Soneva Fushi is set to welcome former Swedish tennis pro Thomas Johansson in October.

As part of Soneva’s Festival of Colour, Thomas will be providing a limited number of tennis coaching lessons to guests during his stay from October 24 to November 3.

Thomas Johansson’s career reached its pinnacle with an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world number 7 singles ranking in 2002. He also won the singles Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2002, and an ATP Masters Series at the 1999 Canadian Masters, and to this day he is the last man from Sweden to win a Grand Slam in singles. Thomas also won a silver medal in the men’s doubles at the 2008 Summer Olympics, with his doubles partner Simon Aspelin.

Thomas’ tennis career began at the age of five, and in 1989 he became the European 14s singles champion, while also winning the doubles title with Magnus Norman. He finished at number 10 in the 1993 world junior rankings, before going on to turn pro in 1994. He went on to win nine top-level singles titles and one doubles title, which includes his win at the 2002 Australian Open where he beat Marat Safin in the final. After a 16-year long career he retired in June of 2009, since then he has coached the Danish former World Number 1, Caroline Wozniacki, the young Croatian Borna Ćorić and the Belgium’s Number 1 player, David Goffin. He is currently coaching Greece’s up and coming women’s singles player, Maria Sakkari.

In February, Soneva launched its first ever year-long campaign known as a ‘Festival of Colour’ to celebrate the diverse array of guest activities and experiences on offer this year. Soneva has confirmed a huge line-up of visiting experts, including chefs, authors, wine producers, world-champion free-divers, astronomers, artists, wellness practitioners, tennis coaches and more at all resorts. Soneva’s Festival of Colour runs from February 2018 – February 2019.

Established in 1995, Soneva Fushi is the original Soneva. The No News, No Shoes blueprint for all desert island barefoot luxury hideaways is located within the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Maldives. Soneva Fushi inspires the imagination with 65 spacious beachfront villas, ranging in size from one to nine bedrooms, hidden amongst dense foliage.

The iconic resort has bagged several international awards for eco-friendly tourism and green initiatives, including the 2017 Green Hotelier Award for the Asia Pacific region and the Sustainable Hotel Award by the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) as well as a spot in the Gold List compiled by Condé Nast Traveler China as the Best Hotel in the Maldives and amongst the best resorts in the world in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2017.