The U.S. Open wraps up this month, but fans can watch top-ranked tennis players compete on North American soil again this December in World Team Tennis, the mixed-gender professional league which on Sept. 9 released its official schedule and announced the addition of several star Americans.
2026 U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe, top-10 player Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien and teenage sensation Iva Jovic are joining WTT's expanded roster across three teams. Canadians Victoria Mboko, the 15th-ranked women's singles player, Leylah Fernandez and Gabriel Diallo were added as well, along with Colombian Camila Osorio.
They join the previously announced trio of Jessica Pegula, Tommy Paul and Denis Shapovalov for WTT's 2026 relaunch, which features a condensed
season and new, shorter match format.
"WTT has always been an innovator for new formats, new technology, new things for the sport. I think that the league needed a new vision and restructuring to basically try to attract a higher level and higher quality player," CEO Stephen Amritraj told USA TODAY Sports. "What WTT was before, the values stay the same and the founding principles stay the same, but everything's going to look a lot different in the effort to create a more modernized product that can attract both players and fans."
WTT's upcoming season features a total of six matches, with two matches hosted by each of its three clubs: The Florida Flamingos, New York Empire and Toronto North. Tickets go on sale Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. ET on WTT.com.
World Team Tennis was initially founded by Billie Jean King in 1974 and over the years has featured Grand Slam champions including Chris Evert, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi and Serena Williams. The upcoming season will be the league's first since 2021, when financial complications due to the pandemic forced it to stop play.
Athlete feedback played an important role in reshaping the league, Amritraj said. In an effort to better fit players' schedules, the WTT moved its season from summer to December, during the traditional tennis tour "offseason" window. The season also consists of half as many matches as the 12-match season played in 2021.
The matches themselves are designed so that men and women contribute equally to the outcome, and to give fans a chance to see as many elite players as possible in one night. Each team will start four players (two men and two women) and each match consists of four singles sets - two men's and two women's - followed by a mixed doubles tiebreak. Games use no-ad scoring to create shorter matches and the potential for dramatic sudden death points at deuce.
WTT plans to announce more players in the coming weeks. Amritraj declined to share details of athlete compensation but said WTT offers players win bonuses and the opportunity to earn equity in the league, something that Unrivaled Basketball andAthletes Unlimited have also done.
"I think one of the things that WTT was challenged by so many years earlier was the fact that there wasn't really a roadmap for emerging leagues," Amritraj said. "Now, offering players equity and giving them an ownership opportunity to align incentives is something that a lot of leagues have done. The bottom line is, I feel like it's the right thing to do."
Amritraj, a former tennis pro and the USTA's former director of college tennis who purchased WTT's intellectual property in 2024, has a personal connection to the league. His father, Anand, and uncle, Vijay, played in the early iteration of WTT in the 1970s after emigrating from India.
Amritraj said he views WTT's team competition as a "differentiated product" to the ATP/WTA tours and Grand Slam tournaments.
All six WTT matches this season will air in primetime on CNBC and stream free on Fandango as part of the league's new broadcast deal with USA Sports, the sports division of Versant. Versant already broadcasts established professional sports leagues (WNBA, English Premier League, Bundesliga) and emerging leagues (League One Volleyball), while offering WTT the potential for integration on its non-sports media properties like E! News.
Amritraj said his goal is for WTT's audience to include both traditional tennis fans and a growing segment of new fans, particularly those aged 35 and under.
"The growth within the U.S. is being driven by a younger audience that is attracted to tennis for other reasons besides the actual sport," Amritraj said. "Its entry point is culture, lifestyle, fashion, Tik Tok. And I think that we are trying to be not just a sports league, but a sports and entertainment property that is creating a product that is attractive to both of those demos."
World Team Tennis rosters
As of Sept. 9, these players have been announced as part of World Team Tennis' three clubs.
- Toronto North Racquet Club: Victoria Mboko, Leylah Fernandez, Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo
- New York Empire Racquet Club: Jessica Pegula, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Camila Osorio
- Florida Flamingos Racquet Club: Learner Tien, Iva Jovic, Tommy Paul
World Team Tennis schedule
- Tuesday, December 1: Florida Flamingos @ New York Empire (Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY)
- Wednesday, December 2: Toronto North @ New York Empire (Barclays Center)
- Saturday, December 5: New York Empire @ Toronto North (Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Canada)
- Sunday, December 6: Florida Flamingos @ Toronto North (Coca-Cola Coliseum)
- Monday, December 14: Toronto North @ Florida Flamingos (Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL)
- Tuesday, December 15: New York Empire @ Florida Flamingos (Amerant Bank Arena)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Top-ranked American players join World Team Tennis for 2026 season
