Tennis News: An introduction to the World Tennis League - everything you need to know

It has already kicked off in the Middle East as Dubai is hosting the inaugural World Tennis League. Publicly called the "Greatest Show On Court," it started on December 19 and will continue till December 24.

Here's everything you need to know about the event!

Where is the World Tennis League hosted?

The tournament is hosted on hard courts at the grand Coca-Cola Arena, which boasts a capacity of up to 17,000 fans. Tickets for the event are priced at $400 or higher. 

Who are the players competing in the World Tennis League?

The World Tennis League is a mixed-gender tennis event that features 18 of the most decorated tennis players in the world, including 21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and world number one in women's singles, Iga Swiatek. 

The event pitches four franchised-owned teams against each other in a round-robin format, and the top-two scoring teams will compete in the championship match on Saturday.

Let's take a look at the players that constitute the four teams and their rankings:

Eagles: Nick Kyrgios (22), Bianca Andreescu (46), Caroline Garcia (4), Rohan Bopanna, and Andreas Seppi (354).

Falcons: Novak Djokovic (5), Grigor Dimitrov (28), Aryna Sabalenka (5), and Paula Badosa (13).

Hawks: Elena Rybakina (21), Alexander Zverev (12), Dominic Thiem (102), and Anett Kontaveit (17).

Kites: Felix Auger-Aliassime (6), Holger Rune (11), Iga Swiatek (1), Sania Mirza, and Eugenie Bouchard (327).

What is the format of the World Tennis League?

Every team have at least four players, and the tournament starts with a singles men's and women's match, followed by a mixed-doubles match each day between the two sides.

The results are based on best-of-three contests with a 10-point tiebreak for the third set. Here is the schedule for the tournament!

Day 1: Kites vs Eagles

Day 2: Falcons vs Hawks

Day 3: Falcons vs Eagles

Day 4: Hawks vs Kites

Day 5: Eagles vs Hawks

Day 6: Falcons vs Kites

Day 7: Final (TBC)

Novak Djokovic pulls out of a highly-anticipated match

Djokovic, one of the stars in the tournament, could barely contain his excitement to play. He shared a post on Instagram stating, "Hello, tennis fans around the world. A big tennis event is coming up in Dubai — World Tennis League."

After that, he addressed his teammates from Team Falcons–Grigor Dimitrov, Aryna Sabalenka, and Paula Badosa." looking forward to sharing some great moments with you guys on the court and off the court as well." he added.

However, he pulled out of the anticipated second-day match against Australia's Nick Kyrgios. The Serb admitted that he wasn't feeling his best, and instead of him, his teammate Dimitrov took on the battle in Dubai. 

Kyrgios was excited to face Djokovic again after their Wimbledon final encounter, "The team that has my eye is definitely Novak and the Falcons. I can't wait to come against them and I can guarantee an Eagles win," he said.

Unfortunately, he was bested by Dimitrov, who won in straight sets 7-6(5) 6-3. Djokovic is expected to return on Friday for the Falcons' meeting with the Kites, where he will take on Felix Auger-Aliassime.