The first big sport to announce that they would be open to fans was World Team Tennis, which did so back in late May. The entire season would be held at The Greenbrier (main hotel below), America's oldest resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The tennis facility there seats 2,500 fans, but only 500 would be allowed in each day. With no other sports road trip possible at the time, I immediately began making plans to attend, but I needed another event nearby to make it worthwhile. I first paired it with a visit to the PGA's Memorial Tournament, which initially intended to allow fans, but when they reversed that decision, I had to scramble to find a Coastal Plain League game in Martinsville instead.
After the game, I spent the evening in Roanoke, and then awoke early Sunday, driving up beautiful Route 311 to reach White Sulphur Springs before noon. Google Maps suggests using US220 and I-64 (10 miles longer but saving you 5 minutes), but Route 311 is far more enjoyable, being both scenic and rather winding, keeping you on your toes as you drive. As it was a very hot and clear day, sunscreen was essential and on the way in to town, I stopped at Family Dollar. They had exactly one tube of sunscreen left, specifically for babies, but at SPF 50, it works for old people too. Without it, I would have roasted.
Parking for the WTT is at the Amtrak station across the street from The Greenbrier. You had to take the shuttle bus in (above); before boarding my temperature was taken and I received a happy face stamp on my hand to indicate that I did not have a fever. The bus was also limited to 50% capacity and masks were mandatory. The ride was about two minutes long.
The bus drops you off right in front of the entrance, where you can find a banner listing all nine WTT teams. There is also a ticket window, though I had bought my ticket immediately after they went on sale, picking up the first ticket for the day and possibly the tournament.
The entrance was very simple, just a tent with fans entering on the right and exiting on the left. Another temperature check was necessary for those who had driven in and thus lacked the happy face stamp. There was just one lady scanning tickets and disappointingly, my #1 ticket was not acknowledged. You had to be wearing a mask to get in and as you walked around the concourse, but you could take it off when sitting down.
I had paid $60 for an upper bowl seat, $50 less than a lower bowl seat, which included access to the VIP lounge (below). Shade would have been nice, but the sunscreen cost only $3.50 and I could watch the match as well. Tickets actually went up $12 as the date got closer, so there must have been some demand, but even then, I don't think it was sold out.
This is the WTT's 45th season and a list of league champions was placed near the entrance. Remember that Sacramento dynasty? There is not a lot of continuity year to year in terms of team membership, though some players do spend multiple seasons with the same franchise, such as Martina Hingis with the Washington Kastles from 2013-17.
The stadium is officially dubbed Center Court at Creekside as it is right next to Howard Creek, which winds its way through the property.
Below is a shot of the creek and a bridge that leads to the golf course, which was used for the PGA's recently discontinued Greenbrier Classic.
Inside the venue, the lower level consists of just 9 rows of seats along both sides, with every second row blocked off to ensure social distancing.
The upper bowl is much larger and you pretty much had a section to yourself if you wanted. Most fans brought large umbrellas to keep themselves shaded.
Along the top of the walkway in the upper bowl are pennants for each team in the circuit, including my hometown New York Empire, who I saw back in 2016.
Below is the view from center court in the upper bowl. The team benches are covered by umbrellas, while the suites and media room are behind the seating area. To the left of the suites is the concession stand, which offers a few items at not outrageous prices, with cans of beer going for just $5. The food menu was rather limited as you would expect with so few fans, by the time I decided to buy something, only hot dogs and hamburgers were left as main items. No problem bringing your own food in if you plan to stay for a while.
The camera booth was at one end of the stadium and provided a small bit of shade to the side, of which some fans availed themselves throughout the day. As you can tell, it is quite a scenic environment.
Overall, I was impressed by how seamless the event was given the circumstances. All fans here respected the rules regarding masks and social distancing and other leagues should take note as the WTT has proven that you can have sporting events with fans when proper measures are taken. Instead, five months into the pandemic, fear and ignorance continue to rule. More on that in a future post.
The Matches
I lucked out with the matches as each of the first two featured a player I wanted to see. First off, it was the Washington Kastles with Venus Williams taking on the Vegas Rollers. WTT matches include one set of each variety (men's and women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles) with each set going to five games, a deciding point at the first deuce, and a 9-point tiebreak should the set reach 4-all.
The first set saw Williams (serving below) and Arina Rodionova taking on Asia Muhammad and Kristie Ahn, a Flushing native, with the Kastles prevailing 5-1.
The next four sets all went to tiebreak, with the highlight being Ahn, an injury replacement for Monica Puig, defeating Williams in the only win for Vegas. That was the first of three sets broadcast nationally on CBS. The final set saw the Bryan brothers losing to Nick Monroe and Marcelo Arevalo as Washington prevailed 24-18. Monroe made an incredible passing shot that was the #6 play on SportsCenter that evening. The whole match took 3:15, helped by a 30-minute wait before the women's singles due to the broadcast start time.
There was also a 30-minute break before the next match between the Orlando Storm and the expansion Chicago Smash starring Eugenie Bouchard, the other player I had also hoped to see. I went over to explore the hotel, returning in time to see Orlando's Tennys Sandgren beat Brandon Nakashima in a tiebreak. Bouchard (serving below, note the ESPN logo on the net replacing the CBS logo that was there earlier) then joined Bethanie Mattek-Sands for a doubles set against Danielle Collins and Jessica Pegula, daughter of Terry and Kim, who own the Buffalo Bills. My Canadian heritage outranks my Bills fandom and I cheered as Bouchard led the Smash to a 5-3 victory.
After five hours in the sun, I was thoroughly baked and with Bouchard no longer scheduled to play, decided to head back to Roanoke, skipping the rest of the match (won by Chicago 24-19 as they took the final 3 sets, with Bouchard subbing in to overcome a 4-1 deficit against Collins). I was back at my hotel as the match finished and followed the final match of the day online as San Diego beat Orange County 20-14 in another blowout where the winning team took 4 of 5 sets. This was also a rematch of the 2016 championship that I attended at Forest Hills Stadium.
Not a particularly competitive day on the courts, but I was very happy to conclude a sports travel weekend by adding my 832nd venue to the list.
Update: the season ended on August 2nd with the New York Empire defeating Chicago 21-20 in a super tiebreaker. There were no reports of fans or WTT members contracting the coronavirus.
Notes
On Monday, Collins was dismissed from the rest of the season after leaving the Greenbrier, thus breaking the pandemic protocols.
There was some entertainment provided as well. Mcenafro, (i.e. a John McEnroe impersonator with his 70s afro) and the WTT Dancers gave a couple of short performances that were mildly amusing.
The area is known for a spring of sulphur water that visitors have been "taking" for medicinal purposes since 1778. The Springhouse (below) sits atop the spring and has been the symbol of the resort since 1835. There is much to see and do here, including a bunker that was always ready to host the government in times of emergency. It was never used and is now a tourist attraction.
Next Up
Still hoping to get to some other collegiate wood bat and independent league games that are scattered around the country. Unfortunately, New York is now asking people coming from 31 states to quarantine themselves for two weeks. Like I said, fear and ignorance are still ruling the day, so we shall see if I can figure out a way to travel without having to spend 14 days at home upon my return. Check back regularly to see what transpires.
Best,
Sean
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