World TeamTennis continues to ramp up its spectacular celebration of tennis on the weekend of February 29th and March 1st. Lead singer Tom Higgenson from the Grammy Award-nominated, multi-platinum selling American rock band Plain White T’s will provide musical entertainment and James Blake and New York Empire franchise player Mardy Fish will serve as coaches during WTT All-Star Weekend presented by Barefoot Hard Seltzers at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
The inaugural WTT Celebrity All-Star Match – Sunday at 2 p.m. PT – showcases 2019 WTT stars such as Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the most accomplished doubles team in tennis history who won the ATP’s Delray Beach Open on February 23rd in the midst of their final ATP Tour season. Vegas Rollers star Sam Querrey, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. natives Taylor Fritz and Coco Vandeweghe and their San Diego Aviators teammate, Ryan Harrison, Madison Keys, 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist (women’s singles) Monica Puig and 2018 WTT Female MVP Taylor Townsend.
WTT All-Star Weekend presented by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly kicks off WTT’s 45th season in 2020 at the home of WTT’s San Diego Aviators and is sold out to a capacity of 2,500.
Higgenson will perform an acoustic set at a private reception during WTT All-Star Weekend presented by Barefoot Hard Seltzers on Saturday evening. Prior to the start of Sunday’s WTT Celebrity All-Star Match, he will sing his band’s breakthrough single, “Hey There Delilah,” which earned a ‘Song of the Year’ Grammy nomination in 2008 and a ‘Monster Single of the Year’ nomination during the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
Renowned Las Vegas headliner Lorena Peril – the host and lead singer of the entertainment show, “FANTASY,” at Luxor Hotel and Casino – will sing the national anthem prior to the start of the WTT Celebrity All-Star Match.
“The stars have aligned for WTT All-Star Weekend presented by Barefoot Hard Seltzers , and we are poised to make this World TeamTennis event an annual spectacle,” WTT CEO Carlos Silva said. “The demand for World TeamTennis is evident in that this match has been sold out for quite some time. WTT Celebrity All-Star weekend brings together many of our most popular WTT stars and best American tennis players with live entertainment from accomplished musicians which we feel is going to produce a fantastic vibe and fun atmosphere under the bright skies of San Diego County.”
Among the tennis luminaries expected to attend Sunday’s WTT Celebrity All-Star Match are Australian legend and 11-time Grand Slam champion Rod Laver, whose WTT jersey was retired by the San Diego Aviators in 2019, retired touring pros Rick Leach (Orange County Breakers coach), John Lloyd (San Diego Aviators coach), Luke Jensen, Scott Lipsky and Lester Cook, and former WTT coach Wayne Bryan, the father of the Bryan brothers.
Those expected to be in attendance for the WTT Celebrity All-Star Match from the sports and entertainment industry include musician Redfoo, an assistant coach for WTT’s Vegas Rollers who is also the “Party Rock Anthem” singer from LMFAO, actress Elisabeth Shue, Atz Kilcher and Andre Ethier, a retired two-time MLB All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
CBS Sports, the official television partner of World TeamTennis, will air an exclusive, one-hour WTT Celebrity All-Star Match special on April 4 at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT to highlight the best moments from the event.
Retired American tennis player James Blake will coach Team Bryan Brothers against Mardy Fish, who will coach Team Sharapova alongside WTT veteran and five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. Blake capped a 10-year stint with World TeamTennis when he won the WTT championship with the San Diego Aviators in 2016. Blake won 10 singles titles and seven doubles championships in his ATP Tour career. Fish, the 2019 U.S. Davis Cup captain, is a nine-year WTT veteran who has spent the last three years playing for the New York Empire. He won six singles titles and eight doubles titles on the ATP Tour.
The WTT Celebrity All-Star Match follows WTT’s match format – one set (first to five games) each of men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
WTT Celebrity All-Star Match teams
(players subject to change)
Team Bryan Brothers – Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan¬, Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys, Taylor Townsend
Team Sharapova – Monica Puig, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Coco Vandeweghe
Fritz, the 22-year-old rising star who won his first ATP singles title in a June 2019 Wimbledon tune-up at Eastbourne and was a three-time finalist on the 2019 ATP Tour, and Querrey (owner of 10 ATP singles and five ATP doubles titles) are two of the ATP Tour’s four highest-ranked American players at No. 35 and No. 41, respectively, and headline the WTT Celebrity All-Star Match on the men’s side. Querrey and the Bryan brothers played on WTT’s expansion Vegas Rollers in 2019.
Keys is a five-time WTA singles champion and 2016 U.S. Olympian currently ranked No. 12 in the world. Keys played for the WTT expansion Orlando Storm in 2019 and has routinely contended for WTA Grand Slam titles in recent years. She was a 2017 U.S. Open singles finalist and, in 2018, reached the semifinals of the French Open and U.S. Open, and the Australian Open quarterfinals.
2018 WTT Female MVP Townsend, No. 67 on the WTA Tour, starred for the 2019 regular season champion Philadelphia Freedoms. WTT last held All-Star matches in-season from 1975-78.
2020 WTT Celebrity All-Star Weekend Schedule
WTT All-Star Player Party
Saturday, Feb 29, 2020 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, CA
Buy Tickets Now!
Come out and kick-off All-Star weekend in style at the player party! You will have the opportunity to mingle and take photos with the Bryan Brothers, Madison Keys, Sam Querrey, CoCo Vandeweghe, Ryan Harrison, Taylor Townsend and Taylor Fritz as well as WTT coaches and the legend, Rod Laver. There will also be plenty of entertainment throughout the evening including music from DJ Danny and a WTT panel discussion.
WTT All-Star Clinic
Sunday, Mar 1, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, CA
SOLD OUT!
Come and play tennis with WTT All-Stars! This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to hit with the Bryan Brothers, Madison Keys, Sam Querrey, CoCo Vandeweghe, Ryan Harrison, Taylor Townsend and Taylor Fritz as well as WTT coaches. You will rotate between courts so that you can get one-on-one time with each player! Only 40 spots available so secure yours today.
WTT Celebrity All-Star Match
Sunday, Mar 1, 2020 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, CA
SOLD OUT!
Come and see top talent from the 2019 World TeamTennis season and soon-to-be-announced celebrities from the tennis and entertainment industries during the WTT Celebrity All-Star Match on March 1, 2020 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. Limited seating is available for the WTT Celebrity All-Star Match, and the seating is sold out, but a few grounds pass remain!
