What Is World Team Tennis?

World Team Tennis (WTT) is a professional tennis league founded in 1973. The league features co-ed teams of two men and two women playing a shortened schedule of matches.

Introduction

World Team Tennis (WTT) is a professional tennis league founded in 1973. It is the brainchild of four people: Larry King, Dennis Murphy, jim Myers, and Fred Barman. The league featured a team format and was originally intended to be a summertime activity for top tennis players to stay in shape during the off-season. In 1974, Billie Jean King joined the league as both a player and coach, helping to increase its credibilty. WTT held its first season in 1974 with eight teams and four players on each team. Seasons typically run from late May or early June through early August.

History of World Team Tennis

World Team Tennis (WTT) was founded in 1973 by four men – Larry King, Dennis Murphy, Jerry Buss and Cliff Drysdale – who had a vision for a new, exciting way to present tennis. The first year of competition featured just four teams, but by the league’s fourth season in 1976, WTT had grown to 18 franchises. That same year, the league adopted the innovative format that is still used today.

In 1981, King and Murphy sold their interest in WTT to Buss and Drysdale, who continued to operate the league until it ceased operations in 1993. Following a one-year hiatus, WTT returned in 1994 with eight teams and has operated continuously since then. In 2009, the league completed a merger with Mylan World TeamTennis Pro League LLC (the operator of WTT since 2006), returning to a single entity.

What is World Team Tennis?

World Team Tennis (WTT) is a professional tennis league founded in 1973 that features team competition with a format similar to other professional sports leagues. Each team competes in matches consisting of five sets: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. All matches are played as no-ad scoring and the first team to reach five games wins each set. A nine-point tiebreaker is played if necessary to determine the winner of a set. One point is awarded for each game won. If teams are tied at five games apiece after one set, play continues until one team has a two-game lead. For example, if the score in a set stands at 6–6, play continues until one team leads 8–6 or 7–5. The first WTT season was played in 1974 with eight teams competing 1 In 1975, four additional teams joined the league, and expanded again to 12 teams in 1976 2 As of 2016, WTT consists of 14 markets across the United States 3

WTT was created by founder Dick Butkus and his business partner Jordan Kaiser with input from James Garner 4 WTT holds exhibition matches before each season which serve as tryouts for players vying for spots on each team’s roster 5 As an exhibition/tryout event for prospective players, World Team Tennis introduced “super sets” 6 Super sets consist of eight game pro sets where winners are determined by who wins more games overall rather than by who wins two out of three sets 7 This format was designed to make matches shorter so that fans would not have to wait as long between points

1 “World TeamTennis History.” worldteamtennis.com. Web. 17 Apr. 2017
2 Ibid
3 Ibid
4 Ibid
5 Ibid
6 “WTT format features 8-game prosets.” usatthefutureoftenniscom/wtt-format-features-8-game-prosets/. Web 17 Apr 2017 7 Ibid

Rules of World Team Tennis

World Team Tennis (WTT) is a professional tennis league that was founded in 1974 by four former professional tennis players, including Billie Jean King, who is one of the most famous athletes in the world. The league consists of co-ed teams of six players each, four men and two women. The teams compete against each other in a variety of matches, including singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

Each match consists of five sets, with each set being won by the first team to reach six games. There is a individual point system for each set, meaning that the final score for each match is not necessarily determined by how many sets were won or lost.

In addition to the regular season matches, there are also playoffs and a championship match, known as the King Trophy match. The King Trophy is named after Billie Jean King and is awarded to the winning team of the WTT championship match.

Format of World Team Tennis

World Team Tennis is a whole new way to enjoy tennis! It’s a professional co-ed league that features the world’s best players competing on teams of seven in a fast-paced, set-format match. No other tennis tournament comes close to matching the excitement and energy of World Team Tennis.

Each WTT match consists of five sets – men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. The first four sets are worth four points each, with the winner of each set advancing to five points. The mixed doubles set is played last and is worth nine points. The first team to reach 43 points or more wins the match.

WTT matches are quick and action-packed – there are no age or gender restrictions, so anyone can play! Plus, with shorter sets and no-ad scoring, players have more opportunities to show off their skills. World Team Tennis is the perfect way to see your favorite players in a whole new light.

How to Join World Team Tennis

World Team Tennis (WTT) is a professional tennis league founded in 1973. It features co-ed teams of two men and two women playing singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches. WTT is similar to other professional tennis leagues, such as the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour, but it has a unique format that sets it apart from other competitions.

Players can join World Team Tennis by signing up for a membership. Membership fees vary depending on the country in which you live, but they typically range from $50 to $100 per year. Once you have joined, you will be placed on a team with other members of your skill level. You will then compete against other teams in your division in a round-robin format. The top teams in each division will advance to the playoffs, where they will compete for the championship title.

Conclusion

World Team Tennis is a professional tennis league that features co-ed teams of two men and two women. Launched in 1973, it is one of the only professional tennis leagues in the world that features mixed-gender team play. WTT is also unique in that it uses a condensed scoring system which allows matches to be completed in a single evening.