2014 World TeamTennis season

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2014 World TeamTennis season
Regular season
DurationJuly 7 – 23, 2014
Playoffs
Start dateJuly 24, 2014
Eastern Conference ChampionsWashington Kastles
Western Conference ChampionsSpringfield Lasers
WTT Final – King Trophy
DateJuly 27, 2014
SiteSpringfield, Missouri
ChampionsWashington Kastles
← 2013 WTT seasons 2015 →

The 2014 World TeamTennis season was the 39th season of the top professional team tennis league in the United States. Pursuant to a sponsorship agreement with Mylan N.V., the official name of the league was Mylan World TeamTennis in 2014.[1] The Washington Kastles defeated the Springfield Lasers in the WTT Final to win their fourth consecutive King Trophy.[2]

Competition format[]

The 2014 World TeamTennis season included seven teams split into two conferences (Eastern and Western). The Eastern Conference had three teams and the Western Conference had four teams. Each team played a 14-match regular-season schedule with seven home and seven away matches. The top two teams in each conference qualified for the conference championship matches hosted by the first-place finishers. The conference champions met in the World TeamTennis Final hosted in 2014, by the Western Conference champion. An Eastern Conference champion that is a higher seed than a Western Conference champion is treated as the "home" team and has the right to determine order of play. The winner of the WTT Final is awarded the King Trophy.

Franchise movement and contraction[]

On November 21, 2013, WTT announced that entrepreneur Lorne Abony had purchased the Orange County Breakers and relocated the team to Cedar Park, Texas, renaming it the Austin Aces. Immediately after the transaction, the Aces acquired the rights to Austin's hometown hero Andy Roddick in a trade with the Springfield Lasers in exchange for financial consideration.[3] The team remains in the Western Conference.

On January 6, 2014, WTT announced that San Diego businessman Russell Geyser had purchased the New York Sportimes and relocated the team, renaming it the San Diego Aviators.[4] The team was moved by WTT from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference.

On February 4, 2014, after 28 years in Sacramento, the Sacramento Capitals announced the team was moving to Las Vegas for the 2014 season and would be renamed the Las Vegas Neon. The Capitals cited dissatisfaction with the team's stadium, a temporary facility on the parking lot of a mall. Management made plans for the team to play the 2014 season in the Darling Tennis Center, a permanent 3,000-seat stadium about 11 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip in the Summerlin community within the Las Vegas city limits.[5] On February 20, Neon principal owner Deepal Wannakuwatte was arrested on federal fraud charges. The assets of his Sacramento-based medical supply company, International Manufacturing Group Inc., were frozen by a federal judge. Wannakuwatte's family had owned the Capitals/Neon franchise since 2011. International Manufacturing Group Inc. was the parent company of Capital Sports Management LLC which was the legal owner of the Neon. With the assets frozen, Neon ownership was unable to meet its financial obligations to the WTT, and on March 5, the league contracted the franchise.[6]

With the Sportimes moving from New York and becoming the San Diego Aviators and changing conferences, WTT had originally planned to move the Springfield Lasers from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference and have four teams in each conference.[7] After the contraction of the Las Vegas Neon, WTT decided to keep the Lasers in the Western Conference.

Drafts[]

Marquee player draft[]

The 2014 World TeamTennis Marquee Player Draft was conducted in New York City on February 11, 2014. The order in which teams selected was based on the results the teams achieved in 2013 with weaker teams selecting earlier and stronger teams selecting later. The order for relocated franchises was based on the results achieved in their previous city. Teams could protect up to two marquee players or doubles teams to which they held the rights from the previous season or acquired in a trade. These protected players could not be chosen by other teams unless the team protecting them failed to choose them in the draft. Rights to marquee players can be traded from one team to another before or during the draft, and the acquiring team may protect and then select those players. The selections made[8] are shown in the tables below.

Roster player draft[]

The 2014 World TeamTennis Roster Player Draft was conducted in Indian Wells, California on March 11, 2014. The order in which teams selected was based on the results the teams achieved in 2013 with weaker teams selecting earlier and stronger teams selecting later. The order for relocated franchises was based on the results achieved in their previous city. Teams could protect up to four players to which they held the rights from the previous season or acquired in a trade. These protected players could not be chosen by other teams unless the team protecting them failed to choose them in the draft. Rights to roster players can be traded from one team to another before or during the draft, and the acquiring team may protect and then select those players. In addition, the rights to make a selection in a particular position within the draft can be traded from one team to another. The selections made[9] are shown in the tables below.

