World TeamTennis (WTT) Pro League – FACTS & FIGURES

Written by: Staff on 13th April 2012

World TeamTennis (WTT) Pro League – FACTS & FIGURES

Serena Williams of the United States returns to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in their fourth round match against at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2012. Makarova won in two sets. EPA/BARBARA WALTON |

World TeamTennis (WTT) Pro League – FACTS & FIGURES

Name: World TeamTennis (WTT) Pro League

Teams: Western Conference: Kansas City Explorers, Orange County Breakers, Sacramento Capitals, Springfield Lasers

Eastern Conference: Boston Lobsters, New York Sportimes, Philadelphia Freedoms, Washington Kastles

2012 Schedule: The 37^th season of the WTT Pro League runs July 9-28, and concludes with the WTT Finals Weekend, September 14-16, at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C.

The eight coed professional tennis teams in the WTT Pro League presented by GEICO are battling for a spot in the Finals during the 2012 regular season which runs July 9-28. The top two teams from the regular season in both the Western and Eastern Conference will advance to the WTT Conference Championships in Charleston, with one Conference Championship match on Friday, September 14 (6:30pm ET), and another on Saturday, September 15 (6:30pm ET). The Conference Champions face off for the King Trophy, named after League co-founder Billie Jean King, in the WTT Finals presented by GEICO on Sunday, September 16 at 3:30pm ET. The Washington Kastles are the defending WTT Champions, capping the first undefeated season in WTT history by winning their second League title last summer in Charleston.

History: World TeamTennis was co-founded in the 1970s by Billie Jean King and Larry King. The WTT Pro League first hit the courts in 1974 for a five-year run. After a short hiatus, the League returned in 1981 and has been a highlight of the annual U.S. tennis calendar since.

The WTT Pro League, which begins its 37^th season in July 2012, is a showcase for three generations of tennis standouts, including legends, current tour players and future champions. Since the League’s debut, virtually every major champion of the Open era has played World TeamTennis including Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Steffi Graf, Bob and Mike Bryan, Andre Agassi, Venus and Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

Sponsors: Official WTT Pro League national and regional sponsors for the 2012 season include Cancer Treatment Centers of America, DecoTurf, GEICO, Kraft, UBS and Wilson Racquet Sports. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis. WTT and the USTA are teaming up on number of initiatives, including development of the youth market through junior team tennis programs.

Format: In the WTT format, each team is comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Team matches consist of five sets, with one set each of men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. The first team to reach five games wins each set. A nine-point tiebreaker is played if a set reaches four games all. One point is awarded for each game won. If necessary, Overtime and a Supertiebreaker are played to determine the winner of the match.

Matches: The eight teams will annually travel more than 60,000 miles to play 59 matches in 24 days.

CEO/Commissioner: Ilana Kloss

WTT Co-Founders: Billie Jean King, Larry King

MORE ABOUT WORLD TEAMTENNIS

THIS IS THE 37^TH SEASON OF WORLD TEAMTENNIS: The 37^th season of the WTT Pro League runs July 9–28, concluding with the WTT Finals Weekend, Sept. 14-16, at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C.
WTT WAS FOUNDED IN THE 1970s ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF GENDER EQUITY. WTT co-founder Billie Jean King simply says, “If you have ever seen a WTT match you have seen my philosophy of life in action – men and women, competing together, on a team and both genders making equal contributions to the result.”
VERY COMPETITIVE TENNIS: While World TeamTennis is fun for the fans and players, it’s also very competitive tennis. The players take the matches seriously – it’s exciting, quality tennis. The format features cumulative scoring so every game counts.
FAN INTERACTION: WTT is a unique experience for players and the crowd. The fans are very close to the action. The atmosphere gives the players an opportunity to meet a lot of the fans and give back to people who have supported WTT for years. Teams host kids clinics each night before matches and children age 16 and under can come on the court after every WTT match and get player autographs.
SINGLES & DOUBLES: WTT matches feature singles, doubles and mixed doubles which allows fans to see some players in a new environment – all in less than three hours.
A NEW HOME & NAME OUT WEST: The Southern California franchise in the World TeamTennis Pro League presented by GEICO will have a new name and home court in 2012. The Orange County Breakers, who played in Newport Beach since 2003, will play their seven home WTT matches this July on a specially-constructed court at the Bren Events Center on the University of California, Irvine campus.
ALL-AMERICANS: Six current or former world No. 1s from the U.S., including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Bob and Mike Bryan, Lindsay Davenport and John McEnroe, were among the names drafted by the eight franchises in the WTT Pro League. Other top Americans include Mardy Fish and John Isner. Though the League features many top Americans, players from at least 13 countries are expected to compete this season.
INNOVATIONS: World TeamTennis always tries new things that make the sport more fan-friendly – playing let serves, substitutions, instant replay, on-court coaching, music between points, names on back of players shirts, letting fans keep balls that are hit into the stands, multi-colored courts – it’s a little different but it brings the fans closer to the game.

