Everything You Need to Know About the International Premier Tennis League
The ATP and WTA year-end championships along with the Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals, used to signal the end of the professional tennis season.
Not anymore. A couple of pro-tennis leagues debut this year. The Indian-based Champions League and the International Premier Tennis League now occupy what used to be vacation and recuperation time for the top players.
The Champions League is underway now. It's like the minor leagues when compared to the IPTL. The inaugural IPTL season gets underway Nov. 28 in Manila.
Promoted as the NBA playoffs meets team tennis, the IPTL has attracted some big names. The ATP and WTA No. 1-ranked players, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have signed on. So have the No. 2s, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova.
Other big names include Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Caroline Wozniacki.
Retired players like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Goran Ivanisevic are also onboard, as "legends." Each team will have a few young players touted as future stars.
With a funky format that includes a shot clock, the league promises to be intriguing.
Still confused about what to expect? No worries. The following is all you need to know about the inaugural IPTL season.
It's Been Called a Glorified Exhibition
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League founder Mahesh Bhupathi took offense to ATP President Chris Kermode calling the IPTL a "glorified exhibition."
"We're going to put on a world-class show," Bhupathi told the NDTV.
What else do you call professional tennis tournaments that pay players hefty prize money for little play and have no rankings points on the line?
Top players were reportedly promised $1 million just to play two sets.
Of course, these players are professionals and take pride in their work. Expect to see some solid tennis. However, it will be interesting to see how serious the players take jobs with guaranteed big paydays.
Who's in It?
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The league has four teams. Each represents an Asian city and corporate sponsor. They will play 24 matches in a round-robin format.
According to the league's website, 21 Grand Slam champions will participate. There was some sort of draft of 80 players. But the headliners are as follows:
The Manila Mavericks are led by Murray and Sharapova. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya and Treat Huey make up the rest of the team.
The Singapore Slammers have a heavy Australian presence. They are led by Serena Williams and Tomas Berdych. Other players include Lleyton Hewitt, Nick Kyrgios, Daniela Hantuchova and Bruno Soares. Their legends are Patrick Rafter and Andre Agassi.
The Micromax Indian Aces play out of New Delhi. The Indian Aces have some serious star power. Led by Federer, the team includes Sampras, Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna and Fabrice Santoro.
The UAE Royals feature Djokovic, Wozniacki, Marin Cilic and Eugenie Bouchard. The team is rounded out with Nenad Zimonjic, Malek Jaziri and Goran Ivanisevic.
Retired Players Compete Too
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Retired players, or legends as they like to call them, are on the team. However, they only play against other legends. Still, it will be fun to see Agassi versus Sampras or Rafter against Ivanisevic. It will also be nice to see Federer and Sampras as teammates.
The IPTL Was Founded by Mahesh Bhupathi
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Bhupathi is the brains behind the new league. He got the idea about starting the league after seeing the successful launch of India's International Premier cricket league.
Well respected on the ATP Tour, Bhupathi is a 12-time doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam champion. He's also an astute businessman. He founded the Globosport Group of Companies, which represents Murray's commercial interests.
Bhupathi's goal is to expand participation in tennis in Asia. He believes that, in order to do that, aspiring tennis players in Asia need to experience top-level tennis, up close. He also wants to make tennis as hip as the NBA.
The Format
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The format blends traditional tennis with a few twists.
The order of play is determined 45 minutes prior to the match.
Each match has five sets; men's singles, women's singles, mixed doubles, men's doubles and men's legends singles. As with traditional tennis, the first to score six games wins the set. However, if a set reaches five-all, a five-minute "shootout" takes place.
In the shootout, the player with the most points when the time runs out, wins the set. There is no changeover.
There is no ad scoring.
Every game won counts as a point. So even if a team loses a set, they fight for as many points as possible.
If a match is tied at five-all, then there is a seven-minute "Super Shoot Out." Unless otherwise agreed to, the top men's singles players must play in the Super Shoot Out.
Each team gets one 60-seconds timeout per set. That's right, coaches can stop play at anytime during the set.
Rules to Speed Up Play
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The IPTL has some interesting rules in place to speed up pace and play. There is a 20-second "shot clock" between points. If a player uses more than the allotted 20 seconds, they lose a point.
It will be interesting to see how methodical servers, such as Sharapova, handle the 20-second clock.
There is also no ad scoring. Every deuce game is sudden death. The goal is to pick up the pace and add more excitement.
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