Where in the world will the Lasers play this summer?

There will be World TeamTennis in 2020. The only question is where.

The league announced May 4 it will go ahead with the season, but with changes to follow CDC guidelines as the nation deals with the COVID-19 pandemic..

“While we remain hopeful that the WTT season will begin on July 12, as originally scheduled, we have concluded that it is not possible for players, staff and fans to complete the necessary air travel to and from our nine host cities,” Carlos Silva, CEO of WTT, said in a press release. “Safety for all involved remains at the forefront of our decision-making. Therefore, the WTT season in its normal format will not take place this year. However, we are developing a new plan to conduct the 2020 season in one venue, in one city. We are very excited about this prospect and believe that this will be a unique way to allow our athletes the opportunity to compete for the 2020 WTT King Trophy and this year’s $1,000,000 prize.”

Springfield Lasers General Manager Paul Nahon said his team is on board with that plan.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Nahon said.. “They can isolate the operations based on the circumstances we’re under and guarantee the safety of players and staff. I hope most of the season will be televised and they can keep that crew safe, too. There are a lot of people to take care of in the process of running a season, and we need to make sure they’re all taken care of.”

Nahon has been in touch with the Lasers’ players and said they’re looking forward to playing in WTT again. He also noted the league has been very supportive of the franchises during the period of uncertainty.

WTT joins the NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer in altering its 2020 season. All nine of the league’s host cities have been impacted by “stay-at-home” orders to some degree. Several are located in states that still remain closed with no immediate plans to re-open.

But not all of them. Missouri and Florida began reopening May 4. Pennsylvania will begin a phased-in reopening starting May 8. New York, Nevada and Washington D.C. are all under stay-at-home orders until at least mid-May.

“Currently, the league is in discussions with several cities which are located in states that have begun to ease restrictions, as they have indicated an interest in hosting the WTT season and facilitating logistics by consolidating play in one city,” Silva said. “When we ultimately make a decision, it will respect the latest CDC protocols as well as relevant state and city health regulations.”

So could the WTT play its 2020 season at Cooper Tennis Complex? Nahon, like everyone else, is waiting to find out.

“Springfield is definitely something they’re looking at,” he said. “They’re looking at all the states, but we’re an option.”

WTT plans to post another update before the end of May as plans materialize.