USTA to invest in World Team Tennis

January 22, 2009

The United States Tennis Association will become a minority owner in World Team Tennis in an effort to expand the USTA Junior Team Tennis program.

The USTA will own 25 percent of WTT, with co-founder Billie Jean King and commissioner Ilana Kloss remaining the majority owners, the groups announced Tuesday.

“We’ve been looking for an opportunity like this for a long time,” King said, “and I can’t think of a better partner than the USTA.”

The partnership is aimed at attracting more young athletes to tennis by marketing the USTA’s Junior Team Tennis program through WTT, an 11-team coed professional league. Serena Williams, Andy Roddick and Anna Kournikova were among the players who competed in WTT last year.

“The USTA recognizes the reciprocal relationship between the pro game and grass-roots play,” USTA president Lucy Garvin said. “Our new partnership with World Team Tennis provides us a natural platform to promote our many youth initiatives, including Junior Team Tennis.”