By Erin Bruehl, USTA.com

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Bringing World TeamTennis back to New York City was something Claude Okin envisioned when he bought a controlling interest in the World TeamTennis franchise, the New York Hamptons, back in 2003.

The New York Hamptons played at Sportime Clubs in Quogue, N.Y., for a year and then two years in Amagansett, N.Y., after Patrick McEnroe founded the team in 2000. After Okin became the managing partner in 2003, the team moved to Mamaroneck, N.Y., in Westchester County just north of New York City and was renamed the New York Sportimes. (McEnroe, the general manager of USTA Player Development, is still a minority owner).

But now in the 34th season of the Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League, Okin’s dream has been realized, and World TeamTennis has returned to New York City, as the Sportimes played their home opener of the 2009 season on July 7 in their brand-new, state-of-the-art $16 million Sportime Stadium on Randall’s Island.

This is the first time in 31 years that New York City has hosted a World TeamTennis franchise since the New York Sets-turned-New York Apples in 1978. In addition, some of the proceeds from the Sportimes will go to the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation to help the thousands of New York children it serves every year.

“We love all of our Sportime clubs. But this is something that has taken us six years to create and $16 million,” Okin, the managing partner of the New York Sportimes and Sportime Clubs (a chain of tennis and fitness facilities in the New York area), said. “It is a dream come true. There were a few bumps along the way, and there are a few things we still have to fine tune. But our plan was always to bring the team to New York. When we hosted the team in our club in Amagansett, when we bought a controlling interest in the team and moved it to Westchester, we already knew we were going to try and build this facility.”

It was Billie Jean King and Larry King who created World TeamTennis in the early 1970s with the idea of teams and a league where men and women would be contributing equally. Each team in the unique league has two women, two men and a coach, with matches consisting of one set each of women’s singles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. In addition, each set is only played to five games (instead of six), and there is no-advantage scoring with other changes from traditional professional tennis, including no let calls amongst other different rules. Coaches and the other team members are also on the courts during each match, with on-court coaching and substitution of players during a match allowed.

The 2009 season runs from July 2-22 and is followed by the championship weekend, July 24-26. There are 10 teams in the league competing to win the title.

The Sportimes hope to win their first World TeamTennis championship since 2005 this year with a team of Robert Kendrick, Jesse Witten, Abigail Spears and Christina Fusano. Tennis legend and New Yorker John McEnroe also returns to the Sportimes for five matches this season. Chuck Adams returns for his third year as the Sportimes’ coach.

This is John McEnroe’s 10th year as a member of the Sportimes, it is Witten’s third consecutive year with the franchise, and it is Kendrick’s third year with the Sportimes but first since 2005. Fusano and Spears are in their first years with the Sportimes. Fusano has played two previous seasons in World TeamTennis, but Spears had only substituted in a few matches before this season.

The team is off to a 4-1 start, including its first victory in the new Sportime Stadium on July 8 over the defending WTT champion New York Buzz, 23-8. The Buzz this year is comprised entirely of talented American junior players and not professionals, like all the other teams in the league.

As the word spreads of the new state-of-the-art facility, which also has a complex of other outdoor courts, indoor courts and a fitness center, among other amenities, the team is hoping more and more fans come out to experience the unique atmosphere and experience of World TeamTennis.

“It is a new home court, so everything feels new,” Witten, a former University of Kentucky star, said. “Every year is different because there are new players, new teams and new atmospheres. And it is always a good break, a change from the grind out there (of the regular tennis season). You get a whole different relationship with the sport itself.

“I think it is a matter of time (before World TeamTennis becomes big in New York),” he added. “I think as soon as we have some good matches, some of the big names come out here, and as the years go on, I think it will be really good here. It is a great spot, easy enough for people to get to and play tennis. It is a great location. Get the fans coming, they will learn about it, and they will love it. There is nothing not to love; it is an exciting thing.”

Kendrick was originally a member of the 2005 team that won the championship, but he was injured and unable to play in the final. He would like to see the Sportimes hoist the trophy this year -- the championship will be played July 26 in Washington, D.C. -- but for now the team is enjoying its good start, new location and the rarity of actually playing tennis as part of a team.

“I think it is a great atmosphere, it is a beautiful club,” Kendrick, ranked No. 77 in the world, said. “It is going to be good for the city, and hopefully a lot of kids come out. It is a break from the tour, too. We have a tremendous coach in Chuck Adams. He keeps our blood sugar up on the court and just does it all for us.

“I feel I am playing my best tennis the last few years,” he added. “It is about keeping the body in shape and keeping the knee healthy (for me), and hopefully I play some good tennis here going into the hardcourt Olympus US Open Series.”

The Olympus US Open Series leads to the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., which is played a short drive away from Sportime Stadium.

The United States Tennis Association also became a 25 percent owner of the Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League earlier this year. The partnership goes beyond professional tennis, as in each of the pro league’s cities, the USTA and its 17 sections will work with World TeamTennis to expand the QuickStart play format as well as Junior TeamTennis to encourage more children to start playing tennis.

As for the Sportimes, their original lineup after the player draft included World TeamTennis veteran Ashley Harkleroad. Harkleroad gave birth to her first child, Charlie, in March 2009 and hoped to be ready to return to tennis in time for the season. She was not able to play, however, so the team had an opening to fill. Okin heard Spears, the No. 43-ranked doubles player in the world, was available and jumped at the opportunity.

“Abby was not in the draft.” Okin said. “(But) the minute the league told me Abby was available, I just said yes. She is a perfect TeamTennis player; she is a great team member and is a very good player. She knows what to do out there.”

Spears did not take much time to think about it before agreeing to join the Sportimes for her first full season of World TeamTennis. She played a year of college tennis at UCLA back in 2000 and actually competed against Fusano, who was playing for Cal Berkeley at the time. The two have known each other since they were junior players.

“I immediately thought it would be fun to play on this team,” Spears said. “It is a different kind of pressure, and I think it will be good for me going into the summer playing other events. It is a great atmosphere. I liked playing in college, and the team environment is pretty fun. To have a coach on the court, getting the fans involved, and the music is always fun.”

The fan involvement and the music is indeed part of the uniqueness of the World TeamTennis as in contrary to other professional tennis matches, cheering and noise from the crowd is encouraged during the match. There are also announcers commenting on the court and music playing in between points. It makes for an atmosphere unlike anything else in tennis.

The atmosphere is something Fusano, 28, enjoys, as well as having a set schedule for a few weeks.

“It is different. You know your schedule; you know where you are playing. In normal tournaments, you never know when you are going to play, and if you lose you are out of that city,” she said. “We have our three weeks. I played in college, and this is a good team atmosphere. You see these guys (on the tour), but to really rally around a common goal, that is what makes it fun. We are all together, we have all been doing it forever, we all know each other, but now we are going after the same thing.”

Okin is pleased with all of his team members, and tennis in New York is special to him because of his New York roots. Back in the 1970s, he was a racquet stringer for the New York Sets when they played in the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden (now the WaMu Theater). Having watched King and some of the original World TeamTennis stars and legends in New York, Okin is thrilled to have his team here now.

“I think we will have to build a little steam, get some people out to see what it is all about, but there is no comparison to being in New York City,” he said. “(There are) eight million people (in New York City), and we are 20 minutes from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Obviously, we want to do something that fills in the tennis season, something that tennis fans can go to before the US Open in the middle of the summer. We think it is going to be the best. Nothing is as exciting as being here.”