( CNN ) -- The fledgling International Premier Tennis League suffered a blow when two of the world 's most recognized female athletes snubbed the event . Max Eisenbud , the agent of both Maria Sharapova and Li Na , told CNN on Thursday that neither would be appearing in the team tournament that is set to make its debut in Asia this November . Sharapova transcends tennis and has long been a magnet for sponsors -- the Russian is perennially listed as the world 's richest female athlete by Forbes -- while China 's Li is one of the marquee names in Asia , having captured a second grand slam title at the Australian Open in January . Li was `` confirmed '' as one of the entrants by the League in a press release last May . `` Maria and Li Na will not be participating , '' Eisenbud said in an email . Mahesh Bhupathi , a grand slam doubles winner and the main man behind the project modeled after cricket 's highly successful Indian Premier League , will now be hoping he can secure the likes of Rafael Nadal , Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray . Roger Federer , the 17-time grand slam champion and still the biggest name in the sport , told Gulf News this week he generally backed the idea . The player list is expected to be revealed Friday . `` Firstly , I want to see whether it takes off or not , '' Federer told Gulf News . `` I know a lot of people have invested in it or are part of it . Anywhere where tennis grows is a good thing , so I hope it takes off and becomes very successful . `` In Asia , there is enormous potential ( for tennis to grow ) , in places like China and India due to the amount of people that live there and the excitement they have for tennis . '' The tournament sees five teams -- based in Mumbai , Singapore , Bangkok , Kuala Lumpur and another city yet to be officially revealed -- play each other over a roughly three-week period . Matches are contested over five sets but will employ no-ad scoring . One set is played in each of men 's singles , women 's singles , men 's doubles , mixed doubles and legends doubles . Optimism was initially high , with Boris Becker a founding partner of the league and Djokovic -- now coached by Becker -- calling it a `` revolutionary idea . '' However , there have been delays in the player auction and the League was originally supposed to have six teams , not five . `` I think it will be great for tennis if it can be pulled off , '' said Eisenbud . `` I just do n't see how it could ever work , but I hope I am wrong , '' he added without elaborating . A tennis insider who spoke on the condition of anonymity told CNN he did n't know if the TV revenue was in place to fund salaries and other costs . However , Peter Hutton , CEO of MP and Silva , the firm distributing television rights , said there has been `` considerable interest both in Asia and outside . '' `` We 've been waiting to see the selection of the franchise squads before finalizing any broadcast deals , '' he told CNN . `` Mahesh 's personal credibility and his contacts within the world of tennis have made people sit up and take notice , and we believe that the 'made for tv ' format is a good model on which to grow audiences for tennis worldwide . '' Bhupathi did n't return an email seeking comment Thursday . Apart from who will show up , another question is : How can players complain about a long tennis year but then commit a chunk of the off-season to a tournament ? Pros from the U.S. and Europe also face the prospect of making the long trip to Asia -- after completing the Asian chunk of the schedule weeks or a month before .
Maria Sharapova and Li Na wo n't be competing in the new IPTL , their agent says . Sharapova is arguably the biggest name in women 's tennis and Li is hugely popular in Asia . The IPTL is hoping to be as successful as cricket 's established IPL . Comment: