There comes a time in every father-son relationship when the old certainties no longer apply, when you realise with a jolt that a turning point has been reached and that things may never be the same again. For me, that moment arrived with my son Adam on the last day of our tennis holiday in Majorca.

It had all started so well. Adam, 13, had just entered his first competitions; I began having coaching two years ago after barely picking up a racket since leaving school.

What better way to hone our skills than a week of autumn sunshine in Majorca, home of Wimbledon champion, top seed and Times blogger Rafa Nadal?

We booked into the tennis academy at Paguera, a laid-back beach resort west of Palma tucked between the mountains and the sea.

A cycling tour of Mallorca

Mallorca is the perfect island for a two-wheeled adventure. You don’t even need to wear Lycra

Why Mallorca is best in the autumn

Cath Urquhart enjoys walking, art, swimming and stylish hotels on an October weekend in Deia

• The complete guide to Soller, Mallorca

Related Links

• Mallorca's best hikes and walks

Boris Becker and Steffi Graf have both trained here, and the centre is run by Ali Yenilmez, an engaging and enthusiastic coach who played for Turkey in the Davis Cup before his career was cut short by a motorbike accident while preparing for the Australian Open.

Monday morning, and I glanced nervously at my fellow players, some of whom were on their third or fourth visit and looked worryingly fit.

The kids went off with coaches Anthony and Hernán, a lively double act from England and Argentina who seemed to spend their time ribbing each other about football, while the adults stayed behind on Court No 1 with Ali and José Luis.

By the time we had jogged a couple of circuits of the court and been through our daily warm-up and stretching routine I was ready for a rest, but three hours later I was whipping forehands down the line like Federer and I didn’t want to stop for lunch.

After pizza and a beer overlooking the beach, Adam and I returned to the club for some practice and I won the first set 6-1. So far, so good. But as the week went on, a funny thing started to happen.

With three hours of intensive tuition each morning, I could feel my game improving day by day as Ali took me out of my comfort zone and taught me new tricks with drop shots, volleys and smashes.

The slow clay surface favoured by the Spanish players is perfect for learning because it encourages long rallies and gave me time to think about my shots.

I knew that I was getting better, yet whenever I played Adam in the afternoon he seemed to be getting better even faster. I didn’t know what Anthony and Hernán were teaching him, but whatever it was it was good.

We stayed at the Hotel Reina Paguera, a short walk from the tennis club. The hotel had indoor and outdoor pools and in October the sea was still warm enough for swimming; there were regular buses to Palma and to the chic little harbourside at Port d’Andratx, but all we wanted to do was play tennis.

One rare rainy afternoon I took the bus to Palma and walked into a tapas bar only to find Carlos Moya sitting at the next table. The Majorcan tennis player is a former world No 1 and still plays at the highest level, but he has recently been eclipsed by Nadal.

Come Friday afternoon it was time to assess what we had learnt. “You have a very good forehand and you are fast around the court, you have excellent hand-eye co-ordination and if you keep on practising, you will definitely get better,” Ali told me. But what I really wanted to know was — could I still beat Adam?

There was only one way to find out. Gone are the days when I played the generous father, feeding Adam easy shots on his forehand and occasionally even letting him win.

For almost two hours we chased each other around the court, producing powerful serves, blistering ground strokes and killer lobs that we would not have been capable of a few days earlier.

And the result? Adam won 7-6, 6-4. It may not have been a turning point, but it certainly felt like one.

NEED TO KNOW

The tennis Jonathan Markson Tennis (020-7603 2422, www.marksontennis.com) has one week’s half-board at Hotel Reina Paguera from £560pp, based on two sharing, with a £50 discount for under-18s. The price includes 15 hours of tuition. Private lessons can be booked for about £30 an hour and courts can be hired for £11 an hour.

Getting there: easyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Palma from ten British airports. Holiday Extras (0871 3602186, www.holidayextras.com) has car parking at 26 UK airports.

.

.

.

Times recommends

• Dubai cheaper than Doncaster as room rates tumble
• World Cup 2010 - how to follow England
• Copenhagen: Europe's greenest city