World TeamTennis
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Current season or competition: 2011 World TeamTennis season |
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| Sport | Tennis |
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| Founded | 1973 |
| Commissioner | Ilana Kloss |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Country(ies) |  United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Washington Kastles |
| Most titles | Sacramento Capitals (6) |
| TV partner(s) | Tennis Channel |
| Official website | http://www.wtt.com/ |
World TeamTennis is a coed professional tennis league played with a unique team format in the United States. Each match consists of five sets. Each set features a different configuration (men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles). Coaches, before the match, decide the order in which the sets will be played. Each player on a team usually plays in at least one of the five sets.
The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a break from their tour schedules to partake in World TeamTennis.
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[edit] History
[edit] First league
The World Team Tennis (WTT) Professional Tennis league was founded in 1973 by four people: Larry King (Owner of San Francisco Golden Gaters), Dennis Murphy (founder of the World Hockey Association), Fred Barman, and Jordan Kaiser. The league began play in May 1974 with George MacCall as Commissioner of the 16 teams: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Florida, Hawaii, Houston, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco.
The original league format included a four colored tennis court, a 44 contest season, and teams of at least two men and two women. A match consisted of the first player or team to win five games, with a nine point tiebreaker at four all, and no-ad scoring in: women’s singles and doubles, men’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. This made WTT the first professional sports league to give equal weight to each man and woman competing for their teams.[1]
It was the first professional sports experience for Jerry Buss (eventual owner of NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings), and for Bob Kraft (eventual owner of the NFL's New England Patriots and the MLS's New England Revolution).
Elton John wrote the theme song Philadelphia Freedom for his favorite team.
The first league ended play in 1978.
[edit] Second league
The league resumed play in 1981 as TeamTennis and fluctuated between four and twelve teams. In 1992, the name was changed back to World Team Tennis (WTT). In 2005, twelve teams competed.
Billie Jean King became Commissioner and major owner of the league in 1984 following her retirement from tournament tennis competition. She retired as Commissioner in February 2001, and Ilana Kloss became the new WTT commissioner, a position she currently holds.
Many top tennis players have participated in the league over the years, including: Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Björn Borg, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Evonne Goolagong, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, and Kim Clijsters.
[edit] Timeline
[edit] 1974-1978
- Anaheim Oranges (1978)
- Baltimore Banners (1974)
- Boston Lobsters (1974)
- Buffalo-Toronto Royals (1974)
- Chicago Aces (1974)
- Cleveland Nets (1974–1977) / New Orleans Nets (1978)
- Denver Racquets (1974) / Phoenix Racquets (1975–1978)
- Detroit Loves (1974) / Indiana Loves (1975–1978)
- Florida Flamingos (1974)
- Hawaii Leis (1974–1976) / Sea-Port Cascades (1977) / Seattle Cascades (1977)
- Houston E-Z Riders (1974)
- Los Angeles Strings (1974–1978)
- Minnesota Buckskins (1974)
- New York Sets (1974–1976) / New York Apples (1977–1978)[2]
- Philadelphia Freedoms (1974) / Boston Lobsters (1975–1978)
- Pittsburgh Triangles (1974–1976)
- San Diego Friars (1975–1978)
- San Francisco Golden Gaters (1974–1978)
- Soviet National Team (Pennsylvania Keystones) (1977), often simply called "The Soviets"
[edit] 1981-1991
League play resumed in 1981 as TeamTennis with four California teams, expanding to eight teams in 1982. In 1985, a recreational league for non-professionals was added which was co-branded with the professional league.
[edit] 1992-1999
In 1992, the current name World TeamTennis was restored.
- Minnesota Penguins, 1993
- Idaho Sneakers, 1994–1997
- New Jersey Stars, 1993-1995
- 1994 Stars roster featured Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova[3]
[edit] 2000-present
In 2000, the current logo was adopted.
In 2005 & 2006 the league consisted of 12 teams and in 2007 the Hartford FoxForce ceased operations.
Prior to the 2008 season, the Houston Wranglers ceased operations and the Washington Kastles joined the league.
In the 2009 season, 10 teams competed: Boston, NY Buzz, NY Sportime, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Kansas City, Newport Beach, Sacramento, Springfield, and St. Louis.
Sacramento has won the year end Championship six times.
