Teams will begin to put together their 2012 lineups on Tuesday, Feb. 14, with the WTT Marquee Player Draft. Teams draft in reverse order of their 2011 finish, with defending champion Washington Kastles selecting last in the Draft.
Team rosters will be completed on Tuesday, March 13, when the 2012 WTT Roster Player Draft is conducted. With WTT’s gender-balanced team concept, each team is comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Team matches consist of five events, with one set each of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
Billie Jean King co-founded the WTT Pro League and coed team format in the 1970s. WTT is also well known for introducing other innovative elements to tennis including instant replay, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching, Supertiebreakers, multi-colored courts and player names on the back of shirts.
Each season, the WTT Pro League features some of the biggest stars in tennis. Top names from the 2011 season included Venus Williams, Serena Williams, John McEnroe, Martina Hingis, James Blake, John Isner and the world’s top-ranked doubles team of Mike and Bob Bryan. The League is a showcase for three generations of tennis standouts, including legends, current tour players and up-and-coming tennis pros.
IMPORTANT DATES: WTT Pro League presented by GEICO
WTT Marquee Player Draft: February 14, 2012
WTT Roster Player Draft: March 13, 2012
Regular Season: July 9-28, 2012
WTT FINALS WEEKEND PRESENTED BY GEICO
WTT Conference Championships: Sept. 14-15
WTT Finals presented by GEICO: Sept. 16
Media Contacts:
WTT – Rosie Crews (rcrews@wtt.com) – PH: (817) 684-0366
Family Circle Tennis Center – Michael Saia (Mike.Saia@familycirclecup.com) – PH: (843) 849-3153
About WTT Pro League presented by GEICO:
The World Team Tennis (WTT) Pro League presented by GEICO showcases the best in professional team tennis with the innovative coed team format co-founded by Billie Jean King in the 1970s. The WTT Pro League has featured virtually every major champion of the Open era over the League’s past 36 seasons.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis. WTT and the USTA are teaming up on number of initiatives, including development of the youth market through junior team tennis programs.
For more information on the WTT Pro League, visit www.WTT.com.
About the Family Circle Tennis Center:
The Family Circle Tennis Center, home of the Family Circle Cup and World TeamTennis Finals Weekend, is a public facility owned by the City of Charleston and operated by Meredith Corporation that also hosts a variety of additional events including concerts, festivals, tennis tournaments and other activities throughout the year. Charleston, South Carolina was named was named “Top City in the US" in the 2011 Condé Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards, and Charleston was also voted the “Best Tennis Town in America” in a USTA contest in 2010. The Tennis Center features a 10,200 seat stadium, Grand Lawn, 17 tennis courts lighted for night play, Pro Shop, and a full service event management staff capable of handling all aspects of an event including ticketing, operations, sales, marketing, public relations, and food & beverage.
Family Circle is the longest running title sponsor of a sporting event in the United States, as well as in all of professional tennis, world-wide. With over 21 million readers, Family Circle is one of the most widely read monthly magazines in America and is one of 14 leading subscription magazines owned by Meredith Corporation. The Family Circle Cup receives four days of live broadcast domestically on ESPN2, and is viewed internationally in over 25 countries, featuring over 200 hours of live and delayed global broadcast time, reaching 8.54 million viewers worldwide.