Canberra ACT 2601, Australia, 29 October 2015 | Tennis Australia

Aussie pros Alison Bai and Jake Eames are set to lead Canberra Velocity as the team faces a new challenge in the 2015-16 season.

The Asia Pacific Tennis League (ATL) has undergone a restructure which will now see Canberra Velocity participating in the North Conference.

The ATL now features two Australian conferences – North and South. Each conference consists of two pools of four teams. Velocity has been draw in North Pool B and will face two teams from New South Wales and a team from Queensland.

The top two teams in Pool B will face the top two teams from Pool A for a shot at the North Conference title.

The Canberra Velocity Women’s team has a strong history in the ATL, making the conference final all three years and winning back-to-back conference titles the past two years.

The team will return all playing members from the 2014-15 squad which will be led by world No.328 Alison Bai.

Bai has enjoyed one of her best years on tour, reaching a career high ranking of 326th in September as well as taking out her first Pro Tour title in Mildura.

Alexandra Nancarrow (No.439) has also had a standout year, reaching a career-high ranking of No.385 in November 2014 and winning three ITF titles in 2015.

Ashley Keir, who has recently been competing on the Pro Tour circuit in Australia, will re-join the team after missing last season through injury, while Tyra Calderwood will return for her fourth season with the Velocity.

Juniors Imogen Clews and Maria Vais will be joined by Kaitlin Staines who is currently ranked 291st in the ITF junior world rankings. Sarina Kang, Tallulah Farrow and Annerly Poulos round out the team.

Poulos, who is just 12 years old, is currently ranked No.1 in Australia for her age.

National Academy Canberra head coach Todd Larkham said: “Canberra Velocity and the Asia Pacific Tennis League has played an instrumental part in the development pathway for athletes in the ACT.

“To have up-and-coming athletes such as Annerly be part of a team with touring professionals such as Alison and Alex provides them with great experience in a team environment.”

On the men’s side, Jake Eames will lead the team which has a mix of returning and new players.

Ranked No.1047, Eames is on the comeback trail after missing most of 2015 due to injury. He will be looking to regain the form that took him to a career high ranking 695th in late 2014.

Daniel Guccione, the Australian No.46, will line up for his first season with Velocity, as will Alexander Babanine. James Frawley, one of Velocity’s most consistent performers last year will, again line up for Velocity, while Dimitri Morogiannis, coming off his biggest career win at the Canberra Junior International ITF event, is also expected to feature for the team this year.

Alexander De Jong, Yuki Okamoto, Alun Jones, Jamieson Nathan, Zac Donaldson and Luke Sarris are also listed on the team roster.

“Given the depth of both the men’s and women’s squads I expect both teams to be highly competitive in the North Conference,” Larkham said.

The ATL commences on 20 November in Canberra.