Notes:

  1. ^ a b The Washington Kastles traded the seventh pick in the first round to the Springfield Lasers in exchange for the sixth pick in the third round and financial consideration.
  2. ^ a b The San Diego Aviators traded the first pick in the third round to the Springfield Lasers in exchange for the sixth pick in the fourth round and financial consideration.

Event chronology[]

Regular season[]

  • July 7: The San Diego Aviators and the Austin Aces opened their seasons against each other at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego in the debut match for both teams after the relocations of their franchises.[10] The Aviators ended a seven-match losing streak with which they ended the 2013 season as the New York Sportimes by beating the Aces, 23–11. The match opened with men's singles as Andy Roddick represented the Aces, and Somdev Devvarman took the court for the Aviators. Devvarman won the opening set, 5–2. The Aces struck back in the next set as Vera Zvonareva beat Daniela Hantuchová, 5–3, to cut the Aviators' lead to 8–7. But the Aviators took control of the match from there winning the next three sets. Raven Klaasen and Květa Peschke topped Roddick and Zvonareva, 5–2, in mixed doubles. Hantuchová and Peschke beat Eva Hrdinová and Zvonareva, 5–2, in women's doubles. Devvarman and Klaasen dominated Roddick and Treat Huey, 5–0, in men's doubles.[11]
  • July 8: The Austin Aces had a successful home debut at Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, Texas just outside Austin against the Springfield Lasers in the first home match for the former Orange County Breakers after the franchise moved from Irvine, California.[12] In a match nationally televised by the Tennis Channel, the Aces were led by Austin hometown hero Andy Roddick who beat the Michael Russell, 5–2, in the opening set to take the men's singles. The Lasers bounced back in men's doubles with Ross Hutchins and Michael Russell beating Treat Huey and Roddick, 5–2, to tie the match at 7–7. The Aces moved back in front as Marion Bartoli and Huey beat Olga Govortsova and Ross Hutchins in mixed doubles, 5–2. However, the Lasers tied the match again with a 5–2 set win in women's doubles by Līga Dekmeijere and Govortsova over Bartoli and Vera Zvonareva. In the final set, Zvonareva delivered a 5–3 win in women's singles over Govortsova to give the Aces a 19–17 victory.[13]
  • July 14: After opening the season with six consecutive victories, the Washington Kastles suffered their first defeat, losing at home to the San Diego Aviators, 22–18. Including the 2013 regular season and playoffs, the Kastles had won 18 in a row.[14]
  • July 15: After starting the season with six consecutive losses, the Boston Lobsters earned a 20–18 overtime victory over the Austin Aces that ended their eight-match losing streak going back to the 2013 regular season and playoffs.[15] After Rik de Voest won the men's singles and Sharon Fichman and Megan Moulton-Levy won the women's doubles each by scores of 5–0, the Aces charged back from the 10–0 deficit to win the next three sets and force overtime. After losing the first three games of overtime and seeing their lead in the match reduced to 19–18, the Lobsters' mixed-doubles team of Moulton-Levy and de Voest won the fourth overtime game to avoid the super tiebreaker and secure the victory.[16] This would be the only win of the season for the Lobsters.
  • July 18: Despite losing their second straight match and third of the last four to fall to a record of 7 wins and 3 losses, the Washington Kastles clinched a playoff berth when the Philadelphia Freedoms defeated the Boston Lobsters, 25–14.[17]
  • July 19: With a record of 6 wins and 4 losses, the Philadelphia Freedoms clinched a playoff berth when the Washington Kastles defeated the Boston Lobsters, 23–9. The Lobsters were eliminated from the playoff race with the loss.[18]
  • July 20: The San Diego Aviators defeated the Springfield Lasers, 21–15, to improve their record to 8 wins and 4 losses. The Aviators got set wins from Květa Peschke and Daniela Hantuchová (5-3 in women's doubles), Mike Bryan and Peschke (5–4 in mixed doubles), Hantuchová (5–3 in women's singles) and Bob and Mike Bryan (5–0 in men's doubles).[19] Later that evening, the Aviators clinched a playoff berth and home-court advantage for the Western Conference Championship Match when the Austin Aces defeated the Texas Wild, 22–16.[20]
  • July 22: The Washington Kastles won their third straight match and improved their record to 10 wins and 3 losses with a 23–15 victory over the Springfield Lasers and clinched home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference Championship Match.[21] The Kastles got set wins from Sloane Stephens (5–2 in women's singles), Leander Paes and Bobby Reynolds (5–4 in men's doubles), Martina Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova (5—2 in women's doubles) and Hingis and Paes (5–2 in mixed doubles).[22]
  • July 23: The Springfield Lasers earned a victory on the last day of the regular season over the Boston Lobsters, 25–7, to clinch a playoff berth.[23] The Lasers got set wins from Ross Hutchins and Michael Russell (5–2 in men's doubles), Olga Govortsova and Abigail Spears (5–0 in women's doubles), Hutchins and Spears (5–2 in mixed doubles), Govortsova (5–0 in women's singles) and Russell (5–4 in men's singles).[24] The Lasers' win eliminated the Austin Aces and Texas Wild from the playoff race.
  • July 23: The San Diego Aviators defeated the Austin Aces, 22–12, at Valley View Casino Center to give them the best regular-season record in WTT in 2014.[23] The Aviators and Washington Kastles both finished the season with 10 wins and 4 loss, but the Aviators won the only regular-season meeting between the teams, giving them a tiebreaker edge. The Aviators won four of the five sets in the match against the Aces and were led by Somdev Devvarman (5–0 in men's singles), Bob Bryan and Květa Peschke (5–2 in mixed doubles), Daniela Hantuchová (5–3 in women's singles) and Bob and Mike Bryan (5–2 in men's doubles).

