West Virginia has the epicenter of American tennis this summer with the staging of the entire World TeamTennis season at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. For three weeks, national television audiences on CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN2 and Tennis Channel have been able to watch many of the top international stars in tennis. It’s been “Wimbledon in West Virginia.”
In an interview with Nick Gismondi of the World TeamTennis commentary team on CBS Sports Network Saturday, Greenbrier Director of Tennis Steve Sarver hinted that it may not be the last time that World TeamTennis visits “America’s Resort.”
“We would love to form a long-time partnership with World TeamTennis,” said Sarver. “We think that World TeamTennis and the Greenbrier are perfectly suited. We’re a family hotel. We are a historic hotel. We are a grand hotel. But more than anything, we are a family hotel and we are run and owned by a great family, the Justice family. And we feel like that World TeamTennis is a family. Fred (Luddy), Carlos (Silva) and Eric (Davidson) all the teams and all the players are a family. So, it’s a great partnership. I think the players have really enjoyed themselves. We’ve been thrilled to have them here, and we think it’s the perfect setting for many, many years to have a good part of World TeamTennis here at our resort.”
Due to the global pandemic, making travel and safety a challenge, World TeamTennis CEO Carlos Silva sought to hold the entire season in one location. The opportunity was presented to Silva for The Greenbrier to be the site and it turned into being the perfect fit. The Greenbrier was selected due to West Virginia’s low COVID-19 infection rate, its beautiful intimate 2,500-seat “Creekside Stadium” and adjacent indoor tennis center that was set up to host matches when it rained and to not interrupted any of the national television broadcasts, it’s beautiful and historic 700-room hotel and 11,000 square acre resort that allows for perfect “social distancing” and The Greenbrier’s on-site medical clinic that can provide COVID-10 testing. To boot, due to the low COVID-19 infection rate, the event was also able to sell a limited amount of tickets for the daily matches.
The event has been staged with near perfection and the players, staff and commentators have raved about the resorts accomodations and activities, including the famous “Old White” championship golf course that has hosted the PGA Tour and the Ryder Cup in the past.
If the global pandemic is, unfortunately, still not resolved in 2021, it would seem a natural fit for World TeamTennis to again host its season next July at The Greenbrier. Should things resume to “normal” and World TeamTennis franchise’s are able to host home matches, World TeamTennis could stage its semifinals and finals at The Greenbrier.
The full transcript of Sarver’s interview with CBS Sports Network can be read below.
NICK GISMONDI: The vice president of Justice Energy, and he’s also the director of tennis here at the Greenbrier, Steve Sarver joins us. Steve, first of all, you’re a tennis aficionado. How has this competition been here in season 45 for World TeamTennis??
STEVE SARVER: Well, I think it’s been fantastic. Everyone I’ve talked to…it’s amazingly different perspective. All of us, have gone to the US Open a lot, sometimes Wimbledon and this is just really exciting. And the greatest thing about it is, is the team atmosphere. And I’m a team sports guy myself, and the camaraderie and the atmosphere with the different players and their interactions, it’s been great. The quality of tennis has been incredibly high. To be honest, I’ve seen more competitive matches here than I’ve seen sometimes at the U.S. Open.
NICK GISMONDI: Let’s talk about World TeamTennis at the Greenbrier. Obviously you, in conjunction with Carlos Silva and the government of West Virginia, doing a fantastic job of pulling this off. How did it all come together?
STEVE SARVER: Well, I had to get my hat off to the governor of West Virginia, Governor Jim Justice. He and I are good friends. And what he’s done in West Virginia, controlling the virus, handling the virus, is just remarkable. And he has been incredibly proactive, yet incredibly sensible. And then working with Carlos and Fred and Eric have been amazing. So between the World TeamTennis, social conscience, and ability to manage the whole situation, along with what our governor has done and what we’ve done here with the Greenbrier, I really think that they pulled off something quite remarkable.
NICK GISMONDI: All right. Last question for you. This one’s a little bit loaded, but what are the thoughts of yourself as the director of tennis and possibly the governor on maybe hosting World TeamTennis on the regular?
STEVE SARVER: Well, it’s a no-brainer. We would love to form a long-time partnership with World TeamTennis. We think that World TeamTennis and the Greenbrier are perfectly suited. We’re a family hotel. We are a historic hotel. We are a grand hotel. But more than anything, we are a family hotel and we are run and owned by a great family, the Justice family. And we feel like that World TeamTennis is a family. Fred, Carlos, Eric, and all the teams and all the players are a family. So, it’s a great partnership. I think the players have really enjoyed themselves. We’ve been thrilled to have them here, and we think it’s the perfect setting for many, many years to have a good part of World TeamTennis here at our resort.
NICK GISMONDI: I like the sound of that. I’m definitely enjoying my time here as well. Thank you so much for everything you did to help make this happen. It’s a pleasure talking to you, Steve.
STEVE SARVER: You as well. Thank you all for everything, and thanks again for coming.
