Marquee players part of World Team Tennis reboot as team names revealed

World Team Tennis, the mixed-gender tennis league founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, has unveiled team branding and marquee players for its December 2026 reboot.

On Tuesday, Aug. 19, World Team Tennis revealed that top-50 ATP players Tommy Paul and Denis Shapovalov will join previously announced WTA No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the league when it restarts for the first time since 2021.

Shapovalov, who grew up in Toronto and is currently the No. 48-ranked men’s singles player, will represent the Toronto North Racquet Club. Pegula, a native of Buffalo, New York whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, will represent the New York Empire Racquet Club. Paul, who has a singles ranking of No. 24 and has lived in Boca Raton, Florida since he was a teenager, will represent the Florida Flamingos Racquet Club.

“When I saw the branding for the Florida Flamingos, I couldn’t have been more excited,” Paul said in a news release. “The tennis community in South Florida is very special to me, and I can’t wait for December.”

The Florida Flamingos revives one of the WTT’s inaugural franchises, which folded after the 1974 season, though this edition’s updated logo is pink and burgundy rather than pink and red. Toronto’s new crest is the same red as the Canadian flag and features a moose with six antlers representing Toronto’s six districts. The New York Empire, which competed from 2016 to 2021, returns with a logo featuring a geometric crown, inspired by the New York City skyline and the city’s Art Deco heritage.

“Building a distinct crest, logo and identity for each club that speaks to the culture, history and heartbeat of each city was an intentional first step in relaunching the league to give fans and players something to rally behind,” said Patrick Yee, Chief Business Officer of WTT. “We wanted to develop clubs that can live well beyond the court and are inextricably linked with local communities, personalities and legacies. This is just the beginning.”

The rest of the participating players and the full WTT season schedule for 2026 will be announced at a later date, but the league’s latest iteration is designed to accommodate players’ schedules and entertain fans with greater variety.

Whereas early WTT seasons took place in the summer and resulted in scheduling conflicts with major tournaments, the entire 2026 season will be played on six match nights over a three-week span in December during the ATP and WTA offseason. Each team will start four players for each match (two men and two women), and each match features 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.

The league also introduced a new ownership model that offers competing players equity in the league, with base pay and bonuses to entice players to participate during the small break in the traditional tennis calendar.

WTT matches in New York will be played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and WNBA’s New York Liberty. The Toronto venue is Coca-Cola Coliseum, home to the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo and multiple professional hockey teams. The Florida venue is Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, home to the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marquee players part of World Team Tennis reboot as team names revealed