After thriving in WTT, five players to watch

White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. —The 2020 World TeamTennis seasoned ended with a deciding point in a supertiebreaker between Chicago Smash and New York Empire. CoCo Vandeweghe would pull off a forehand return winner to give Empire the King Cup.

To get to that last strike, a lot of matches were played and a few players really stood out. Here's a look at which Americans to watch out for later this month when the tours pick back up again. The women will have a chance to start in Kentucky on August 10, while the men will have to wait for Cincinnati (in New York).

1

Jessica Pegula

When Danielle Collins was dismissed mid-season, Pegula stepped up big time for Orlando. She posted singles wins over the likes of Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Jennifer Brady and Ajla Tomljanovc. On site with her coach David Witt, Pegula used the three weeks to springboard into Kentucky, which is technically a title defense for the 26-year-old since she won Washington last year.

2

Brandon Nakashima

As a rookie in WTT and on tour, no one should have expected too much from 18-year-old Nakashima. The youngster had other plans. He was all-business all season long for Chicago Smash and picked up a lot of singles games, including a 5-1 victory over Tennys Sandgren in the semifinals and a 5-0 shutout of Jock Sock in the final.

3

Taylor Fritz

The 22-year-old led the Philadelphia Freedoms to playoffs and picked up the regular season MVP award by finishing first in men's singles for games won (59 percent). He served as the closer often by playing the final set, and had no trouble jumping into doubles. With serves over 140 mph, including one clocked at 145, Fritz has been feeling his game all WTT season long.

4

Sofia Kenin

Fritz's teammate and hitting partner Kenin was just as impressive. The world No. 4 took advantage of her time at The Greenbrier to train, often with Fritz. She was hungry for matches and thrilled to get to face off against her idols Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams. The 21-year-old played each point as seriously as during her fortnight in Melbourne.

5

Tennys Sandgren

Playing for Orlando Storm, Sandgren came into the start of the season hot. He was a huge factor for the Storm's success by playing singles, doubles and even mixed. The 29-year-old slide his way around the court posting wins over Nakashima, Fritz, Tommy Paul, Sam Querrey, Mitchell Kruger and Ryan Harrison. Like Nakashima, even when he lost he still posted a lot of games, finishing the regular season behind Fritz in men's singles with a 53 winning percentage.

For more photos, videos, results and live action from World TeamTennis, go to WTT.com.