Billie Jean King's World TeamTennis Going Strong as 36th Season Opens Monday

Wimbledon winds down today, and the tennis world turns its eyes back across the pond to the hard courts of North America, leading up to the US Open at the end of August. 

The transition from grass to hard courts takes a few weeks, but filling that void for the tennis enthusiast is World TeamTennis, the longtime passion of legend Billie Jean King and business partner Ilana Kloss. The season is short, the access to players is tremendous, and the level of fun is very high.

The 2011 season lasts less than a month, starting this week with an Independence Day matchup between the Philadelphia Freedoms and Springfield Lasers and continuing almost nightly until the Finals in Charleston, S.C., on July 24.

Current stars like the Bryan brothers, Venus and Serena Williams, John Isner, and Mardy Fish team with veterans like Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and John McEnroe for a fun and competitive night of tennis in intimate settings across the country, from Washington, D.C., to Newport Beach, Calif.

One of those intimate settings is in New York, nestled between Manhattan, The Bronx, and Queens on Randall's Island. 

The site of the event is Sportime Randall's Island, a gleaming, $20 million, year-round facility with both private and public courts.  It is also the home to WTT's Sportimes and their 3,000-seat stadium, as well as the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. The facility is just three years old and, starting Wednesday, will be WTT's hub in the Big Apple.

"I am very proud of our great facility here and what we have been able to accomplish for tennis in New York in a very short time," McEnroe said on a conference call recently. "We all know the state of American tennis and have to figure out ways to improve it, and I think by giving kids a chance and exposing them to such a facility, we are trying to make a difference."

On the professional side, the difference the Sportimes will make during their home season will be in access to a public who may not get to see the stars of today and tomorrow that closely when the Open comes to town. 

The Sportimes will have former No. 1 Hingis alongside McEnroe this season and will stage a series of promotions in conjunction with their partner, USTA Eastern Section, to get racquets into the hands of kids attending the matches this July.

That combination of affordability, access, and promotion is key in the WTT formula for growing the game.

"The game has to be fun and it has to be accessible, and by building this facility here and promoting it, we can be a successful sport again," McEnroe added.

That success comes from building fans who both love the stars and want to pick up racquets, and the fun begins this week.