Blueprints and canvas are themes I kept coming back to as we were compiling this issue—which builds on the infrastructure of the 78’ x 36’ frame of a tennis court and radiates outwards. From glorious tennis structures surrounding the field of play to gallery walls, where celebrated artists tangle with tennis in their various mediums: this 28th edition of Racquet is dedicated to it all.
It feels fitting that Brutalism is everywhere in these pages—Italian architect and photographer Martina Rosati captured classic British structure at the Barbican and its courts, and design writer Rachel Davies touches on the most beautiful buildings—from Los Cabos’ new rammed-earth public tennis facility to the Neuendorf House, a riotously pink modernist escape on Mallorca. A mélange of more traditional architectural styles is on display in our cover story, where Spanish writer Vital Villarrubia and Italian photographer Letizia Cigliutti visit some of the most storied properties in Italy, Spain and Portugal to bring us A Playable Feast, featuring the tennis court as framed by luxurious Belmond hotels.