World Team Tennis to Relaunch in December 2026

World Team Tennis, the mixed-gender team tennis league originally co-founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, will relaunch in December 2026 with what has been described as “a modern vision built for today’s sports and entertainment landscape.”

The 16,000-capacity Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, will host the opening night of WTT on December 2. The league will then have a home-and-away competition window featuring city-based teams, top-ranked players and a new format staged across flagship arenas in major U.S. markets. Specific dates have not yet been announced.

There is not yet a media deal in place for a broadcast partner, but event coverage will be produced by Michael Davies, an Emmy Award-winning producer for shows such as “Jeopardy!”

Alongside her five fellow co-founders more than half a century ago, King helped to develop a league format that featured a tennis court comprising four colors and teams made up of at least two men and two women. The inaugural league debuted in 1974 with 16 participating teams before stopping play four years later owing to financial losses and the lack of a major television channel contract.

Now operating under a new ownership model led by private equity firm Intrepid Sports Group, WTT is set to be the first professional sports league to offer joint equity in the league to competing male and female players.

“I couldn’t be more excited about a modernized vision for World Team Tennis,” said King, who remains involved as a minority owner and franchisee. “This league has always been about innovation and making tennis more accessible. It’s inspiring to see that spirit carried forward in a way that connects with how fans engage with sports today.”

Though the original WTT folded in 1978, several revivals were attempted over the years, with the last WTT season taking place in November 2021 with five teams playing 12 matches each.

After the 2022 season was canceled due to financial challenges exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, organizers hoped to relaunch the league in 2023 with new expansion franchises paying $1 million to participate, but the project could not get off the ground.

Match Formats and Schedules

On the court, the new WTT match format will feature four singles sets — two men’s and two women’s — and a mixed doubles “Supertiebreaker.”

Jessica Pegula, the current No. 5-ranked player in the WTA, is set to be confirmed in the player roster, which is expected to predominantly feature top-20 players from the United States.

According to the league, WTT matches will be played outside of the traditional tennis calendar to create a dedicated window that fits players’ schedules, hence the December start date. In the previous iteration of the league, matches would usually be played during the summer months, and both ATP and WTA players would take a break from their tour schedules to participate in World Team Tennis.

Accessibility

‍The WTT is aiming to create a more accessible and fan-focused vision for tennis by introducing live-in-venue entertainment, music and immersive technology (including real-time reality ball tracking and advanced data visualization) in partnership with Hawk-Eye Innovations, a Sony Group Company.

The move for greater accessibility is also being heavily driven by the United States Tennis Association. As part of its “35 by 35” vision, the organization wants to reach 35 million tennis players by 2035 by creating more entry points for both players and fans.

“World Team Tennis has been ahead of its time for 50 years with its values of gender equity and its leadership in innovation,” said Stephen Amritraj, CEO of WTT and founder of Intrepid Sports Group. “We’re not simply bringing the league back — we’re building it with intention as an inclusive, differentiated property at the intersection of sport, culture, and entertainment.”
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“We’re excited about the return of a revamped World Team Tennis that gives more people access to our sport by bringing high-level, professional tennis into more markets across the country,” said Brian Vahaly, chairman of the board and president, interim co-CEO, USTA. “When fans see the best athletes in the world up close, it inspires them to pick up a racquet and helps grow the sport.”

Further announcements around the league’s players, teams, venues, partnerships and fan experiences will be made in the coming months.