World TeamTennis sets the traditional game on its ear

World TeamTennis is the only place you can see Anna Kournikova competing. She plays for the Sacramento Capitals. AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In-your-face, obnoxious fans applauding double faults by the visiting team. Live DJs spinning music, emcees on the microphone, players dancing in between points while fans do the same in the stands. Popcorn, hot dogs, beer and soft pretzels fill the concession stands.

No, this isn't your local county fair. Welcome to World TeamTennis!

For the better part of the last three weeks, I have been playing WTT for the Philadelphia Freedom. WTT is a league Billie Jean King helped co-found 34 years ago. The concept is simple: four players on a team (two men, two women), five sets of tennis (first to five games wins the set) including singles, doubles and mixed.

The schedule and format have been tweaked a bit through the years, but the bottom line is that for a few weeks each summer, 11 teams from around the country compete for the King Cup. There are two conferences, the East and West, playing 14 matches each, vying for a spot in the conference finals which takes place here, this weekend.

My team, the Freedom (think catchy Elton John song written in honor of BJK and the WTT team), includes Daniel Nestor, Freddy Niemeyer, Olga Savchuk and me, along with coach Craig Kardon. We have come on strong late in the season and played our way into the conference finals.

We also had the added benefit of Venus Williams playing four matches for the Freedom this season, competing as one of the league's "marquee players." Team owners can "purchase" a marquee player to join the team for one or more matches during the season. The Freedom's owners obviously know what they're doing!

Other players are selected in a draft, as in other sports, with owners trying strategically to assemble the best team possible. Owners can also "protect" players from the last season, thereby keeping them out of the draft.

The biggest key to a successful season is a good team -- and I don't just mean on paper, but off the court as well. You have to like your teammates and the chemistry needs to be good. You practice together, eat together and travel together. You spend a lot of time together as a group over the course of the season.

A typical day in the life of a pro WTT player entails leaving for the airport at 6:30 a.m., catching a flight at 9, flying for a few hours, arriving in a new city, having a quick lunch, trying to sneak in a much-needed nap, then heading to the courts around 5 p.m. We get in a good practice and a quick warm-up, then the match begins at 7:30.

Matches usually last until around 10:30 p.m., meaning dinner is usually in the hotel bar until around midnight. If you can get to sleep before 1 a.m., you can consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Then it starts again the next day. The grind is rough, but if you're doing well and you're on a fun team, it's a blast.

The concept of WTT is awesome: the team format, the exciting matches themselves, the guys and girls together, all of it. Where else can you go and watch some of the biggest names in tennis, past and present, and be able to heckle them between first and second serves? Or witness music playing in between points, teammates coaching you from the bench and bringing you water on changeovers, playing super-tiebreaks, or even better, coaches' challenges?

WTT was the first to introduce the "hawk-eye" technology, another innovation that makes this concept so much fun. John McEnroe has been playing WTT for years, still barking at umpires and taunting crowds. Pete Sampras, the Bryan brothers and Maria Sharapova are just a few more big names that keep coming back year after year to play.

Ask King and she will tell you how important the team aspect of the sport is -- this is what's missing in tennis. We're losing so many of our young boys and girls to team sports. Soccer, basketball and football all have the team environment that kids relish.

WTT allows kids and adults of all ages to compete in this team environment, playing together and having fun, yet working towards a common goal. There are local WTT leagues all over the country, for all levels and ages, not just the professional.

Nesty, Freddie, Olgy, Craig and I are taking on the New York Buzz on Saturday night for a place in the finals on Sunday. The past few days in Sacramento have involved some fun practices, team dinners and lots of laughs. Hopefully we will all leave here on Monday as WTT champs, heading back to our lives on tour.

No matter what happens, the five of us will always have the memories from these past few weeks, and share the bond of being a part of the Philadelphia Freedom and WTT.

Half of the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the world, Lisa Raymond writes for SI.com on alternate Fridays.