josh has been instrumental in taking the business to where it is today.
Alongside them, we've been fortunate to have some fantastic people working with us over the years. From coaches and hosts to the team behind the scenes, so many have played their part in Active Away's story.
From Tennis Holidays to Much More
There have been plenty of memorable milestones over the past 20 years.
In 2014, we ran our first ski holiday to Bansko in Bulgaria, taking the Active Away experience beyond tennis for the first time.
Two years later, in 2016, Active Away appeared on Dragons' Den, securing investment from Peter Jones CBE, who remains a shareholder in the business today.
Our tennis coaching has also changed considerably over the years. What started as a more technically focused programme gradually developed to place greater emphasis on tactics and matchplay.
We've been lucky enough to work with some fantastic names in tennis along the way, including Louis Cayer in 2019 and Jamie Murray, who joined us as Brand Ambassador in 2024.
And then there's padel.
Steve had been keen to introduce padel to Active Away for years, well before the sport became as popular as it is today.
In 2023, we finally ran our first padel holiday, and it's been growing ever since. We've expanded our padel calendar, introduced UK clinics and worked with leading British player Louie Harris to develop our coaching programme.
More recently, we've also added pickleball to the mix.
It's quite a change from the original tennis holidays, but the thinking behind it all is still much the same.
20 Years, Thousands of Memories
When you look at the numbers, it's quite something to see how much Active Away has grown.
Across the last four financial years alone, we've recorded more than 6,400 tennis holiday participations, 4,100 tennis clinic participations and 890 padel holiday participations.
We've also already got more than 1,400 places booked for our 2027 events, which is a fantastic start to the next chapter.
But while we're proud of those figures, there's something we're even prouder of: the number of guests who keep coming back.
Some of our guests have travelled with us more than 20 times, and a few have even been on over 30 Active Away holidays!
Over the years, we've seen people arrive on their own, make new friends and return on future holidays together. We've watched friendships grow, familiar faces appear at different resorts and guests make Active Away a regular part of their year.
It's often the things outside the coaching sessions that people remember most.
The group dinners, the laughs on court, the friendly competition and catching up with people you might only see once or twice a year.
For many of our guests, Active Away has become much more than somewhere to book a tennis holiday.
And that's something we're incredibly grateful for.
What Comes Next?
Although we're celebrating 20 years, there's still plenty we're working towards.
We're continuing to develop our holidays, add new destinations and look at ways to improve what we offer.
We're also exploring some exciting opportunities outside our traditional holidays, including plans for a dedicated padel club in Essex and potential opportunities in Mallorca.
It's exciting to think about where Active Away could be in another 20 years, particularly when we look back at where it all started.
Whatever happens next, we want to keep doing what we've always set out to do: deliver great holidays, provide excellent coaching and bring people together through sport.
A Big Thank You From All of Us
When Steve took that first group to La Manga in 2004, he probably didn't imagine that more than 20 years later we'd be writing this.
From the early Royal Mare holidays and the busy weeks at Sani to working from Ally's spare room, welcoming new team members and expanding into different sports, there's been an awful lot that's happened along the way.
For Steve, Matt and Josh, and everyone who's been involved in Active Away over the years, it's a milestone to be really proud of.
But none of it would have happened without our guests.
Whether you joined us in the early days, have travelled with us dozens of times or have only recently discovered Active Away, thank you.
Thank you for choosing to spend your holidays with us, for recommending us to friends, for coming back year after year and for helping make Active Away what it is today.
We've made some wonderful memories over the past 20 years, and we're looking forward to making plenty more.
We'd Love to Hear Your Active Away Memories!
As part of our 20th birthday celebrations, we'd love to hear from you.
Were you on one of our early holidays? Have you made some great friends through Active Away? Or is there a particular trip or moment that stands out?
Send us your favourite Active Away memory, story or photograph. We'd love to see it!
And if you're already thinking about your next event, our 2027 calendar is ready to explore.
Thank you for being part of our first 20 years. Here's to the next 20!