Playoffs[]

Standings[]

Eastern Conference
Pos Team MP W L PCT MB GW GL
1 Washington Kastles 14 10 4 .714 0 303 213
2 Philadelphia Freedoms 14 9 5 .643 1 284 254
3 Boston Lobsters 14 1 13 .071 9 189 322
2014 Eastern Conference Playoffs
Western Conference
Pos Team MP W L PCT MB GW GL
1 San Diego Aviators 14 10 4 .714 0 287 236
2 Springfield Lasers 14 7 7 .500 3 270 239
3 Austin Aces 14 6 8 .429 4 232 290
4 Texas Wild 14 6 8 .429 4 263 274
2014 Western Conference Playoffs
  • Austin won 2 of the 3 matches it played against Texas placing it third in the Western Conference.
  • San Diego won the only match it played against Washington and thus finished with the league's best record.

Results table[]

Abbreviation and Color Key:
Austin Aces - AUS • Boston Lobsters - BOS • Philadelphia Freedoms - PHI • San Diego Aviators - SDA
Springfield Lasers - SPR • Texas Wild - TEX • Washington Kastles - WAS

Win  • Loss  • Home  • Away

Team Match
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Austin Aces SDA SPR SDA WAS PHI SPR BOS BOS TEX TEX SDA TEX PHI SDA
11-23 19-17 20-18 10-25 11-25 13-21 22-18 18-20
(OT)		 23-22
(STB 7-4)		 12-23 18-22 22-16 21-18 12-22
Boston Lobsters TEX WAS WAS SPR SDA AUS AUS SDA PHI WAS PHI WAS PHI SPR
14-23
(OT)		 16-24
(OT)		 8-25 13-23
(OT)		 19-21
(OT)		 18-22 20-18
(OT)		 15-20
(OT)		 14-25 9-23 21-23 9-25 6-25 7-25
Philadelphia Freedoms SPR SDA WAS TEX AUS WAS SDA SPR WAS BOS BOS AUS BOS WAS
21-20
(STB 7-3)		 19-20
(STB 1-7)		 10-25 21-22
(STB 1-7)		 25-11 14-23 19-18 21-18 22-15
(OT)		 25-14 23-21 18-21 25-6 21-20
(STB 7-4)
San Diego Aviators AUS PHI AUS TEX BOS TEX WAS PHI BOS SPR AUS SPR TEX AUS
23-11 20-19
(STB 7-1)		 18-20 19-20
(STB 6-7)		 21-19
(OT)		 21-18 22-18 18-19 20-15
(OT)		 18-19
(STB 2-7)		 22-18 21-15 22-13 22-12
Springfield Lasers PHI TEX AUS BOS TEX AUS TEX PHI SDA WAS TEX SDA WAS BOS
20-21
(STB 3-7)		 16-17
(STB 5-7)		 17-19 23-13
(OT)		 19-18
(STB 7-6)		 21-13 13-22 18-21 19-18
(STB 7-2)		 24-10 25-16 15-21 15-23 25-7
Texas Wild BOS SPR WAS SDA PHI SPR SDA SPR WAS AUS AUS SPR AUS SDA
23-14
(OT)		 17-16
(STB 7-5)		 15-24 20-19
(STB 7-6)		 22-21
(STB 7-1)		 18-19
(STB 6-7)		 18-21 22-13 18-23 22-23
(STB 4-7)		 23-12 16-25 16-22 13-22
Washington Kastles BOS TEX BOS PHI AUS PHI SDA TEX PHI SPR BOS BOS SPR PHI
24-16
(OT)		 24-15 25-8 25-10 25-10 23-14 18-22 23-18 15-22
(OT)		 10-24 23-9 25-9 23-15 20-21
(STB 4-7)

