World Tennis League: Players, artists line-up and all the details about Dubai event
What do you get when you combine 18 of the world’s best tennis players with six world-class DJs and performers all in one event?
The answer is the World Tennis League (WTL), a new addition to a packed Dubai winter calendar taking place between December 19 and 24 at Coca Cola Arena.Read More : ATP Finals: Ruud 'surprised' after easing past Rublev to set up final against Djokovic Inspired by the rousing success of the after-race concerts that have become a permanent feature of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix every year, the WTL will allow fans to attend three tennis matches (six if you’re going on the 23rd) followed by an evening concert, all with just one ticket.
Take Friday, December 23 for example. You could purchase a ticket with a price starting from Dh199 and get to watch the likes of 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios and world No 1 Iga Swiatek before closing out the night with Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan.
Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Ne-Yo, Deadmau5, and Wizkid are all scheduled to perform. The tennis line-up also includes WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia, recent Paris Masters winner Holger Rune, world No 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime and world No 5 Aryna Sabalenka.
“For me, it's going be the last week of preseason training. So I think it's great that we have the opportunity to play against other players and actually see what we worked on and implement that during games,” three-time major champion Swiatek told The National.
“It fits perfectly to our plan. I wanted to go to Dubai anyway to practice outside, so I think it's perfect. And also, I'm really curious how it's going to look like playing in a different system. And if I'm going to like it; I'm sure I'm going to like it. But I've never played an exhibition like that. So I'm really looking forward to it.”
According to the organisers, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena and Dubai’s Coca Cola Arena were both vying for the event but they eventually went for Dubai, with support from the Dubai Sports Council, and knowing many players flock to the emirate anyway for their pre-season training blocks.
“It definitely came to fruition pretty quickly and the interest from the players was a big part, that I was able to get a good list of men and women. I think that’s one thing we were looking at, is a combined event,” WTL CEO Scott Davidoff told The National.
“We’ve seen a lot of men’s events with ATP Cup, Laver Cup, things like that. Events like these are great, they’re a business, a product, but you’re also trying to grow tennis, you’re trying to help the players themselves by marketing the men and women together, and that’s what I want to do. Especially the team concept, as we’ve seen before, they really show the personalities of the players.
“And with the combined men and women, when you have all these top-10, top-15 players in the world to be on the same teams and interact together, they don’t get to do that too often on the tour itself.”
What is the format?
The four teams will all play each other in a round-robin format, with each showdown between two teams consisting of a men’s singles match, a women’s singles, and a mixed doubles.
Matches will follow a best-of-three format with no-ad scoring. If a match is tied at one-set-all, then the third set will be played out as a super-tiebreak, with the first to 10 points securing the victory.
“It’s definitely a fan-friendly, quick, engaging match. How we keep track, every game within a set the whole week counts. That way people are still in it until Friday, until the last match and everything is on the line for every match that is involved,” explained Davidoff.
Who are the organisers?
The company behind the WTL is called Dark Knight Events, run by chairman Rajesh Banga, who has a background in film production and music, among other fields.
It’s not lost on anyone that the concept is similar to the now-defunct IPTL, which was a league. Founded by retired Indian doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi, and taking place across several cities in Asia, the IPTL was held for three seasons, from 2014 to 2016, before it struggled financially, with several stakeholders, including some players and the broadcast production team, claiming they never got paid their fees.
Davidoff had a player relations role in the IPTL and said it was important to assure everyone involved in the WTL that it was a legitimate project with solid investment behind it.
“I think with any first-year event, there’s definitely some caution,” said Davidoff. “You’re working with the top athletes in the world and they want to make sure they’re doing something that is legitimate and concrete. That was an important part with me coming into this project, was that the funding was upfront, which was critical.
“Of course with the IPTL, logistically it was not an easy concept, it was special and an incredible concept, but to go all through Asia, five different countries in 18 days with different governments, different restrictions. It was a great idea but logistically it was maybe a little tougher than we’d hoped.
“Whereas the WTL, being in one city, Dubai, for one week is a lot more feasible on all rounds, for the staff, for the sponsors, for the players and for the city.”
