World TeamTennis cancels 2022 season, opens bids for new teams to join in 2023

World TeamTennis, the mixed-gender league co-founded nearly a half-century ago by Billie Jean King, will not have a season in 2022. But the league says it hopes to add new teams and play in 2023, with an expansion fee of $1 million per franchise.

Sacramento has a deep history in WTT play, with the Capitals playing for 28 years in the Sacramento area. The Capitals won six championships and brought an array of stars to town. Andre Agassi, Anna Kournikova and Michael Chang all played for the Capitals.

Founded in 1974 by the legendary Billie Jean King, team tennis offers an alternative to the sport’s sometimes stuffy image. Most of the players aren’t well known, although teams will occasionally pay tens of thousands of dollars to hire big-name stars for individual matches. The season typically consists of 14 matches jammed into two or three weeks.

The Capitals played their first season in 1986 at Arco Arena before moving to the Gold River Racquet Club from 1987-2001. In later years, the team played in temporary venues in shopping mall parking lots.

The team moved to Las Vegas for the 2014 season, but owner Deepal Wannakuwatte was arrested for fraud soon after the relocation. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in late 2014 after admitting he orchestrated a $100 million Ponzi scheme connected to his West Sacramento medical supply company. The league contracted the team after his arrest.