Marbella is ready and set to welcome 23 tennis players from across Spain this week as the city hosts the 18th edition of the National Wheelchair Tennis Open. The competition runs from Thursday 23 April through to Sunday 26 April at the Polideportivo Paco Cantos.

The tournament is organised by Club Deportivo Jacamar and forms part of the national wheelchair tennis circuit run by the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET). Now in its 18th consecutive year, it is one of the longest-running events of its kind in the country.

All competitors get maximum court time over the few days

The big news of this year’s edition is the return of the women’s draw. The Marbella city council announced that five women will compete in a round-robin format, meaning every player faces every other player, with matches beginning on the opening day, Thursday. The format ensures that all five competitors get maximum court time and that the final standings reflect consistency across the full draw rather than a single day’s result. The sport maintains the same rules as conventional tennis, with the only difference being that it allows a second bounce.  

The women’s competition was absent from last year’s tournament due to the complexity of assembling a competitive female field. Its return this year was confirmed in official communications from the Marbella Town Hall.  

Paco Cantos is the perfect home for the tournament with its range of accessible facilities

For the men’s draw, the remaining players will compete across all four days, with finals in both competitions scheduled for Sunday 26 April.

The Polideportivo Paco Cantos has served as the home of this tournament for multiple editions and provides the accessible facilities required to host a national-level wheelchair tennis event.  Located on Avenida Canovas del Castillo in Marbella. Its indoor hall can house a range of sports including tennis, futsal, basketball, volleyball and skating, and the site also features three outdoor tennis courts, three padel courts, a fronton court, a climbing wall, changing rooms, and a bar. The breadth of the facility makes it well suited to hosting a multi-day national tournament, with courts available for simultaneous matches and adequate space for players, officials and spectators. Entry for spectators wishing to follow the action at Paco Cantos across the four days is open to the public.  In addition, the matches on the center court will be broadcast live on Facebook. 

Drivers using the busy AP-7 toll motorway on the Costa del Sol need to stay alert to a fresh wave of text message fraud. Criminals are sending convincing-looking messages that pretend to come from the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Spain’s traffic authority, and demand immediate payment for an unpaid toll.

How the fraudulent message works

Recipients get a text message from an account appearing as DGTInfo. The text claims a toll on the AP-7 remains unpaid and lists the vehicle’s make, model, and registration plate for added credibility. It states a specific amount due and insists on settlement within 24 hours. Failure to pay, according to the message, will result in a €200 fine. A shortened link in the message leads to a fake payment site designed to capture personal and banking details.

Ausol, the company managing the AP-7 concessions between Malaga, Marbella, and Guadiaro, quickly identified the messages as fake. The company attempted to contact affected drivers directly to confirm that no official communication had been sent and called for everyone to ignore the texts completely. Access to the link must be avoided at all costs to prevent data theft.

Smishing tactics target Costa del Sol drivers

This incident represents a clear case of smishing, where fraudsters exploit SMS messaging to trick people into visiting malicious websites. Personal vehicle details make the messages look authentic and create a sense of urgency that pressures quick action without proper checks.

Drivers on this key Malaga route face particular risk because of high traffic volumes

National Police stress that genuine toll operators and traffic bodies never request urgent payments through text messages or direct links. Such demands always signal potential danger.

Official DGT policy on notifications

DGT communications follow strict channels only. Traffic fines and related matters reach drivers exclusively via postal mail or the official Dirección Electrónica Vial (DEV) electronic mailbox. No exceptions exist for text message or email notifications involving payments or penalties. An official text message may alert its recipient of a communication on the official site or the impending arrival of a registered postal communication, but never a demand to pay immediately via a link within the same message.

It is recommended to treat any text that mentions unpaid tolls, immediate fines, or external payment links as suspicious. Verification should only happen through official DGT channels or by contacting Ausol directly using known contact details from their verified website.

Protecting yourself from similar frauds

The tendency for most on receiving such a message is to panic and just pay up, a habit fraudsters exploit. Simple habits help drivers stay safe. Delete questionable messages without opening links. Check vehicle records through authorised apps or portals rather than responding to unsolicited texts. Report incidents to police or consumer protection services so patterns can be tracked.

How fraudsters came by the number plates of users of the AP-7 is not yet known, but it does suggest they have installed number plate-reading technology at some point along the toll road to trap drivers into thinking the smishing messages are convincingly real.

Road users on Spanish motorways encounter growing numbers of these attempts. Awareness remains the best defence against losing money or compromising sensitive information. Regular checks of official sources keep everyone informed about new risks in this area.

A major €250 million housing development is set to transform one of Torremolinos’ most prominent abandoned coastal plots, with 353 luxury homes planned near La Carihuela.

The project, known as Magna, is being promoted by Seville-based developer giant Grupo ABU and will be built on Avenida Carlota Alessandri, close to the seafront and near Benalmadena’s Puerto Marina.

The land was once home to the former Melia Tres Carabelas hotel, which was demolished years ago. Since then, the site has remained vacant for more than a decade after an earlier hotel scheme collapsed during the financial crisis.

The unused space known as the ‘Melia hole’ will now be one of the coasts biggest residential developments

Now, the long-unused plot known as the ‘Melia hole’ is set for a new future as one of the coasts biggest residential developments. The project will cover a 12,688-square-metre site with around 40,000 square metres of buildable space. Plans include 353 high-end homes spread across several mid-rise buildings rather than a single tower block.

Developers report the design aims to blend into the surrounding area while offering modern Mediterranean-style living. Communal facilities will include pristine landscaped gardens, luxury swimming pools and leisure areas for residents.

The scheme became possible after Torremolinos City Council approved a planning change allowing the land to move from hotel-only use to residential development. Administrative procedures are now in their final stages, while the building licence process has also begun.

Demand for luxury homes remains strong across the province

Torremolinos town hall will receive financial compensation equal to 15 per cent of the revenue generated by the development, above the legal minimum requirement.

Early sales have already started, with prices reported at around €6,000 per square metre. The project is expected to attract mainly Spanish domestic buyers, rather than relying heavily on foreign investors. The development comes as demand remains strong, with the Costa del Sol continuing to attract buyers seeking premium homes in sought-after coastal locations.