World Team Tennis with Carlos Silva

Summary

Carlos Silva, CEO of World Team Tennis (WTT), discusses his vision for growing the league — including expanding from existing teams toward a goal of 10 teams in 2020 and 12 by 2021. Silva came to WTT with roughly 20 years of sports, media, and technology experience, including serving as CEO of the World Series of Fighting (MMA). He played D1 college tennis at Boston College (Big East championships) and briefly played the Molson Tour (then the Canadian satellite circuit equivalent). The conversation covers WTT’s broadcast strategy (partnerships with CBS and ESPN/ESPN+), the value team format creates for players (particularly those ranked just outside top-tier grand slam main draws), mic’d coaching, the no-ad scoring format, fan engagement through player accessibility, and the community tennis program that runs WTT-format leagues nationwide.

Guest Background

Carlos Silva grew up in the Washington DC area, started playing tennis at age 8 (introduced through his mother’s team tennis participation), played D1 at Boston College (Big East conference championships), then played the Molson Tour in Canada with a college friend before pursuing a master’s in computer science with a focus on computer graphics at George Washington University. His professional career covered sports media and technology, culminating in the CEO role at the World Series of Fighting (MMA/Professional Fighters League) before taking the CEO position at WTT. He was high school tennis rivals with Mark Ein, owner of the Citi Open. At the time of the interview, WTT had completed a season featuring players including Taylor Townsend, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, John Isner, Nick Kyrgios, Francis Tiafoe, Sam Querrey, Feliciano Lopez, Taylor Fritz, and Neil Skupski.

Key Findings

1. WTT Format Creates Team Experience in an Individual Sport

Silva’s core thesis: the ATP and WTA tours are “lonely” environments where players lose in the first or second round and wait weeks for the next tournament. WTT gives players teammates, bench energy, shared wins and losses, and emotional support that doesn’t exist elsewhere on tour. A player who loses their singles match can still contribute in doubles or mixed doubles and help the team win the evening. He describes seeing Nick Kyrgios “run out” to cheer teammates even when not playing — “he loves being on a team and doesn’t get the chance to do it very often.”

2. WTT Provides Broadcast Visibility for Non-Top-10 Players

The league’s CBS and ESPN/ESPN+ partnerships create a meaningful broadcast platform for players who rarely appear on television during the regular tour season. Silva cites Taylor Townsend as a specific example: her WTT participation (Philadelphia team) helped reinvigorate her singles confidence by playing against Venus Williams and other top players, and she subsequently reached deep into the US Open that year. WTT players also included Isner, Kyrgios, Fritz, and Sock — four of six Laver Cup US team members — demonstrating the quality of roster available to the league.

3. Mic’d Coaches as Entertainment and Education

WTT coaches are miked during matches, giving fans insight into real-time coaching decisions and allowing viewers to “get into the brains of the coaches and the players.” Silva highlights coaches including John Lloyd, Luke Jensen, and Scott Lipsky — many with grand slam pedigree. He explicitly positions miked coaching as a feature, not a gimmick, and states it adds to the entertainment value of the league while also serving an educational function: junior players watching WTT can hear what professional coaches say to elite players in pressure situations.

4. No-Ad Scoring and Mixed Doubles as Format Differentiators

WTT’s match structure (men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles — all no-ad, with team scores accumulating across sets) is presented as the “best format for amateurs as well as pros.” Silva emphasizes the mixed doubles component in particular, noting it produces unique competitive pairings unavailable anywhere else on tour. The no-ad scoring creates decisive momentum and eliminates the prolonged deuce sequences that slow down conventional tennis.

5. Franchise Expansion Model: Target 10 Teams by 2020

At the time of the interview, WTT was planning to reach 10 teams in 2020 and 12 in 2021. Teams were located in Las Vegas, San Diego, Philadelphia, and other cities. The draft was held in March at Indian Wells. Silva frames the franchise model similarly to traditional team sports — fans cheer for their city’s team, players develop loyalty to the franchise, and the league builds identity year over year through roster continuity (“teams protect some of their top players”).