Playoff bracket[]

Conference Championships
(July 24) 		WTT Final
(July 27)
      
E1 Washington Kastles 21*
E2 Philadelphia Freedoms 16
2 Washington Kastles 25
4 Springfield Lasers 13
W1 San Diego Aviators 17
W2 Springfield Lasers 22

* indicates match went to overtime.

Playoff match summaries[]

Eastern Conference Championship Match[]

July 24 at Kastles Stadium at Charles E. Smith Center, Washington, D.C.: Washington Kastles 21, Philadelphia Freedoms 16, overtime[25]

  • Men's Singles: Bobby Reynolds (Kastles) def. Frank Dancevic (Freedoms), 5–3
  • Women's Singles: Taylor Townsend (Freedoms) def. Martina Hingis (Kastles), 5–2
  • Mixed Doubles: Martina Hingis and Leander Paes (Kastles) def. Liezel Huber and Marcelo Melo (Freedoms), 5–2
  • Women's Doubles: Martina Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova (Kastles) def. Liezel Huber and Taylor Townsend (Freedoms), 5–1
  • Men's Doubles: Frank Dancevic and Marcelo Melo (Freedoms) def. Leander Paes and Bobby Reynolds (Kastles), 5–3
  • Overtime - Men's Doubles: Leander Paes and Bobby Reynolds (Kastles) def. Frank Dancevic and Marcelo Melo (Freedoms), 1–0

Western Conference Championship Match[]

July 24 at Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California: Springfield Lasers 22, San Diego Aviators 17[25]

WTT Final Match[]

July 27 at Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex, Springfield, Missouri:[Final 1] Washington Kastles 25, Springfield Lasers 13[2]

Note:

  1. ^ Prior to the start of the season, WTT determined that the WTT Final Match would be played on the home court of the Western Conference champion. Washington, as the higher seed, was treated as the "home" team under WTT rules for determining order of play.

Individual statistical leaders[]

The tables below show the WTT players who had the highest regular-season winning percentages in each of the league's five events. Only players who played in at least 40% of the total number of games played by their team in a particular event are eligible to be listed among the official WTT league leaders for that event.[26]

Mixed doubles
Rank Player Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Marcelo Melo Philadelphia Freedoms 110 68 42 .618
2 Liezel Huber Philadelphia Freedoms 102 63 39 .618
3 Martina Hingis Washington Kastles 71 41 30 .577
4 Olga Govortsova Springfield Lasers 62 35 27 .565
5 Eva Hrdinová Austin Aces 53 29 24 .547
6 Leander Paes Washington Kastles 109 58 51 .532

Individual honors[]

Reference: [2][27]

Award Recipient Team
Female Most Valuable Player Daniela Hantuchová San Diego Aviators
Male Most Valuable Player Marcelo Melo Philadelphia Freedoms
Female Rookie of the Year Anabel Medina Garrigues Texas Wild
Male Rookie of the Year Somdev Devvarman San Diego Aviators
Coach of the Year David Macpherson San Diego Aviators
WTT Final Most Valuable Player[Honors 1] Martina Hingis Washington Kastles

Note:

  1. ^ In past years, the equivalent of this award was called Championship Most Valuable Player, when WTT held what it called Championship Weekend with all postseason matches played at the same site.

