Published for New York Empire fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 24, 2026
🗽 New York Empire Fans — Your Empire Is Waiting!
Five years away, and the Empire is coming home. The black and white of Brooklyn return to Barclays Center this December, led by three of the biggest American names in tennis. Get ready to wear the Empire again.
The Club
The New York Empire are New York City’s team in World TeamTennis (WTT) — the black-and-white side that plays its home matches at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Founded in 2016, the Empire competed in the league from 2016 through 2021 and lifted the league title in 2020, the crowning moment of the club’s first era. Then came a five-year pause. Now, with WTT relaunching in December 2026, the Empire are back — same colors, same Brooklyn home, and a headline roster built to make the return feel like an event. The motto says it all: NEW YORK’S EMPIRE. Searching for the New York Empire roster, the Empire schedule or Empire tickets for the December return? This is the place to start — and the black-and-white kit is the way to wear it.
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Last Season: The 2020 Title, Then the Pause
The Empire’s story is a tale of two eras. The first era ran from the club’s founding in 2016 through the 2021 season, and its peak came in 2020, when the Empire won the World TeamTennis league title — the banner that still defines the club, and the line that still closes its heritage strip: BROOKLYN • EST. 2016 • 2020 CHAMPIONS • BUILT TO WIN. After the 2021 season the club went quiet, and the league itself paused — a five-year gap in which New York tennis fans had no Empire to cheer for. That is what makes December 2026 different: this is not just another season, it is a return. The colors are the same, the Brooklyn home is the same, and the ambition is written right there on the strip. The Empire are not coming back to take part. They are coming back to remind everyone whose city this is.
Best Players Right Now
Jessica Pegula, Women’s No. 1 Singles — The headliner, and the most New York story on the roster. Buffalo-born, Pegula is the Empire’s women’s No. 1 singles player for the 2026 relaunch — one of America’s leading women’s players, a 2024 US Open finalist, and the home-state star the whole return is built around. When the Empire walk out at Barclays Center, she is the name the crowd will be loudest for.
Taylor Fritz, Men’s No. 1 Singles — The men’s No. 1 singles anchor. Fritz brings the big serve, the big forehand and the big-match temperament that team tennis is made for — the kind of player who can swing a whole evening in a single set. In the fast, loud format of WTT, a men’s No. 1 like Fritz is the difference between competing and contending.
Frances Tiafoe, Men’s No. 2 Singles / Mixed-Doubles Star — The spark. Tiafoe is the Empire’s men’s No. 2 singles player and its mixed-doubles star — the showman of the trio, the player who feeds off a crowd and gives one back. In a team event, where energy is contagious and every game counts double, Tiafoe is exactly the player you want on your side of the net.
The trio is rounded out by additional roster names Camila Osorio and Michael Zheng, giving the Empire depth across the lineup for the December relaunch.
Star Spotlight: Stories You Should Know
The Buffalo homecoming. Jessica Pegula is not just a star the Empire signed — she is a New Yorker coming home to headline her home-state team. Buffalo-born and one of America’s leading women’s players, she gives the relaunch its emotional center: the Empire’s return is also Pegula’s homecoming, played out under the Brooklyn lights.
The 2020 banner still hangs over everything. The Empire are the only team in this story who can call themselves champions and mean it in the present tense — the 2020 league title is theirs, and it is stitched into the club’s identity. Every relaunch story comes back to the same question: can the new Empire live up to the old one? With Pegula, Fritz and Tiafoe leading the way, they intend to.
Team tennis is a different animal. WTT is not a quiet Grand Slam afternoon — it is fast, loud, team-first tennis where one set can flip an evening and the crowd is part of the match. That is why the Empire’s trio fits so well: Pegula’s steel, Fritz’s firepower and Tiafoe’s electricity are exactly the ingredients this format rewards.
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This Season: The December Relaunch
This season is a relaunch, not a rebuild. After five years away, World TeamTennis returns in December 2026 — and the Empire return with it, back at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, back in black and white, and led by a trio most teams in the league would envy: Pegula at women’s No. 1 singles, Fritz at men’s No. 1 singles, and Tiafoe lighting up men’s No. 2 singles and mixed doubles, with Camila Osorio and Michael Zheng adding depth to the roster. There are no past-season standings to defend and no recent form to read into — the slate is clean, the banner from 2020 is the standard, and the whole point of December is to show that the Empire never really left. For fans, the brief is simple: get to Brooklyn, wear the black and white, and be loud. The Empire are home.
Mark Your Calendar: The Road Ahead
Circle the dates ahead, Empire fans — the return comes first, and everything else follows from it:
- December 1–2, 2026 — New York Empire home matches, Barclays Center, Brooklyn: The Empire’s home dates for the WTT December 2026 relaunch. These matches are upcoming — the return fans have waited five years for, under the Brooklyn lights.
No further fixtures have been verified at the time of writing — when WTT publishes the full relaunch schedule, this guide will be updated with every Empire date.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. Florida Flamingos — the fellow returnees. The Flamingos are the other great relaunch story: a 1974 original brought back for December 2026, just like the Empire. Two historic names, two comeback stories, one relaunched league — when the Empire and the Flamingos meet, it will be the relaunch’s marquee matchup. No past results between the relaunched sides exist yet; the rivalry starts in December.
2. The rest of the relaunch field — the new wars. A relaunched league means every rivalry is new. The Empire’s 2020 title makes them the team with the banner — and the team everyone else will want to measure themselves against. Expect every opponent to treat a night against New York as a statement game, and expect the Empire to enjoy every minute of it.
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🌟 Star in Focus: Jessica Pegula
Photo: si.robi via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Buffalo-born and New York through and through, Jessica Pegula is the Empire’s women’s No. 1 singles headliner for the 2026 relaunch — the home-state star leading the club back to Barclays Center.
A 2024 US Open finalist and one of America’s leading women’s players, Pegula brings Grand Slam pedigree and big-match calm to a team event built on momentum.
When the Empire walk out in Brooklyn this December, she is the player the whole return revolves around.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the New York Empire play next?
The Empire return at Barclays Center in Brooklyn with home matches on December 1-2, 2026, as part of the World TeamTennis December 2026 relaunch. These matches are upcoming and had not been played at the time of writing.
Where do the New York Empire play?
The Empire play their home matches at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The team colors are black and white, and the club motto is NEW YORK’S EMPIRE.
Who are the New York Empire star players?
The 2026 relaunch star trio is Jessica Pegula (women’s No. 1 singles), Taylor Fritz (men’s No. 1 singles) and Frances Tiafoe (men’s No. 2 singles and mixed-doubles star). Camila Osorio and Michael Zheng are also on the roster.
Where can I buy New York Empire fan gear?
Toxlay Sports offers fan-inspired apparel for Empire supporters. Note that fan-inspired apparel is not official World TeamTennis licensed merchandise.
Sources: World TeamTennis (worldteamtennis.com), Barclays Center event listings and the New York Empire’s official club channels — schedules and rosters checked October 2026.
NEW YORK’S EMPIRE — back in Brooklyn, back in black and white, and ready to rule again.
