International Premier Tennis League: Everything you need to know
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The 2016 ATP and WTA seasons may be over, but there’s still time for the International Premier Tennis League. It’s the only competition in the world where you can see Serena Williams and Carlos Moya on the same team.
Don’t worry if you haven’t heard too much about it, as the event is only entering its third year.
Founded in 2013 and launched a year later, the tournament is essentially the tennis version of cricket’s IPL.
This year four star-studded teams will meet across three venues in Japan, Singapore and India.
The Indian Aces take part alongside the Japan Warriors, the Singapore Slammers and the UAE Royals.
The four teams will compete in a round-robin format, with each match made up of five sets, before a final showdown between the top two sides.
Each of those five sets will feature a different category of player, including men’s and women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and legends singles.
At the end of the round-robin stage, whoever has won the most number of games will prevail to the final in a bid to ensure players fight tooth and nail for every point.
The Aces, Warriors and the Slammers each boast one ‘icon’ player in their squad, while the Royals will compete with two players from the ‘A Category’.
The Slammers are the reigning champions, and boast Serena Williams as their icon player, with Nick Kyrgios their A Category contender.
Roger Federer is the Icon for the Indian Aces, with Kei Nishikori filling that role for Japan Warriors.
Each side has named two legends in the squad, with former Grand Slam winners Carlos Moya, Marat Safin and Goran Ivanisovic just three of the eight included.
WTA stars Eugenie Bouchard and Ana Ivanovic will also be in action, and the bookies can’t split the teams for this year’s event.
But all four sides are blessed with quality young and old, and this could be the International Premier Tennis League’s best year yet.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