Team statistics[]

The tables below show the regular-season winning percentages of each team in each of the league's five events.[26]

Mixed doubles
Rank Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Philadelphia Freedoms 110 68 42 .618
2 Washington Kastles 110 59 51 .536
3 Springfield Lasers 100 51 49 .510
4 San Diego Aviators 112 56 56 .500
5 Texas Wild 111 52 59 .468
6 Austin Aces 107 48 59 .449
7 Boston Lobsters 114 48 66 .421

Television[]

The Tennis Channel broadcast four matches nationally. However, only one was shown live; the other three were shown on tape delay. The matches shown by the Tennis Channel[28] were

The WTT Final between the Washington Kastles and the Springfield Lasers on July 27 at 4:00 pm CDT was broadcast live by ESPN2, but was scheduled to be joined in progress at 6:00 pm EDT, approximately one hour after the match's scheduled starting time. However, ESPN2's coverage of the 2014 Atlanta Open ended earlier than expected, and the network went to coverage of the WTT Final earlier than originally planned, joining the match during the first set.

In addition to the five national telecasts described above, several matches were shown by regional sports networks, and many of these were made available to affiliated channels in other markets.

See also[]

  • Tennis ball.svg Tennis portal

References[]

  1. ^ "World TeamTennis and Mylan Announce Three-Year Collaboration". World TeamTennis. October 16, 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d "Washington Kastles Four-Peat as Mylan WTT Champions". World TeamTennis. July 27, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-01-07. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  3. ^ "Mylan World TeamTennis Team Relocates to Austin; Andy Roddick to Star on Team". World TeamTennis. November 21, 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  4. ^ "Mylan World TeamTennis Team Headed to San Diego". World TeamTennis. January 16, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  5. ^ Kasler, Dale (February 4, 2014). "After 28 seasons, Sacramento Capitals Moving to Las Vegas". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  6. ^ Carp, Steve (March 5, 2014). "League Pulls Plug on Las Vegas Tennis Franchise". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  7. ^ "Mylan World TeamTennis - Facts & Figures" (PDF). World TeamTennis. February 1, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  8. ^ "Azarenka, Bryan Brothers, Roddick, Venus Williams, Hingis, Querrey, Bartoli, Hantuchova, Blake Highlight Mylan WTT Marquee Draft". World TeamTennis. February 11, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Devvarman, Zvonareva, Duval Top Mylan WTT Roster Draft". World TeamTennis. March 11, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  10. ^ "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 8, 2014". World TeamTennis. July 8, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  11. ^ "Match Statistics: July 7, 2014 - Austin Aces @ San Diego Aviators". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  12. ^ "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 9, 2014". World TeamTennis. July 9, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  13. ^ "Match Statistics: July 8, 2014 - Springfield Lasers @ Austin Aces". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on July 22, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  14. ^ "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 15, 2014". Mark McCormick. World TeamTennis. July 15, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  15. ^ "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 16, 2014". World TeamTennis. July 16, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  16. ^ "Match Statistics: July 15, 2014 - Austin Aces @ Boston Lobsters". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  17. ^ "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Friday, 7/18/2014". World TeamTennis. July 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  18. ^ "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Saturday, 7/19/2014". World TeamTennis. July 19, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  19. ^ "Match Statistics: July 20, 2014 - Springfield Lasers @ San Diego Aviators". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  20. ^ "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Sunday, 7/20/2014". World TeamTennis. July 20, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  21. ^ "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Tuesday, 7/22/2014". World TeamTennis. July 22, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  22. ^ "Match Statistics: July 22, 2014 - Springfield Lasers @ Washington Kastles". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  23. ^ a b "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Wednesday, 7/23/2014". World TeamTennis. July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  24. ^ "Match Statistics: July 23, 2014 - Boston Lobsters @ Springfield Lasers". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  25. ^ a b c d "Springfield Upsets San Diego to Win Mylan WTT Western Conference Title, Advance to Finals". World TeamTennis. July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  26. ^ a b "2014 League Leaders". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on 2016-09-07. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  27. ^ "Daniela Hantuchova, Marcelo Melo Named Mylan World TeamTennis MVPs as Mylan WTT Finals Weekend Kicks Off in Springfield". World TeamTennis. July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  28. ^ "Tennis Channel National Television Series Schedule". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.

External links[]

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