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 37th 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 37th 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
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
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