2012 MARQUEE PLAYERS

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS: Mark Philippoussis, James Blake

SPRINGFIELD LASERS: n/a

ORANGE COUNTY BREAKERS: Lindsay Davenport

NEW YORK SPORTIMES: John McEnroe, Martina Hingis

KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS: Bob and Mike Bryan

BOSTON LOBSTERS: John Isner

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: Mardy Fish

WASHINGTON KASTLES: Serena Williams, Venus Williams

Marquee Player Matches (check schedule for specific dates):

BOSTON LOBSTERS: John Isner (1 home match). Visiting player is Lindsay Davenport (Orange County Breakers).

NEW YORK SPORTIMES: John McEnroe (home matches TBD); Martina Hingis (all home matches; road matches TBD). Visiting players are Venus Williams (Washington Kastles) and John Isner (Boston Lobsters). Williams and Isner will both play their matches in Albany, N.Y.

ORANGE COUNTY BREAKERS: Lindsay Davenport (all home matches; road matches TBD). Visiting player is Mark Philippoussis (Philadelphia Freedoms).

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS: Mark Philippoussis (1 home match); James Blake (1 home match). Visiting players are the Bryan Brothers (Kansas City Explorers), and Martina Hingis and John McEnroe (New York Sportimes).

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS: Mardy Fish (2 home matches). Visiting players are Lindsay Davenport (Orange County Breakers); Mark Philippoussis (Philadelphia Freedoms).

WASHINGTON KASTLES: Serena Williams (1 home match); Venus Williams (1 home match). Visiting player is Martina Hingis (New York Sportimes).

2012 WTT TEAM ROSTERS

(as of March 27, 2012 – subject to change)

BOSTON LOBSTERS

John Isner (USA)

Robby Ginepri* (USA)

Jan-Michael Gambill (USA)

Eric Butorac (USA)

Irina Falconi (USA)

Carly Gullickson (USA)

Coach: Bud Schultz

NEW YORK SPORTIMES

John McEnroe (USA)

Martina Hingis (SUI)

Robert Kendrick (USA)

Jesse Witten (USA)

Ashley Harkleroad (USA)

Coach: Chuck Adams

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS

James Blake (USA)

Mark Philippoussis (AUS)

Karolina Pliskova (CZE)

Kristyna Pliskova (CZE)

Luka Gregorc (SLO)

Jordan Kerr (AUS)

Coach: Josh Cohen

WASHINGTON KASTLES

Serena Williams (USA)

Venus Williams (USA)

Arina Rodionova (AUS)

Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)

Leander Paes (IND)

Bobby Reynolds (USA)

Coach: Murphy Jensen

KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS

Bob Bryan (USA)

Mike Bryan (USA)

Chanel Simmonds (RSA)

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)

Nick Monroe (USA)

Tetiana Luzhanska (USA)

Coach: Brent Haygarth

ORANGE COUNTY BREAKERS

Lindsay Davenport (USA)

Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)

John-Patrick Smith (AUS)

Travis Parrott (USA)

Coach: Trevor Kronemann

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS

Mardy Fish (USA)

