When World Team Tennis began in 1974, gender equality was the biggest priority. Billie Jean King envisioned women and men playing together on the same court at the same level for the same prize money. Four decades later and WTT is still going strong.

The upcoming three-week season in West Virginia will be the biggest tournament since the shutdown in March. It's the first co-ed competitive tennis fans will see since the WTT All-Star Celebrity match on March 1.

The nine teams are stacked full of WTA and ATP talent including stars like Venus Williams, Milos Raonic, Sofia Kenin and the Bryan brothers.

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Even behind the scenes, equality is at the forefront. Five of the nine WTT team leaders are women: Barbara Perry (Philadelphia Freedoms), Jocelyn Davie (Chicago Smash), Emily Pierce (San Diego Aviators), Sally Dewhurst (Vegas Rollers) and Melissa Alpuche (Orlando Storm). At the league level, Riley O’Donnell is the director of operations.

"Equality is something that is so instilled in everybody that has worked with WTT or worked for Billie Jean King," Alpuche says. "Equality and being fair, it's what you're being taught. It's like a subliminal message."

Alpuche began her WTT career as a teenager in 2008 when her neighbor, Philadelphia Freedom's general manager Perry, offered her an internship. She got to work alongside King, one of the greatest advocates of equality in tennis.

"She was really big in helping me grow," Alpuche says. "The very first thing she ever told me was you can do anything you want in this business, but if you're not a problem solver, you're really not going to go very far."

Alpuche has problem-solved all the way up to the general manger role for Orlando Storm.

"I grew up in WTT," the 29-year-old says. "Tennis has been my entire adult life. So to be able to have that role was always something I wanted."

Recently, she realized she might be the youngest-ever female GM in sport's history. When she's not managing all of the details, contracts and duties that make up Orlando Storm, Alpuche is a single mom to her three-year-old daughter Ashtyn.

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"She definitely keeps me busy, but obviously being a single mom it comes with the territory," Alpuche says. "Everybody working together at WTT, we are a family anyway. They're very good to me and for that I'm super, super thankful."

Little Ashtyn has been a fixture on tour, tagging along to matches with her mom. She will be at The Greenbriar this summer for part of the season in West Virginia.

"She loves tennis," Alpuche says. "She wants to play, and bringing her would be beneficial for her because she gets to see someone like Taylor Townsend, Frances Tiafoe and Sloane Stephens. She wants to be like them."

Starting on July 12, The Greenbriar resort will allow 500 fans to attend the 66 matches that will play out across three weeks. Safety will be a priority, with mandatory testing for staff and players, masks, temperature checks, regular cleaning and social distancing guidelines.

"WTT is giving players the opportunity to get back on court and giving the fans a chance to see them up close and personal," Alpuche says. "It's a really unique situation and I don't think people understand how cool it can be until they're actually in the seats watching it."