Copyright euroweeklynews
The eagerly awaited opening of Gran Parque de Mijas, set to become Andalusia’s largest urban park at 270,000 square metres, is undergoing its final tests and safety trials, the last step before its official grand inauguration. The tests took place during the fifth leg of the 2025 Pickle Pro Tour, a professional pickleball tournament which drew 146 athletes, Mijas Town Hall has announced. Recognised by the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation, the Pickle Pro Tour had previously visited cities including Malaga, Barcelona, and Alcobendas. The Mijas event kicked off on November 6–7 at the Lew Hoad Tennis and Padel Club, hosting group-stage matches for the Pro category and all Talent category games. The semifinals and finals then moved to the Gran Parque de Mijas on the weekend of November 8–9, with matches played on regulation courts set up in the park’s amphitheater area. Access during the weekend was restricted to the main entrance, with entry limited exclusively to the sports zone. The council stressed that no other areas of the park would be open to the public, in line with the planned capacity-testing protocols. The trials followed the recent awarding of three essential contracts for gardening, maintenance, and security, clearing the way for the park’s full operation. International Pickleball showdown The tournament featured three age categories: over 18 (with participants as young as 12–13 eligible without cash prizes and full eligibility from age 14), over 50, and over 60. Competitions included men’s and women’s singles, as well as men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles. A total of 146 players from 11 nationalities competed, including 126 from Spain. International participants hail from Slovakia, the United States, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. The event not only served as a high-level sporting spectacle but also as the final real-world stress test for one of Andalusia’s most ambitious public infrastructure projects ahead of its grand opening on a fixed date that is still being kept under wraps.