Coco Vandeweghe (USA)

Mark Knowles (BAH)

Jean-Julien Rojer (NED)

Asia Muhammed (USA)

Yasmin Schnack (USA)

Coach: Wayne Bryan

SPRINGFIELD LASERS

Timea Babos (HUN)

Maria Sanchez (USA)

Amir Weintraub (ISR)

Devin Britton (USA)

Coach: John-Laffnie de Jager

*=Wild Card player (limited matches)

2012 SCHEDULE – World TeamTennis Pro League presented by GEICO

including Marquee matches in parentheses – subject to change (as of April 11, 2012)

Monday, July 9

Sacramento Capitals at Boston Lobsters (Ginepri-BOS)

Kansas City Explorers at Springfield Lasers

Washington Kastles at Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB)

Tuesday, July 10

Springfield Lasers at New York Sportimes (Hingis-NYS)

Sacramento Capitals at Philadelphia Freedoms (Blake-PHL)

Wednesday, July 11

Boston Lobsters at Philadelphia Freedoms

Washington Kastles at Springfield Lasers

Kansas City Explorers at Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB)

Thursday, July 12

New York Sportimes (Hingis-NYS) at Washington Kastles

Kansas City Explorers at Sacramento Capitals (Fish-SAC)

Friday, July 13

Washington Kastles at Boston Lobsters (Ginepri-BOS)

Philadelphia Freedoms at New York Sportimes (Hingis-NYS)

Springfield Lasers at Kansas City Explorers

Orange County Breakers at Sacramento Capitals (Fish-SAC)

Saturday, July 14

Springfield Lasers at Philadelphia Freedoms

Sacramento Capitals at Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB)

Sunday, July 15

Springfield Lasers at Boston Lobsters

Philadelphia Freedoms at Washington Kastles

New York Sportimes at Kansas City Explorers

Monday, July 16

Kansas City Explorers (Bob and Mike Bryan-KC) at Philadelphia Freedoms

Boston Lobsters at Washington Kastles

Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB) at Springfield Lasers

New York Sportimes at Sacramento Capitals

Tuesday, July 17

Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB) at Boston Lobsters

Wednesday, July 18

Kansas City Explorers at Boston Lobsters

Philadelphia Freedoms at New York Sportimes (Hingis-NYS)

Sacramento Capitals at Washington Kastles

Thursday, July 19

Boston Lobsters at New York Sportimes (Hingis / McEnroe-NYS)

Orange County Breakers at Philadelphia Freedoms

Sacramento Capitals at Springfield Lasers

Friday, July 20

New York Sportimes (Hingis/McEnroe-NYS) at Philadelphia Freedoms

Orange County Breakers at Washington Kastles

Sacramento Capitals at Kansas City Explorers

Saturday, July 21

Orange County Breakers at Kansas City Explorers

Sunday, July 22

New York Sportimes (Hingis-NYS) at Boston Lobsters

Kansas City Explorers at Washington Kastles (S. Williams-WAS)

Springfield Lasers at Sacramento Capitals

Monday, July 23

Philadelphia Freedoms at Boston Lobsters (Isner-BOS)

Washington Kastles (V. Williams-WAS) at New York Sportimes* (Hingis-NYS) *in Albany, N.Y.

Springfield Lasers at Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB)

Tuesday, July 24

Boston Lobsters (Isner-BOS) at New York Sportimes* (Hingis-NYS) *in Albany, N.Y.

Philadelphia Freedoms at Washington Kastles (V. Williams-WAS)

Springfield Lasers at Kansas City Explorers

Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB) at Sacramento Capitals

Wednesday, July 25

Washington Kastles at New York Sportimes (Hingis/McEnroe-NYS)

Boston Lobsters at Philadelphia Freedoms (Philippoussis-PHL)

Kansas City Explorers at Springfield Lasers

Sacramento Capitals at Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB)

Thursday, July 26

no matches scheduled

Friday, July 27

New York Sportimes at Springfield Lasers

Washington Kastles at Kansas City Explorers

Boston Lobsters at Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB)

Philadelphia Freedoms (Philippoussis-PHL) at Sacramento Capitals

Saturday, July 28

Washington Kastles at Springfield Lasers

New York Sportimes at Kansas City Explorers

Philadelphia Freedoms (Philippoussis-PHL) at Orange County Breakers (Davenport-OCB)

Boston Lobsters at Sacramento Capitals

regular season ends July 28-top two team from both the Western and Eastern Conference advance to the WTT Finals Weekend in Charleston, S.C., Sept. 14-16.

WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO, Sept. 14-16

Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C.

Friday, September 14-WTT Conference Championship #1 – 6:30pm ET

Saturday, September 15-WTT Conference Championship #2 – 6:30pm ET

Sunday, September 16-WTT Finals presented by GEICO – 3:30pm ET

WTT TEAM VENUES

TEAM Match Venue / Start Time

Orange County Breakers………………. Bren Events Center at UC Irvine Campus, Irvine, Calif. // 7:00pm PT

Sacramento Capitals…………………….. Sunrise Marketplace Stadium, Citrus Heights, Calif. // 7:35pm PT

*Kansas City Explorers………………….. Explorers Stadium at Barney Allis Plaza, Kansas City, Mo. // *7:35pm CT

(*except Sunday, July 14 and Tuesday, July 24 will start at 7:05pm CT)

Springfield Lasers…………………………. Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex, Springfield, Mo. // 7:05pm CT

Boston Lobsters……………………………. The Joan Norton Stadium at Ferncroft Country Club, Middleton, Mass. // 7:00pm ET

#New York Sportimes………………….. Sportime Stadium at Randall’s Island, New York, N.Y. // #7:00pm ET

(#The New York Sportimes will play two home matches at SECFU Arena at the Univ. of Albany in Albany, N.Y., on July 23 & 24, start times for Albany matches are 7:30pm ET)

Philadelphia Freedoms…………………. The Pavilion at Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. // 7:00pm ET

Washington Kastles………………………. Kastles Stadium at the Wharf, Washington, D.C. // 7:10pm ET

World TeamTennis – Taking the Lead

Since its inception in the early 70s, WTT has been an innovator in the sports world. Many of WTT’s novel rules have been designed to make the game a “fan-friendly” sport and are finally starting to be recognized and adopted by others in the industry.

The fan experience of a WTT match is simply not like anything you’ve ever seen on a tennis court. It’s loud, exciting, and innovative. WTT is all about the fans – it’s a little bit rock n’ roll, intense competition and a whole lot of fun.

With a fascinating history of firsts, innovations and an emphasis on gender equity, World TeamTennis stands out among all professional sports leagues. Here are a few of the reasons why:

WORLD TEAMTENNIS – A League of Firsts & Innovations

Professional sports league where men and women have equal roles.
Use of instant replay technology in 2005 with the WTT Coaches Challenge.
Professional tennis competition to regularly feature no-ad scoring – first one to four points wins the game.
Features on-court coaching.
WTT encourages fan participation. WTT crowds are encouraged to be vocal about great play (while still being respectful of all players) and are allowed to enter/exit the stadium during play without having to wait for a changeover. Often between games, music is played or a DJ fires up the crowd.
Let serves are played.
Sets are played to five games (nine-point tiebreak played at 4-4).
Invented the use of Supertiebreaker and Overtime in tennis.
Tennis fans are allowed to keep balls hit out of play and get them autographed after the match.
Substitutions are allowed during a WTT match.
WTT matches have half-times, Overtime and Supertiebreakers.
Player names on the back of shirts.
Played on multi-colored courts.
Similarly as with other professional league team sports, WTT is instituting the use of timeouts during match play in 2012. Each team will be allotted two timeouts per set with an additional timeout being awarded to each team if a match goes into overtime. Timeouts will be twenty (:20) seconds in length and do not carry over between sets. Only the coach may call a timeout. Coaches or players may enter the court area during these breaks in action.

What you need to know

World TeamTennis. There are a few things to know about how we play the game.

