The second annual International Premier Tennis League will begin on Wednesday, December 2 in Kobe, Japan. Five teams are taking part in the IPTL, with the newly-created Japan Warriors hosting the first stop of five.
So what is the IPTL? Straight from the league website:
“The Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) brings together current champions, tennis legends and upcoming talent in a format that’s never been seen before. Created to fulfill the increasing demand for top-level tennis in Asia, it’s the first city-based professional league in the world, played in the respective countries. Four teams participated in the inaugural season that kicked off in 2014 with Micromax Indian Aces walking away as the first ever IPTL winners.”
More than 80 players were part of the pool from which the 2015 draft was conducted on April 12 in Dubai. They were allocated to the five teams–four of which are returning franchises in addition to new Japan squad. The returning teams are the Indian Aces, OUE Singapore Slammers, Philippine Mavericks, and OBI UAE Royals.
Rosters
Japan Warriors: Kei Nishikori, Maria Sharapova, Leander Paes, Marat Safin, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Kurumi Nara
Indian Aces: Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils, Fabrice Santoro, Ivan Dodig, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna
Philippine Mavericks: Serena Williams, Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet, Sabine Lisicki, Jarmila Gajdosova, Treat Huey, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Mark Philippoussis
Singapore Slammers: Carlos Moya, Belinda Bencic, Karolina Pliskova, Marcelo Melo, Nick Kyrgios, Dustin Brown, Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray
UAE Royals: Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, Ana Ivanovic, Kristina Mladenovic, Goran Ivanisevic, Daniel Nestor
Schedule
*each stop consists of six total matches–two per day for three days
December 2-4: Kobe, Japan
December 6-8: Manila, Philippines
December 10-12: New Delhi, India
December 14-16: Dubai, UAE
December 18-20: Singapore, Malaysia
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