Teaming Up: As IPTL, CTL end inaugural seasons, Mylan WTT nears 40

Who knew that Lorde was such a tennis fan? Her 2013 hit “Tennis Court” was one of the few songs to mention the sport beyond an offhand lyric, but I’m not just talking (up like yeah) about that tune.

The 18-year-old’s two other smash singles, “Royals” and “Team,” also pay homage to the game, if you want to stretch their meanings a bit. The UAE Royals, whose roster included Novak Djokovic, were one of four teams in the recently completed, inaugural season of the International Premier Tennis League. The IPTL wasn’t the only league running in tennis’ absurdly brief off-season: The Champions Tennis League likewise brought many top players to Asia, at significant cost, for dual-gender match-ups. If you include the Davis Cup final, played in a venue that seated over 27,000, team competition has been front and center in the tennis world over the last few weeks.

Both the IPTL and CTL use fan-friendly scoring formats, among other alterations from conventional play. For one, an IPTL team can declare a “power point”—the point counts double—under certain circumstances. The structure is also conducive to broadcasters, who are often faced with a daunting task in covering tennis: Matches typically run either too long (so the conclusion runs into another program) or too short (dust off the Connors vs. Krickstein tape). “Flattering to see our format catching on,” says Rosie Crews, senior vice president of communications at Mylan World TeamTennis.

In many ways, World TeamTennis was the forerunner to both the IPTL and CTL. Not only in the way the games are played and the winner is determined—there are differences unique to each league—but in its place among the market it serves. John McEnroe, who’s been name-dropped in songs by House of Pain and Limp Bizkit, has said that the new Asian leagues are examples of history repeating itself, with emerging markets (primarily India) embracing tennis in a very accessible manner, much like World TeamTennis in the United States during the 1970s tennis boom. It was such a draw that Jimmy Connors, who played WTT in 1974, was barred from entering Roland Garros because of that decision. He would go on win the other three Grand Slam tournaments that year.

Fast-forward forty years, to 2015, when WTT will celebrate its 40th anniversary. It will do so on the multi-colored courts synonymous with the league, but also at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where the teams will draft its players, and before the U.S. Open, where an All-Star event is being planned. The season takes place after Wimbledon in the summer, from July 12 to August 2, and will be broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPN3.

Crews doesn’t see the IPTL or CTL as rivals to WTT, though she’s quick to point out erroneous coverage of the new leagues that suggests the team format “is the first of its kind.” That distinction belongs to Mylan WTT, and Crews hopes that the increased popularity of the format encourages players to take part in it again this summer, in the United States. Venus Williams and Andy Roddick each played Mylan WTT in 2014 and have expressed interest in returning, but nothing has been finalized at this time.

One player who won’t be back is “the Roger Federer of World Team Tennis,” Bobby Reynolds. A journeyman ATP pro who reached a career-high No. 63 in 2009, Reynolds helped lead the Washington Kastles to their fourth consecutive Mylan WTT title last July. The dedication of players like Reynolds and owners like Mark Ein is something that sets WTT apart from the IPTL and CTL, says Crews; it remains to be seen who will participate in future editions of these off-season enterprises, and what they will look like.

What we do know is that, in 2015, World TeamTennis will turn 40, which shouldn’t be overlooked even while many laud the first seasons of IPTL and CTL. “The parallels between IPTL] and Mylan World TeamTennis were uncomfortably uncanny,” wrote David Kane [in a debate about the team tennis competitions on The Tennis Island. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and right now, the past, present, and future of team tennis looks bright.

Or, as Lorde says, “we’re on each other’s team.”