2015 World TeamTennis season

Last updated
2015 World TeamTennis season
World TeamTennis 40th Season Logo.jpg
40th season logo
League World TeamTennis
Sport Team tennis
DurationJuly 12 – August 2, 2015
Number of matchesRegular season: 49 (14 for each team)
Postseason: 3
Number of teams7
TV partner(s) ESPN2
ESPN3
Tennis Channel
Altitude Sports and Entertainment
Comcast SportsNet affiliates
Mediacom Connections
MSG
World TeamTennis Player Draft
Top draft pick Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Eugenie Bouchard
Picked by Boston Lobsters
Regular season
Top seed Austin Aces
Season MVP Flag of Russia.svg Teymuraz Gabashvili (Male MVP) (Austin)
Flag of Spain.svg Anabel Medina Garrigues (Female co-MVP) (California)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Anastasia Rodionova (Female co-MVP) (Washington)
Eastern Conference
Season champions Washington Kastles
  Runners-up Philadelphia Freedoms
Western Conference
Season champions Austin Aces
  Runners-up California Dream
Conference Championships
Eastern Conference champions Washington Kastles
Western Conference champions Austin Aces
World TeamTennis Final
Venue Kastles Stadium at the Charles E. Smith Center
Champions Washington Kastles
  Runners-up Austin Aces
Finals MVP Flag of India.svg Leander Paes (Washington)
World TeamTennis seasons

The 2015 World TeamTennis season was the 40th 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 2015. [1] The Washington Kastles defeated the Austin Aces in the WTT Final to win their fifth consecutive King Trophy.

Contents

Competition format

The 2015 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 2015, by the Eastern Conference champion. A Western Conference champion that is a higher seed than an Eastern Conference champion would be treated as the "home" team in the WTT Final and have the right to determine order of play. The winner of the WTT Final was awarded the King Trophy.

Franchise movement

On February 23, 2015, WTT announced that a new ownership group had taken control of the Texas Wild and moved the team to Citrus Heights, California, renaming it the California Dream. [2]

Draft

Unlike previous seasons in which WTT conducted its Marquee Player Draft and its Roster Player Draft on different dates about one month apart, the league conducted a single draft at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California on March 16, 2015. [3] The order in which teams selected was based on the results the teams achieved in 2014, with weaker teams selecting earlier and stronger teams selecting later. The team with the worst regular-season record selected first in each round, and the remaining nonplayoff teams followed in order based on their records. After the nonplayoff teams chose, the conference championship loser with the worse record of the two selected and was followed by the other conference championship loser. The WTT runner up selected after the conference championship losers, and the WTT champion selected last. The draft position for the relocated California Dream franchise was based on the results achieved as the Texas Wild. [4] Each team could protect certain players from its 2014 roster. Marquee players or doubles teams and wildcard players could be protected if they appeared in a match for the team in 2014. Exempt, roster and substitute players who appeared in at least three matches for the team in 2014, could also be protected. [5] Teams could also protect players who qualified for protection based on match appearances in 2013, but were unable to play in 2014, due to injury. [6] Teams holding the right to protect players could trade those rights before or during the draft. [7] In another change from previous seasons, WTT eliminated its separate roster-exempt player draft. Instead, roster-exempt players were chosen in the roster player portion of the draft. [8] Since roster-exempt players are not required to be full-time members of the team, the rule change makes it possible for a team to make four selections in the roster player portion of the draft and not have two male and two female full-time players. In such cases, these teams are permitted to make selections in additional rounds of the roster player draft until they have a complete roster. [9] The selections made [3] are shown in the tables below.