It’s about team. There are eight teams in the WTT Pro League presented by GEICO. Three generations of tennis standouts – from the stars of tomorrow to today’s top names to legends of the game – make up the teams. In WTT, every game counts – literally. Scoring is cumulative and it takes a team to win!

HERE ARE THE BASICS OF WORLD TEAMTENNIS

TEAM – coed team of 2 men, 2 women, 1 coach.

5 SETS – one each of men’s & women’s singles, men’s & women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

SCORING – game scoring is 1 to 4; no-ad; scoring is cumulative.

ON THE COURT – no-ad scoring; let serves are in play; plus on-court coaching, Timeouts, Coaches’ Challenges and player substitutions are allowed.

OVERTIME – if the team ahead in the cumulative score wins the final game of the last set, then that team wins the match. If the trailing team wins the final set, the match goes into Overtime and continues until (a) the leading team wins one game, or (b) the trailing team ties the match score. If the score becomes tied, the match is decided by a Supertiebreaker.

SUPERTIEBREAKER – if the match is tied at the end of the five sets or if the trailing team ties the score in Overtime, a 13-point Supertiebreaker, involving the fifth set event, is played. The first team to win seven points is awarded a single game and the match.

FANS – World TeamTennis is all about the fans. Get involved, get loud and have a great time.

KIDS – Kids rule the court at WTT matches. Look for post-match autograph sessions for kids age 16 & under after every match.

GREAT MOMENTS

WTT co-founder Billie Jean King is named as the League’s first MVP (1974).
Jimmy Connors dominated men’s tennis in 1974, winning three of the four slams. However he was barred from playing in the French Open after he signed up to participate in World Team Tennis. Because the ATP and French officials opposed WTT, Connors was not admitted into the French Open field in 1974. It was the only Grand Slam title he never won in his legendary career.
Billie Jean King leads the New York Sets to first of her three League Championships in 1976; King’s final WTT title was in 1983 with the Chicago Fyre, which was coached by current WTT CEO/Commissioner Ilana Kloss .
Chris Evert becomes the first WTT player to win back to back MVP awards (1977-78).
Billie Jean King is named as the first woman commissioner in pro sports history, taking the role at World TeamTennis (1984).
WTT Commissioner Ilana Kloss signs Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova to the League’s first multi-year marquee player contracts (1990).
Newport Beach Dukes post the League’s first undefeated regular season in 1994 with 14-0 mark. However the Dukes did not win the 1994 championship title.
Kansas City stages the greatest comeback in WTT history. Trailing the Sacramento Capitals by nine games going into the final set, the Explorers won men’s doubles 6-0 and added three games in Overtime to force a Supertiebreaker. Kansas City won the Supertiebreaker 7-3 and the match 25-24 (1997).
The “Ready, Set, Racquet!” program begins at WTT matches in 2003. Since that time, more than 250,000 free junior tennis racquets have been distributed.
Instant replay is introduced to professional tennis competition at WTT matches with the WTT Coaches Challenge presented by GEICO (2005).
Sacramento becomes first team in WTT history to win six championships with the 2007 title. The Caps also had an unprecedented four-peat, winning the title from 1997 to 2000.
Martina Navratilova, playing for the Boston Lobsters in 2009, becomes the first player to reach 20 seasons in WTT.
Kim Clijsters comes out of retirement and makes her WTT debut for the St. Louis Aces in July 2009. Less than two months later, she stuns the sports world by winning the US Open title.
In 2010, Martina Hingis returns to pro tennis competition for the first time since 2007. Hingis joined the Albany, N.Y.-based New York Buzz in 2010. In 2011, she became a member of the New York Sportimes when the two New York teams merged.
In 2011, the Washington Kastles completed the first undefeated season in WTT history (16-0), and won their 2nd WTT Championship with a victory over St. Louis Aces in the Finals.
In 2012, the WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO returns to the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C., Sept. 14-16. The venue is also home to one of the WTA Tour’s most storied tournaments – the Family Circle Cup.