World TeamTennis Returns With Marathon Tourney at The Greenbrier in West Virginia CBS, ESPN, and Tennis Channel will carry live coverage of three-week event By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 - 10:28 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
World TeamTennis is the latest pro league to embrace the bubble concept, taking over at The Greenbrier in West Virginia for a three-week season featuring nine teams and a limited number of fans in the stands. With strict health and safety guidelines in place to protect the crew, WTT's broadcast-production team will have produced 66 matches in 19 days from the luxury resort by the time the Final airs on CBS on Aug. 2.
For its return to live tennis coverage, WTT will deploy a studio desk with a single host.
It is a daunting task: we have three matches a day, sometimes four, says WTT Executive Producer Jim Townsend. We have an [onsite] truck environment, and we will be rotating people in and out with two crews a day. We will social-distance as best as we can, and everybody will be wearing masks. We will try to keep it [familiar to viewers], but it will be a lot different from anything we've ever done before.
In addition to CBS's first-ever broadcast of the WTT Final, the entire 66-match season will be televised or live-streamed on various platforms: CBS Sports Network carrying 13 regular-season WTT matches (plus the Semifinals on Aug. 1), ESPN2 airing 10 matches, ESPN+ live-streaming 25, Tennis Channel televising 19 matches, and the CBS Sports app and Facebook Watch live-streaming five matches.
Across every platform, fans can watch every single match, says World TeamTennis CEO Carlos Silva. We're grateful to have everyone, and I think all the broadcast partners are happy to have us as well. They've all been playing a lot of reruns, as we know, over the last couple of months. So I think everyone's excited to have us in their lineups, and it's great to have all 66 matches on.
The Venue: WTT, The Greenbrier Make Health and Safety Top Priority
When the WTT Celebrity All-Star Match concluded on March 1, the league fully expected to return on July 12 with its traditional home-and-away model for the regular season. However, when the coronavirus pandemic rocked the sports world, WTT quickly pivoted and began searching for a central location to host the 2020 season.
The Greenbrier in West Virginia offers a serene setting for the bubble housing the 2020 WTT season.
We quickly came to the realization that flying nine teams around in cities like New York, Philly, Chicago, DC, Vegas, and others was not going to happen, so we started looking at different options, says Silva. After looking at several [venues in] different states, The Greenbrier jumped in with a proposal that was very competitive. In hindsight, I think we probably look smart in choosing West Virginia because it remains very low in [COVID-19 cases] right now.
WTT has rolled out Ross Production Services' RMP6 truck to house its production team. WTT is operating two shifts of crews for all positions - an early shift and a late shift - to produce matches throughout each day. The truck is thoroughly cleaned between shifts, and all personnel are required to wear masks at all time and are assigned their own headset for the entire 19-day effort.
Ross Production Services has rolled out its RMP6 truck for the WTT productions, and PSSI is providing a sat uplink.
All personnel onsite were tested and delivered a negative result in their home city within five days of traveling to The Greenbriar and were required to complete another test on arrival. After testing negative (and being quarantined in their hotel rooms for the 24-hour testing period), they were able to enter The Greenbriar compound. In addition, they have their temperature checked when entering the stadium each day. WTT will also require a mid-season test for all players and staff. CLICK HERE for a detailed look at WTT's safety protocols.
The WTT will be one of the rare U.S. sports events to welcome fans, permitting 500 fans per day to enter the 2,500-capacity stadium at The Greenbriar. All fans must pass a temperature test, wear masks at all times, and maintain social distance throughout the lower bowl.
WTT on-air talent are onsite to call the action at The Greenbrier, but they are socially distanced.
In addition to the main stadium, WTT has set up a backup indoor court to ensure that all 66 matches are completed in case of inclement weather (matches can be moved inside in just 20 minutes). Fans will not be allowed access to the indoor court, but WTT has deployed a full complement of cameras to cover the matches should they move inside.
One challenge has been long fiber and Ethernet runs across a historic property not wired for connectivity, explains Paul Casey, SVP, engineering and technology, WTT. However, keeping to a single venue for the season creates a lot of efficiencies. We set up our equipment twice for the season: an outdoor court setup and another indoors for weather contingency.
On the Court: More Robos, No Camera Operators at Court Level
Court coverage is provided by nine cameras: the main game unit, a tight/follow shot, four robos (two on the court, one in the booth, one for interviews), a reverse shot, one at the host desk, and two Marshall POVs (wide shot and umpire cam). WTT made an effort to deploy minimal crew onsite and converted its low-level cameras to robos (no operators are allowed at court level) with robo operators located in a remote building far from the main compound.
It will look different, as does everything these days, but we're trying as hard as we can not to have it look that different, says Townsend. The [court-level] cameras will essentially be in the [usual] position, just operated remotely.
A limited n
Most recent headlines
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
World TeamTennis Returns With Marathon Tourney at The Greenbrier in West Virginia CBS, ESPN, and Tennis Channel will carry live coverage of three-week event By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