Marquee draft - first round
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Boston Lobsters Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Eugenie Bouchard N
2 California Dream Flag of the United States.svg Bob and Mike Bryan YDoubles team
3 Austin Aces Flag of the United States.svg Andy Roddick Y
4 Philadelphia Freedoms Pass
5 San Diego Aviators Flag of the United States.svg Madison Keys NDesignated
6 Springfield Lasers Flag of the United States.svg John Isner Y
7 Washington Kastles Flag of Switzerland.svg Martina Hingis Y
Marquee draft - second round
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Boston Lobsters Pass
2 California Dream Pass
3 Austin Aces Pass
4 Philadelphia Freedoms Pass
5 San Diego Aviators Pass
6 Springfield Lasers Pass
7 Washington Kastles Flag of the United States.svg Venus Williams Y
Marquee draft - third round
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Boston Lobsters Pass
2 California Dream Pass
3 Austin Aces Pass
4 Philadelphia Freedoms Pass
5 San Diego Aviators Pass
6 Springfield Lasers Pass
7 Washington Kastles Flag of the United States.svg Serena Williams NDesignated
Roster draft - first round
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Boston Lobsters Flag of the United States.svg Irina Falconi N
2 California Dream Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jarmila Gajdošová N
3 Austin Aces Flag of the United States.svg Nicole Gibbs N
4 Philadelphia Freedoms Flag of the United States.svg Taylor Townsend Y
5 San Diego Aviators Flag of the United States.svg Taylor Fritz NAmateur
6 Springfield Lasers Flag of Germany.svg Andre Begemann N
7 Washington Kastles Flag of the United States.svg Sam Querrey NExempt
Roster draft - second round
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Boston Lobsters Flag of the United States.svg Scott Lipsky N
2 California Dream Flag of Spain.svg Anabel Medina Garrigues N
3 Austin Aces Flag of Russia.svg Alla Kudryavtseva N
4 Philadelphia Freedoms Flag of the United States.svg Robby Ginepri N
5 San Diego Aviators Flag of South Africa.svg Raven Klaasen Y
6 Springfield Lasers Flag of the United States.svg Alison Riske NExempt
7 Washington Kastles Flag of India.svg Leander Paes Y
Roster draft - third round
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Boston Lobsters Flag of the United States.svg Chase Buchanan N
2 California Dream Flag of the United States.svg Tennys Sandgren N
3 Austin Aces Flag of the United States.svg Jarmere Jenkins N
4 Philadelphia Freedoms Flag of Brazil.svg Marcelo Melo Y
5 San Diego Aviators Flag of South Africa.svg Chanelle Scheepers N
6 Springfield Lasers Flag of Germany.svg Anna-Lena Grönefeld Y
7 Washington Kastles Pass
Roster draft - fourth round
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Boston Lobsters Flag of Spain.svg Arantxa Parra Santonja N
2 California Dream Flag of Pakistan.svg Aisam Qureshi N
3 Austin Aces Flag of Russia.svg Teymuraz Gabashvili N
4 Philadelphia Freedoms Flag of the United States.svg Liezel Huber N
5 San Diego Aviators Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Květa Peschke Y
6 Springfield Lasers Flag of the United States.svg Michael Russell Y
7 Washington Kastles Flag of Australia (converted).svg Anastasia Rodionova Y
Roster draft - fifth round [Draft 1]
No.TeamPlayer chosenProt?Notes
1 Springfield Lasers Pass
2 Washington Kastles Pass

Notes:

  1. The Springfield Lasers and Washington Kastles each drafted one exempt player during the first four rounds of the roster draft and could have selected another player in the fifth round.

Event chronology

Off-season

Regular season

Playoffs

Standings

Eastern Conference
PosTeamMPWLPCTMBGWGL
1 Washington Kastles 14104.7140289228
2 Philadelphia Freedoms 1459.3575260267
3 Boston Lobsters 1459.3575253283
2015 Eastern Conference Playoffs
Philadelphia and Boston split their head-to-head meetings during the regular season, 2 matches each. Philadelphia wins the tiebreaker on games won in head-to-head meetings, 78–71.
Western Conference
PosTeamMPWLPCTMBGWGL
1 Austin Aces 14122.8570290235
2 California Dream 1495.6433283259
3 San Diego Aviators 1459.3577249297
4 Springfield Lasers 14311.2149247302
2015 Western Conference Playoffs
Boston swept both head-to-head meetings with San Diego during the regular season and wins the tiebreaker in the overall standings.

