World TeamTennis

World TeamTennis (WTT) was a fun and exciting tennis league where men and women played together on the same teams. It started in 1973 and became a special event each summer in the United States. Players from the top men's and women's tennis tours would take a break to join their teams and play in this league.

WTT was very important because it was the first professional sports league to treat men and women equally. Everyone got the same chance to shine, no matter if they were a boy or a girl.

Many famous tennis stars played in World TeamTennis over the years. Legends like Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Björn Borg, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Andre Agassi all enjoyed competing in this league. It was a great way for fans to see their favorite players work together as a team.

Format

World TeamTennis matches were played on a special court with no lines. Each match had five different types of games, like men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Before the match, coaches decided the order of these games. Players usually took part in at least one of the five games.

Points were scored simply, without needing to win by two points. The first team to win five games in a set would take that set. If the score was tied at four games all, a special nine-point tiebreaker decided the winner. Each game won gave a point to the team. If the match was tied, extra play and a supertiebreaker could be used to find a winner.

Courts

World TeamTennis had a very special court that fans loved. It had four bright colors and no lines at first, helping players see better. The colors were chosen to match different types of tennis surfaces.

Later, the court got lines and new colors, but in 2006, it went back to its bright, checkerboard style. By 2019, the court changed again to deep blue and gray for better TV shows.

First league

The World TeamTennis (WTT) started in 1973. It was created by Dennis Murphy, Dick Butera, Fred Barman, Jordan Kaiser, and Larry King. They each owned different teams in the new league. Murphy had also started the World Hockey Association before this.

The league began in May 1974 with 16 teams, many with fun tennis-themed names. Famous players like Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, and Wilt Chamberlain helped bring top tennis players to the teams. Some players could not join big tournaments because of their WTT ties. The league had teams from places like Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Chicago, Florida, Houston, Minnesota, Denver, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Over the years, some teams moved, while others stopped playing. By 1975, the league had 10 teams, and it stayed that way until it ended.

Each year from 1975 to 1978, WTT held All-Star games. Players like Marty Riessen, Greer Stevens, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Björn Borg, and others were chosen as the best players of the year. The league stopped playing after the 1978 season.

Second league

1981–1991

The league started again in 1981 with four teams from California. By 1982, it grew to eight teams, and by 2005, it had twelve. In 1984, famous tennis player Billie Jean King became the leader of the league after she stopped playing tournaments.

1992–1999

In 1992, the league changed its name back to World TeamTennis. During these years, new teams like the Minnesota Penguins and Idaho Sneakers joined in.

2000–2021

In 2000, the league got a new logo. Billie Jean King stepped down as leader in 2001, and Ilana Kloss took over. Over the years, teams moved to new cities, merged, or stopped playing. In 2019, the league added two new teams: the Orlando Storm and the Vegas Rollers.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the league did not play in 2022. They planned to start again in 2023 with new teams, but as of 2026, this has not happened.

Teams at time of league folding

Former teams

Finals

Historical results

Current WTT teams are shown in bold, and non-championship teams are shown in italics.