6. Community Tennis Ladder: WTT Format at Amateur Level

WTT runs a national community tennis program operating in WTT format — leagues nationwide that ladder up to regional and national championships. Silva notes the nationals were scheduled in Palm Springs in November. This community program is the grassroots feeder that makes the WTT brand more than a professional-only product, exposing recreational players and junior players to the same format that top professionals compete in.

7. Player Accessibility as Fan Engagement Strategy

After WTT matches, all players sit at long tables and sign autographs for fans. The league also runs clinics with players for juniors and amateurs, particularly during the playoffs and finals. Silva frames this accessibility as an intentional counterpoint to the corporate distance of major Grand Slam events, positioning WTT as a place where fans genuinely get to know the players — not just watch them.

8. Technology and Broadcasting Innovation

Silva mentions WTT hired Sean T (fitness expert/trainer) as a sideline reporter to explain movement, fitness training applications, and athleticism to fans. The league is integrating “technology and graphics and movement and fitness” into the broadcast experience. His computer science background (master’s from GW with computer graphics minor) informs his product thinking — “every single detail counts around building a product.”

Actionable Advice for Families

• Junior players who want to watch professional coaching in action should seek out WTT matches — the miked coaches make it possible to hear real-time professional coaching applied to elite match play, a learning opportunity unavailable at Grand Slams
• Parents and players should be aware that WTT’s format (no-ad, team accumulation scoring, mixed doubles) is increasingly used at the recreational level nationwide — familiarity with the format is increasingly practical, not just aspirational
• Players eyeing professional careers should understand that WTT offers an alternative professional experience — team environment, broadcast visibility, and competitive practice against top players — that the individual ATP/WTA circuit does not provide

INTENNSE Relevance

• Direct format comparison: WTT’s format — mixed gender, no-ad scoring, team accumulation, five sets per match evening — is the closest existing professional model to INTENNSE’s format design. Silva’s experience growing WTT from a small operation is the most direct strategic parallel available for INTENNSE’s league-building work
• Mic’d coaches as a feature: WTT validated miked coaching as an entertainment asset a decade before INTENNSE positioned it as a signature format element. Silva’s description of fans “getting into the brains of coaches” is exactly the broadcast differentiation INTENNSE is pursuing, and WTT’s execution provides a tested proof of concept
• Broadcast partnerships as legitimacy: WTT’s CBS and ESPN partnerships gave the league broadcast presence that elevated its credibility — both for player recruitment and fan acquisition. INTENNSE’s broadcast strategy should study how WTT structured these partnerships, particularly given the overlap in format philosophy
• Player welfare and team environment: Silva’s description of how WTT helps players coming off losses — “just because you lose your match doesn’t mean you’re going to lose the match for the team” — directly validates INTENNSE’s unlimited substitution philosophy. The emotional safety of team competition produces better tennis and better broadcast moments
• Franchise-to-community pipeline: WTT’s community tennis program (WTT-format leagues across the country, laddering up to nationals) is the exact architecture INTENNSE should build to create a pathway from community tennis to professional spectator product. The format alignment between community leagues and the pro product creates a natural fan development funnel
• Taylor Townsend as player development case study: Silva’s description of how WTT “reinvigorated” Taylor Townsend’s confidence through regular competition against top players is directly applicable to INTENNSE’s value proposition for players who are good enough to compete at a high level but not getting enough high-quality match play through individual circuit results alone

Notable Quotes

“There’s a whole lot of players that are losing first round, second round, third round, and it can be a little bit lonely for the next week or two before your next tournament — world team tennis gives those players an opportunity to have teammates.”

“You hit a big serve and a teammate runs out and gives you a high five — that just doesn’t happen in the other tournaments.”

“Often the coaches are miked so you get a little insight into how they’re coaching, what they’re telling their players, how they’re encouraging them, how they’re trying to turn them around.”

“I think tennis athletes are some of the greatest athletes in the world — they can run, they can jump, they’ve got endurance, they can be graceful, they can be powerful.”

“We’re miking our players, we’re bringing some technology and graphics and movement and fitness — it’s little things like that that add to the league.”

“I just think I couldn’t agree with you more — it’s the thing that gives me the most joy, that when you see a guy like Nick Kyrgios run out, he’s not even playing in the match, he’s so excited to cheer his teammates on because he loves being on a team.”