Results table

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

Win Loss Home Away

TeamMatch
1234567891011121314
Austin Aces BOSWASCALCALSPRCALSDASPRPHIWASSDASDAWASSPR
22–18
(EP)
22–1720–1922–1619–18
(STB,
7–1)
20–1824–1723–1614–22
(EP)
14–2225–825–13
(EP)
19–1621–15
Boston Lobsters WASAUSSPRSDAPHICALSDAWASPHIWASCALPHIPHIWAS
17–2018–22
(EP)
25–18
(EP)
25–1321–1717–2020–1913–2514–2414–2519–21
(EP)
17–2019–17
(EP)
14–22
California Dream SDASPRPHIAUSAUSBOSAUSSPRSDASDABOSPHIWASSDA
19–2423–18
(EP)
22–2019–2016–2220–1718–2022–1925–1120–1921–19
(EP)
22–1617–1920–15
Philadelphia Freedoms SPRSDACALBOSWASWASSPRWASBOSAUSSPRCALBOSBOS
22–1921–22
(STB,
5–7)
20–2217–2120–216–2319–2018–1624–1422–14
(EP)
18–2116–2220–1717–19
(EP)
San Diego Aviators CALPHIBOSWASSPRBOSAUSCALCALSPRAUSAUSSPRCAL
24–1922–21
(STB,
7–5)
13–2522–1819–2219–2017–2411–2519–2025–178–2513–25
(EP)
22–1615–20
Springfield Lasers PHICALBOSWASSDAAUSPHICALAUSPHISDAWASSDAAUS
19–2218–23
(EP)
18–25
(EP)
16–2122–1918–19
(STB,
1–7)
20–1919–2216–2321–1817–2516–24
(EP)
16–2215–21
Washington Kastles BOSAUSSPRSDAPHIPHIPHIBOSBOSAUSSPRCALAUSBOS
20–1717–2221–1618–2221–2023–616–1825–1325–1422–1424–16
(EP)
19–1716–1922–14

Playoff bracket

Conference Championships
(July 30)
WTT Final
(August 2)
      
E1 Washington Kastles 25
E2 Philadelphia Freedoms 9
2 Washington Kastles 24*
1 Austin Aces 18
W1 Austin Aces 25
W2 California Dream 14

* indicates match went to extended play.

Playoff match summaries

Eastern Conference Championship Match

July 30 at Kastles Stadium at Charles E. Smith Center, Washington, District of Columbia: WASHINGTON KASTLES 25, Philadelphia Freedoms 9 [18]

Western Conference Championship Match

July 30 at Gregory Gymnasium, Austin, Texas: AUSTIN ACES 25, California Dream 14 [19]

WTT Final Match

August 2 at Kastles Stadium at the Charles E. Smith Center, Washington, District of Columbia: [Final 1] Washington Kastles 24, AUSTIN ACES 18 (extended play) [20]

Note:

  1. Prior to the start of the season, WTT determined that the World TeamTennis Championship Match would be played on the home court of the Eastern Conference champion. Austin, 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. [21]

Mixed doubles
RankPlayerTeamGPGWGLPCT
1 Anabel Medina Garrigues California Dream 915734.626
2 Neal Skupski California Dream 804634.575
3 Alla Kudryavtseva Austin Aces 1035944.573
4 Taylor Townsend Philadelphia Freedoms 854837.565
5 Teymuraz Gabashvili Austin Aces 965442.563
6 Marcelo Melo Philadelphia Freedoms 1105753.518

Individual honors

Reference: [20] [22]

AwardRecipientTeam
Female Co-Most Valuable Players Anabel Medina Garrigues California Dream
Anastasia Rodionova Washington Kastles
Male Most Valuable Player Teymuraz Gabashvili Austin Aces
Female Rookie of the Year Alla Kudryavtseva Austin Aces
Male Rookie of the Year Neal Skupski California Dream
Coach of the Year Rick Leach Austin Aces
WTT Final Most Valuable Player Leander Paes Washington Kastles

Team statistics

The tables below show the regular-season winning percentages of each team in each of the league's five events. [21] [Stats 1]

Mixed doubles
RankTeamGPGWGLPCT
1 California Dream 1046143.587
2 Austin Aces 1035944.573
3 Philadelphia Freedoms 1105753.518
4 Washington Kastles 1085355.491
5 Boston Lobsters 1135261.460
6 San Diego Aviators 1115061.450
7 Springfield Lasers 1155065.435

Notes:

  1. Tim Smyczek's statistics are not included in the team totals shown on WTT's website. The Boston Lobsters' men's singles and men's doubles statistics shown in this section have been corrected to include Smyczek as described in the article about the 2015 Lobsters season.

