PREVIEW | 2023 World Tennis League: What to know ahead of key exhibition featuring SWIATEK, SABALENKA, RYBAKINA and MEDVEDEV

Just as the off season is concluding in tennis, the new season begins with the 2023 World Tennis League set to take place from 21 to 24 December 2023 on the hard courts of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates with many of the top stars starting their 2024 season technically at the team event.

Our preview as ever looks ahead to each of the teams, format and main talking points as the sport that never sleeps continues over the festive period.

The teams will face off in a round robin format that consists of one men's singles match, one women's singles match and a mixed doubles match. 16 players are drawn into four teams (Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Kites).

Hawks are the current champions from 2022 which featured Alexander Zverev, Elena Rybakina, Dominic Thiem and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, but despite the latter being in Dubai training with Rybakina, she won't return and neither will the other two. Zverev in particular will instead play United Cup and will head to Australia after his holiday concludes.

This leaves Rybakina as the only player from last year's line-up who will return albeit on a different team as she spearheads the Eagles charge from a WTA perspective alongside Leylah Fernandez. She is joined by Sumit Nagal who likely will play doubles alongside one of the female stars and also Taylor Fritz.

The current champions though will be among the favourites to lift the trophy again though as they are led by Iga Swiatek.

Swiatek and Caroline Garcia anchor the strongest by ranking WTA contingent and the second strongest male duo will be on Hawks too with Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud joining Swiatek and Garcia.

But it could be said perhaps that Kites have the most cohesion as a unit. Stefanos Tsitsipas will finally after getting away with not playing mixed doubles at Wimbledon likely have to play it at World Tennis League. After not being able to get out of bed after his injury at the ATP Finals, it is an injury ravaged pairing, but one that could click as he and girlfriend Paula Badosa are on the same team.

Badosa herself is back training but since a stress fracture in the spine has barely played outside of Wimbledon and did not play at the Billie Jean King Cup despite being there to support Spain. But also the camaraderie is there as her and Sabalenka are best friends off court so perhaps a team to watch alongside Grigor Dimitrov who was one of the most in-form stars on the tour in the back end of the season.

Technically if the birth place is factored in, the Eagles are a complete Russian team as Daniil Medvedev leads the way alongside close friend, Andrey Rublev as the two highest-ranked ATP stars who will be involved in the tournament. Alongside that leading duo is Sofia Kenin who is American, but was born in Moscow so holds Russian roots as well as Mirra Andreeva who is seen as the next big star in WTA tennis as well as Russia.

Andreeva alongside Kenin both had two of the biggest ranking rises all season with the former in her first year as she won WTA Newcomer of the Year, while for Kenin it was on the comeback trail as she heads back to the Australian Open four years on from her Grand Slam triumph in her best place since.

Of course in recent days, Andreeva has had a tiny bit of unintentional controversy on her side with Marta Kostyuk refusing to play her in an exhibition which led to an ATP player beating her instead. Thankfully though, it is unlikely she will have to encounter the Battle of the Sexes in Abu Dhabi.

Medvedev also interestingly won't play as of right now again until the Australian Open so will likely be the only chance to see him, Rublev has just played UTS so is one of a few who will be fresh alongside Casper Ruud albeit in a different format. It all kicks off on December 21 and is going to be bookended by exhibitions in Saudi Arabia as Ons Jabeur faces Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic takes on Carlos Alcaraz. A busy time for a sport that seemingly has no off-season.