Prize money will be on offer for the two teams that reach the final – the amount hasn’t been revealed yet – and Davidoff says a multi-year deal has been signed with the arena as they look to make the WTL “a longstanding event”.
The answer is the World Tennis League (WTL), a new addition to a packed Dubai winter calendar taking place between December 19 and 24 at Coca Cola Arena.
Take Friday, December 23 for example. You could purchase a ticket with a price starting from Dh199 and get to watch the likes of 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios and world No 1 Iga Swiatek before closing out the night with Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan.
Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Ne-Yo, Deadmau5, and Wizkid are all scheduled to perform. The tennis line-up also includes WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia, recent Paris Masters winner Holger Rune, world No 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime and world No 5 Aryna Sabalenka.
“For me, it's going be the last week of preseason training. So I think it's great that we have the opportunity to play against other players and actually see what we worked on and implement that during games,” three-time major champion Swiatek told The National.
“It fits perfectly to our plan. I wanted to go to Dubai anyway to practice outside, so I think it's perfect. And also, I'm really curious how it's going to look like playing in a different system. And if I'm going to like it; I'm sure I'm going to like it. But I've never played an exhibition like that. So I'm really looking forward to it.”
According to the organisers, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena and Dubai’s Coca Cola Arena were both vying for the event but they eventually went for Dubai, with support from the Dubai Sports Council, and knowing many players flock to the emirate anyway for their pre-season training blocks.
“It definitely came to fruition pretty quickly and the interest from the players was a big part, that I was able to get a good list of men and women. I think that’s one thing we were looking at, is a combined event,” WTL CEO Scott Davidoff told The National.
“We’ve seen a lot of men’s events with ATP Cup, Laver Cup, things like that. Events like these are great, they’re a business, a product, but you’re also trying to grow tennis, you’re trying to help the players themselves by marketing the men and women together, and that’s what I want to do. Especially the team concept, as we’ve seen before, they really show the personalities of the players.
“And with the combined men and women, when you have all these top-10, top-15 players in the world to be on the same teams and interact together, they don’t get to do that too often on the tour itself.”
What is the format?
The four teams will all play each other in a round-robin format, with each showdown between two teams consisting of a men’s singles match, a women’s singles, and a mixed doubles.
Matches will follow a best-of-three format with no-ad scoring. If a match is tied at one-set-all, then the third set will be played out as a super-tiebreak, with the first to 10 points securing the victory.
“It’s definitely a fan-friendly, quick, engaging match. How we keep track, every game within a set the whole week counts. That way people are still in it until Friday, until the last match and everything is on the line for every match that is involved,” explained Davidoff.
Who are the organisers?
The company behind the WTL is called Dark Knight Events, run by chairman Rajesh Banga, who has a background in film production and music, among other fields.
It’s not lost on anyone that the concept is similar to the now-defunct IPTL, which was a league. Founded by retired Indian doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi, and taking place across several cities in Asia, the IPTL was held for three seasons, from 2014 to 2016, before it struggled financially, with several stakeholders, including some players and the broadcast production team, claiming they never got paid their fees.
Davidoff had a player relations role in the IPTL and said it was important to assure everyone involved in the WTL that it was a legitimate project with solid investment behind it.
“I think with any first-year event, there’s definitely some caution,” said Davidoff. “You’re working with the top athletes in the world and they want to make sure they’re doing something that is legitimate and concrete. That was an important part with me coming into this project, was that the funding was upfront, which was critical.
“Of course with the IPTL, logistically it was not an easy concept, it was special and an incredible concept, but to go all through Asia, five different countries in 18 days with different governments, different restrictions. It was a great idea but logistically it was maybe a little tougher than we’d hoped.
“Whereas the WTL, being in one city, Dubai, for one week is a lot more feasible on all rounds, for the staff, for the sponsors, for the players and for the city.”
Prize money will be on offer for the two teams that reach the final – the amount hasn’t been revealed yet – and Davidoff says a multi-year deal has been signed with the arena as they look to make the WTL “a longstanding event”.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