Before the start of the 2011 season, the New York Buzz and the New York Sportimes merged into one New York team, the NY Sportimes.[4]
[edit] Teams
| Eastern Conference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | City | Stadium |
| Boston Lobsters | Middleton, MA | Joan Norton Stadium at the Ferncroft Country Club |
| New York Sportimes | New York, NY | Sportime Stadium |
| Philadelphia Freedoms | Villanova, PA | The Pavilion |
| Washington Kastles | Washington, D.C. | Kastles Stadium at The Wharf |
| Western Conference | ||
| Kansas City Explorers | Kansas City, MO | Barney Allis Plaza |
| Newport Beach Breakers | Newport Beach, CA | Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club |
| Sacramento Capitals | Citrus Heights, CA | Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall |
| Springfield Lasers | Springfield, MO | Cooper Tennis Complex |
| St. Louis Aces | St. Louis, MO | Dwight Davis Tennis Center |
[edit] Past Champions
- 1974 Denver Racquets 55, Philadelphia Freedoms 45
- 1975 Pittsburgh Triangles 74, San Francisco Golden Gaters 65
- 1976 New York Sets 91, San Francisco Golden Gaters 57
- 1977 New York Apples 55, Phoenix Racquets 39
- 1978 Los Angeles Strings 108, Boston Lobsters 93
- 1979-1980 Play suspended
- 1981 Los Angeles Strings (regular season champion, no playoffs)
- 1982 Dallas Stars 27, Phoenix Sunsets 22
- 1983 Chicago Fyre (regular season champion, no playoffs)
- 1984 San Diego Buds 30, Long Beach Breakers 13
- 1985 San Diego Buds 25, St. Louis Slims 24
- 1986 San Antonio Racquets 25, Sacramento Capitols 23
- 1987 Charlotte Heat 25, San Antonio Racquets 20
- 1988 Charlotte Heat 27, New Jersey Stars 22
- 1989 San Antonio Racquets 27, Sacramento Capitols 25
- 1990 Los Angeles Strings 27, Raleigh Edge 16
- 1991 Atlanta Thunder 27, Los Angeles Strings 16
- 1992 Atlanta Thunder 30, Newport Beach Dukes 17
- 1993 Wichita Advantage 26, Newport Beach Dukes 23
- 1994 New Jersey Stars 28, Idaho Sneakers 25
- 1995 New Jersey Stars 28, Atlanta Thunder 20
- 1996 St. Louis Aces 27, Delaware Smash 16
- 1997 Sacramento Capitals (regular season champion, championship match rained out)
- 1998 Sacramento Capitals 30, New York OTBzz 13
- 1999 Sacramento Capitals 23, Springfield Lasers 15
- 2000 Sacramento Capitals 21, Delaware Smash 20
- 2001 Philadelphia Freedoms 20, Springfield Lasers 18
- 2002 Sacramento Capitals 21, New York Buzz 13
- 2003 Delaware Smash 21, Sacramento Capitals 14
- 2004 Newport Beach Breakers 23, Delaware Smash 17
- 2005 New York Sportimes 21, Newport Beach Breakers 18[5]
- 2006 Philadelphia Freedom 21, Newport Beach Breakers 14
- 2007 Sacramento Capitals 24, New York Buzz 20
- 2008 New York Buzz 21, Kansas City Explorers 18
- 2009 Washington Kastles 23, Springfield Lasers 20
- 2010 Kansas City Explorers 21, New York Sportimes 18
- 2011 Washington Kastles 23, St. Louis Aces 19
[edit] Sources
- Greg Hoffman, The Art of World Team Tennis, San Francisco Book Company, 1977 ISBN 0-913374-65-2
- World TeamTennis, Official Website
- Brief History of World TeamTennis. From the WTT site.
- WTT Logos
- More WTT Logos
- "Tennis: Navratilova, Connors picked". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press: p. 3C. March 27, 1998. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kUAgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hn0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6397,2029377&dq=springfield+lasers+tennis&hl=en.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "World TeamTennis Firsts". World TeamTennis. http://www.wtt.com/page.aspx?article_id=626. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
- ^ "WTT:Virginia Wade". World TeamTennis. http://www.wtt.com/page.aspx?article_id=1666. Retrieved 2009-12-17. References both "Sets" and "Apples".
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: TENNIS; King Wants Navratilova to Finish Year". The New York Times. 1994-07-15. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/15/sports/sports-people-tennis-king-wants-navratilova-to-finish-year.html.
- ^ "New York Sportimes to Play Two WTT Matches in Albany This Summer As World Team Tennis' New York Teams Consolidate" http://www.wtt.com/page.aspx?article_id=2411
- ^ "Steve Dimitry's WTT Web Page". source data for 1981-2005. tennis-reference. Archived from the original on 2005-02-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20050222094033/http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/6925/wtt.html. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ "USTA National Campus Championship". http://www.tennisoncampus.com/Events/USTANationalCampusChampionship.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
[edit] External links
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