Lasers Shooting for Return to Springfield in 2023

While the Springfield Lasers won’t be competing in any matches at the team’s home facility of Cooper Tennis Complex in 2022, the World TeamTennis franchise is hopeful for a return to competition held in Springfield in 2023.

Bob Belote — ownership representative of the Lasers and Director of Parks for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board — said he doesn’t see “a scenario where we have a 2022 season back here in Springfield.” Read the official World TeamTennis announcement here.

“There may be some WTT activity, exhibitions or some All-Star type of event, but that is yet to be determined,” Belote said. “We were really hoping there would be a return to each of our local markets for 2022 after playing remotely the last two years. Our fans would like to see it. They’re missing it. We get asked that question a lot. I can’t foresee us putting it together at the league level.”

The traditional World TeamTennis campaign takes place during a three-week stretch in July with matches hosted by participating WTT cities. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entirety of the 2020 season to be played at The Greenbrier in West Virginia. The 2021 season, meanwhile, was held at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in November.

“It’s not hard for us at the franchise level as we’ve got Cooper, a stadium and staff to manage it,” Belote said. “At the league level, there’s a lot of orchestration with teams and communities. We’re really strategizing what a 2023 season would look like and a return to each of the communities and their local fanbases. We’re excited about that and a little disappointed for this year.”

Belote said supporters of the Springfield Lasers received a nice reward when some of the organization’s players had a standout showing at the 2022 French Open. Jean-Julien Rojer — who competed on the Lasers’ 2018 and 2019 WTT championship squads — teamed up with Marcelo Arevalo to claim the men’s doubles championship. Arevalo played for the Lasers in 2021.

The tandem Rojer and Arevalo bested in a three-set thriller in the French Open final featured yet another WTT participant in Austin Krajicek, who competed for the Orange County Breakers last year. Belote said several Lasers staff members tuned in to cheer on Rojer and Arevalo, and Belote reached out to Springfield coach John-Laffnie de Jager about it all.

While the news of no Springfield-based matches for 2022 stings, Belote said he’s excited about the future of World TeamTennis, and the Lasers franchise is “all-in” for whatever comes next. Belote recalled when the state of Missouri featured three WTT organizations with the Lasers, St. Louis Aces and Kansas City Explorers. USTA Missouri Valley created the Show-Me Cup for the three franchises to battle to capture.

For World TeamTennis to sustain long-term success, Belote said bringing on new franchises in cities with solid fanbases like St. Louis and KC had will be critical. He hopes the state of Missouri and the Midwest at-large get long looks from the league for planting new teams. In the meantime, he’s looking forward to the Lasers playing home contests at Cooper Complex once again.

“We want it to return. Our fanbase wants to see it again. And, frankly, I would say our partners with the Missouri Valley are all-in, too,” Belote said. “What’s so cool about World TeamTennis is the energy, the engagement, the personal nature you feel with your team and your players. Getting autographs and all that. There really is nothing like that in the game of tennis.

“We want to see that again. I’m really proud of the work we do at Cooper Tennis Complex at all levels of the game of tennis. We’re all excited about rolling that back out and getting back into it all, and so are our fans.”