04/23/24
December 13, 2014
New Tennis League Called 'Minor Miracle' by Wall Street Journal: A new league founded by former doubles champ Mahesh Bhupathi, International Premier Tennis League, began last month with events in the Philippines, Singapore and India. The final event of the first season finishes today in Dubai. Four teams featuring some of the sport's best-known men and women -- including past greats -- compete in a series of singles and doubles events as the Micromax Indian Aces, Musafir.com UAE Royals, Manila Mavericks and DBS Singapore Slammers. Some rules speed up the sport, including a serve clock, next-point-wins provision after deuce and a worth-double "power point" a team can attempt once per set. There also are player substitutions mid-match. Wall Street Journal sportswriter Tom Perrotta said the league "should be considered a minor miracle -- and an important part of the sport’s future. ... As of July, there were still rumors that the league would fail before it started. Instead, it has received a lot more attention and praise than anyone thought it would."
I saw this listed on my channel guide (IPTL - Manila vs UAE) and was utterly confused as to what it could possibly be.
I switched over, saw tennis being played, and figured it was a mistake in the guide.
Two days later, I saw another listing with a similar match up (Singapore, this time) and realized it was some new version of "Team Tennis".
Those are some big name players on the rosters.
posted by grum@work at 11:51 PM on December 13, 2014
We were watching this the other night.
Are the players taking it seriously? No - it's hit and giggle.