International Premier Tennis League 2015: Complete Players Lineup; New Team, Japan Warriors, To Debut

The lineup of players for the second edition of the International Premier Tennis League, or IPTL, has been announced on the tournament's website. A new team named Japan Warriors will join the Manila Mavericks, Singapore Slammers, Micromax Indian Aces and UAE Royals as they tour around the host cities from Dec. 2 to Dec. 20, 2015.

There are many notable changes in the lineup of the teams this year. Some tennis stars have stayed in their original teams, while some have moved to other teams. There are also notable players who will not be returning in 2015. British tennis star Andy Murray, who recently tied the knot with long-term girlfriend Kim Sears, will not be present this year. Two-time Australian grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, who played for the Slammers, and World No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki opted to skip as well. Retired tennis stars Patrick Rafter, eight-time grand slam champion Andre Agassi and 14-time grand slam champion Pete Sampras will also not play this year.

There are a few first-timers in this year’s edition including Richard Gasquet, Aussies Jarmila Gajdosova and Thanasi Kokkinakis, Borna Coric, Sabine Lisicki, Marcelo Melo, Swiss up-and-coming tennis star Belinda Bencic, Karolina Pliskova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Japan No. 1 Kei Nishikori and his compatriot Kurumi Nara and Vasek Pospisil.

Former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who missed playing for the IPTL last year due to injury, will lead the Micromax Indian Aces. Roger Federer, who filled in for Nadal’s spot in 2014, has moved to the UAE Royals.

Founder Mahesh Bhupathi is confident that the 2015 edition will be more successful than last year. "The first edition was a resounding success in terms of player and fan acceptance,” Bhupati said. “We are confident on building on the success of last year to come back with a bigger and better product in 2015.”

The Indian Aces were crowned as the winners of IPTL 2014. The Royals, Mavericks, and Slammers occupied the second, third and fourth places, respectively.

Manila Mavericks

Serena Williams, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Mark Philippousis, Richard Gasquet, Treat Huey, Jarmila Gajdosova, Borna Coric, Sabine Lisicki

Singapore Slammers

Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, Marcelo Melo, Belinda Bencic, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Karolina Pliskova, Carlos Moya

Micromax Indian Aces

Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils, Agnieszka Radwanska, Fabrice Santoro, Ivan Dodig, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna

UAE Royals

Roger Federer, Goran Ivanisevic, Ana Ivanovic, Marin Cilic, Daniel Nestor, Kristina Mladenovic, Tomas Berdych

Japan Warriors

Kei Nishikori, Kurumi Nara, Vasek Pospisil, Leander Paes, Daniela Hantuchova, Lucas Pouille, Maria Sharapova, Marat Safin

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