Channel 2 Action News got an exclusive look at a brand new professional tennis league.
Intennse features three teams based in Atlanta, Tampa and Jacksonville.
The league says it wants to deliver a faster, more interactive fan-centric experience that will reshape how tennis played and watched.
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“Atlanta is the launch place for Intennse because Atlanta is the tennis capital of the world,” CEO Charles Allen told Channel 2’s Alison Mastrangelo.
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As soon as you walk into the Intennse Arena, you will notice the cool lighting and double-decker seating.
It’s not your typical arena for a typical tennis match. Intennse matches are played in three, 10-minute intervals called bolts.
“It’s non-stop action. We’ve changed the format. Of course you play the point, it’s the same point, same ball, same net, same court. But everything around it is different,” Allen said. “It’s a team sport, you have live coaching, you have substitutions, live substitutions.”
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That’s right: You can make substitutions during a tennis match.
“If someone’s just getting a little bit tired, or if someone has a lot a momentum, you can put them in. Once they get tired, take them out for just a little then bring the other guy,” former University of Georgia tennis player Trent Bryde said.
The league features three teams with six players: three men and three women. Intennse recruit played from all over the country, like Michaela Gordon who played tennis at Stanford University.
“The pace of play is a lot faster than traditional tennis. So you have 14 seconds in between points, you have one serve, and it’s completely at the server’s pace. So the server doesn’t have to wait for you as the returner to be ready,” Gordon said.
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Bryde says the league allows him to still play the game he loves just in a new, fun format.
“It’s just having the team involved and then spectators involved in the actual match, right? Just by heckling, screaming. There’s no rules, nothing really applies, right. It just makes it like more fun, entertaining for everyone,” he said.
Matches start the weekend of June 20-22 and the season runs through August. Intennse doesn’t have playoffs this year, but the league hopes to expand and be able to do that next year.
You can find tickets to the matches here.
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