2014 World TeamTennis season

2014 World TeamTennis season
Regular season
Duration July 7 – 23, 2014
Playoffs
Start date July 24, 2014
Eastern Conference Champions Washington Kastles
Western Conference Champions Springfield Lasers
WTT Final – King Trophy
Date July 27, 2014
Site Springfield, Missouri
Champions Washington 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 payers 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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

Playoffs

Standings

Eastern Conference
Pos TeamMPWLPCTMBGWGL
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 TeamMPWLPCTMBGWGL
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

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

TeamMatch
1234567891011121314
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 LobstersTEX 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 AviatorsAUS 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 LasersPHI 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]

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]

Men's singles
Rank Player Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Michael Russell Springfield Lasers 98 62 36 .633
2 Bobby Reynolds Washington Kastles 88 50 38 .568
3 Somdev Devvarman San Diego Aviators 105 52 53 .495

Women's singles
Rank Player Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Martina Hingis Washington Kastles 45 32 13 .711
2 Daniela Hantuchová San Diego Aviators 102 57 45 .559
3 Taylor Townsend Philadelphia Freedoms 90 47 43 .522

Men's doubles
Rank Player Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Somdev Devvarman San Diego Aviators 86 47 39 .547
Raven Klaasen San Diego Aviators 86 47 39 .547
3 Alex Bogomolov, Jr. Texas Wild 101 54 47 .535
4 Leander Paes Washington Kastles 113 60 53 .531
5 Bobby Reynolds Washington Kastles 112 59 53 .527
6 Aisam Qureshi Texas Wild 108 56 52 .519

Women's doubles
Rank Player Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Martina Hingis Washington Kastles 63 43 20 .683
2 Anastasia Rodionova Washington Kastles 87 58 29 .667
3 Daniela Hantuchová San Diego Aviators 99 60 39 .606
Květa Peschke San Diego Aviators 99 60 39 .606
5 Olga Govortsova Springfield Lasers 95 53 42 .558
6 Taylor Townsend Philadelphia Freedoms 97 49 48 .505

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]

Men's singles
Rank Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Springfield Lasers 106 65 41 .613
2 Washington Kastles 101 60 41 .594
3 San Diego Aviators 105 52 53 .495
4 Philadelphia Freedoms 111 54 57 .486
5 Texas Wild 109 51 58 .468
6 Austin Aces 105 46 59 .438
7 Boston Lobsters 101 41 60 .406

Women's singles
Rank Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Washington Kastles 96 60 36 .625
2 San Diego Aviators 102 57 45 .559
3 Philadelphia Freedoms 98 52 46 .531
4 Texas Wild 103 53 50 .515
5 Springfield Lasers 104 52 52 .500
6 Austin Aces 102 50 52 .490
7 Boston Lobsters 91 24 67 .264

Men's doubles
Rank Team GP GW GL PCT
1 San Diego Aviators 105 62 43 .590
2 Washington Kastles 113 60 53 .531
3 Texas Wild 108 56 52 .519
4 Philadelphia Freedoms 116 60 56 .517
5 Springfield Lasers 104 49 55 .471
6 Austin Aces 107 49 58 .458
7 Boston Lobsters 111 46 65 .414

Women's doubles
Rank Team GP GW GL PCT
1 Washington Kastles 96 64 32 .667
2 San Diego Aviators 99 60 39 .606
3 Springfield Lasers 95 53 42 .558
4 Philadelphia Freedoms 103 50 53 .485
5 Texas Wild 106 51 55 .481
6 Austin Aces 101 39 62 .386
7 Boston Lobsters 94 30 64 .319

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

References

  1. "World TeamTennis and Mylan Announce Three-Year Collaboration". World TeamTennis. October 16, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Washington Kastles Four-Peat as Mylan WTT Champions". World TeamTennis. July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  3. "Mylan World TeamTennis Team Relocates to Austin; Andy Roddick to Star on Team". World TeamTennis. November 21, 2013. 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. 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. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  10. "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 8, 2014". World TeamTennis. July 8, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  11. "Match Statistics: July 7, 2014 - Austin Aces @ San Diego Aviators". World TeamTennis. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  12. "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 9, 2014". World TeamTennis. July 9, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  13. "Match Statistics: July 8, 2014 - Springfield Lasers @ Austin Aces". World TeamTennis. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  14. "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 15, 2014". Mark McCormick. World TeamTennis. July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  15. "72 Hours in Mylan WTT - July 16, 2014". World TeamTennis. July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  16. "Match Statistics: July 15, 2014 - Austin Aces @ Boston Lobsters". World TeamTennis. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  17. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Friday, 7/18/2014". World TeamTennis. July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  18. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Saturday, 7/19/2014". World TeamTennis. July 19, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  19. "Match Statistics: July 20, 2014 - Springfield Lasers @ San Diego Aviators". World TeamTennis. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  20. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Sunday, 7/20/2014". World TeamTennis. July 20, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  21. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Tuesday, 7/22/2014". World TeamTennis. July 22, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  22. "Match Statistics: July 22, 2014 - Springfield Lasers @ Washington Kastles". World TeamTennis. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  23. 1 2 "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. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Springfield Upsets San Diego to Win Mylan WTT Western Conference Title, Advance to Finals". World TeamTennis. July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  26. 1 2 "2014 League Leaders". World TeamTennis. 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. Retrieved July 31, 2014.

External links

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