Kastles win 34th straight match, set new U.S. pro sports record

Written by: Staff on 9th July 2013

Kastles win 34th straight match, set new U.S. pro sports record

epa03766270 Kevin Anderson of South Africa returns to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their third round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 29 June 2013. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

WASHINGTON, DC – July 9, 2013 – The Mylan World TeamTennis champion Washington Kastles won their 34th straight match tonight, setting a new U.S. major professional sports record.

Led by former World No. 1 Martina Hingis, the Kastles dispatched conference rival Boston Lobsters in a 25-12 victory. Washington swept all five sets from Boston as six-foot-eight Kevin Anderson got the Kastles off a fast start, winning 16 of 18 points on his speedy serve to win men’s singles 5-2. The women’s doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova followed suit with a 5-3 victory. Hingis remained on court for the third set, teaming with 13-time Grand Slam doubles champion Leander Paes to claim mixed doubles 5-3 and give Washington a 15-8 advantage overall at the half.

On a night when Washington celebrated a historic unbeaten run, the Swiss superstar Hingis created a mini-streak all her own by winning a third straight set. She defeated Jill Craybas 5-2 in women’s singles to put the Kastles ahead 20-10 going into the final set of men’s doubles. That left Paes and Bobby Reynolds in prime position to close out the Kastles’ 34th straight win, which they did when Paes hit a service winner on Washington’s first match point. Reynolds, nicknamed the Kastles closer, has been on court to clinch 21 of Washington’s record 34 consecutive victories. Washington has won four matches in a Super tiebreaker and seven matches by one game, saving 10 match points along the way.

The record-setting victory also had sweet resonance as the Lobsters were the last team to defeat the Kastles on July 22, 2010, in the final match of the 2010 regular season.

“You can’t even dream about making history and breaking a record like this one. But this incredible feat is a testament to the incredible support we have gotten from our community and to the inspiration that our players have drawn from our passionate fans,” said Mark Ein, the Kastles’ owner.

The 34-match Kastles winning streak eclipses the previous record of 33 held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Jeanie Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, who was involved with World TeamTennis in the 1970s as an executive for the Los Angeles Strings, issued a congratulations statement this evening after the Kastles’ win. The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers won 33 consecutive games, a mark broken Tuesday night when the Washington Kastles posted their 34th consecutive victory.

“Winning 33 consecutive games was an amazing accomplishment by our 1971-72 Lakers team, as evidenced by the fact that no other team has come close to reaching it for over 40 years now. On behalf of the Buss family and the Lakers family, I want to congratulate the Washington Kastles, their players, and our good friends Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss on this milestone accomplishment of theirs.”

“The Kastles have embraced the team concept and played stellar tennis from the first serve to the last point,” Kastles coach Murphy Jensen said. “Our fans know it; the players on the other side of the net know it and, most importantly, we know it. And we just love to play.”

Hingis was joined by team veterans Leander Paes, Bobby Reynolds (2012 Mylan WTT Male MVP) and Anastasia Rodionova, as well as new Kastle Kevin Anderson.

On Wednesday, the Kastles travel to Dallas to play the Texas Wild, and then return to Kastles Stadium at The Wharf on Thursday to play the Springfield Lasers, featuring former world No. 1 and US Open champion Andy Roddick. They wrap up streak week on Saturday on the road against the Sacramento Capitals, the first match between those two teams since last year’s one-game WTT title win by the Kastles.

For exclusive Kastles news, ticket information and player updates, follow the team at www.washingtonkastles.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/washkastles, and on Twitter at twitter.com/washkastles.

Please visit Ticketmaster.com to secure your seats for the seven home matches. Season tickets are available and can be purchased by calling 202-4-TENNIS (483-6647).