Television

The 2015 season was the second year of a four-year television rights contract between WTT and ESPN, Inc. The WTT Final was telecast live on ESPN2. ESPN3 streamed the conference championship matches along with one match each night during the regular season. [23]

In a June 2, 2015 press release, WTT announced that the WTT Final would start at 11:30 am EDT on August 2, and would be streamed from the start by ESPN3. Live television coverage would begin on ESPN2 at 1:00 pm with the match already in progress. The start times for the conference championship matches would be 7:00 pm local time on Thursday July 30. [24]

Four regular-season matches were nationally televised on the Tennis Channel as well as on regional sports networks Altitude Sports and Entertainment, Comcast SportsNet affiliates, Mediacom Connections and MSG. These matches were as follows:

Nationally televised matches were also streamed on ESPN3. In addition to the televised ones, the following regular-season matches were streamed exclusively on ESPN3:

Sponsorship

On December 8, 2014, WTT announced that its title-sponsorship agreement with Mylan N.V. was extended for two more years through the 2017 season. As part of its partnership with WTT, Mylan will continue to sponsor events at which children meet with WTT players and are introduced to tennis, charitable events and the Mylan Aces program which allows each team to select a local charity for which it can earn money donated by Mylan by recording the most aces in the league on a given day during the regular season. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

The New York Sportimes were a professional tennis team competing in World TeamTennis (WTT). The team was originally based in eastern Long Island from 2000 to 2002, before moving to Westchester County, New York in 2003, and then to New York City in 2009. The team was founded as the New York Hamptons in 2000, before changing its name to the New York Sportimes in 2003. In 2005, the team made its first playoff appearance and went on to defeat the Newport Beach Breakers in the WTT Final to win its first King Trophy.

Washington Kastles

The Washington Kastles is one of eight franchises that compete in World TeamTennis.

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. The Washington Kastles defeated the Springfield Lasers in the WTT Final to win their fourth consecutive King Trophy.

San Diego Aviators

The San Diego Aviators are a World TeamTennis (WTT) team that plays at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California in the United States of America. The team is the successor to two WTT franchises. The first was created in 1995, as the New York OTBzz, later renamed the Schenectady County Electrics and then the New York Buzz. The second was created in 2000, as the New York Hamptons, later renamed the New York Sportimes. The Aviators, founded in 1995, are the oldest continuously operating franchise in WTT. The team has won the King Trophy as WTT champions three times: once playing as the New York Sportimes in 2005, once as the New York Buzz in 2008, and once as the San Diego Aviators in 2016. As of 2016, the three championships is the second most of any active WTT franchise behind the Washington Kastles, who have won six.

The 2014 Washington Kastles season was the seventh season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2014 Springfield Lasers season was the 19th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2014 Philadelphia Freedoms season was the 14th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2014 Austin Aces season was the 12th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT) and its first in Greater Austin, Texas after relocating from Orange County, California.

The 2014 Texas Wild season was the 22nd season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT) and its second and final season in Texas.

The 2014 Boston Lobsters season was the tenth season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2015 California Dream season was the 23rd and final season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT) and its first and only season based in California.

The 2015 Springfield Lasers season was the 20th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season was the 15th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2015 Austin Aces season was the 13th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT) and its second and final season in Greater Austin, Texas.

The 2015 Boston Lobsters season was the 11th and final season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2015 Washington Kastles season was the eighth season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

The 2016 World TeamTennis season was the 41st 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 2016.

The 2016 Washington Kastles season was the ninth season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT). The Kastles finished third in WTT with seven wins and five losses and missed the postseason for the first time since 2010, ending their run of five consecutive WTT championships.

The 2016 Orange County Breakers season was the 14th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT) and its 12th season in Orange County, California, the first after returning from playing two seasons in Greater Austin, Texas as the Austin Aces.

The 2017 World TeamTennis season was the 42nd 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 2017.

References

  1. "World TeamTennis and Mylan Announce Three-Year Collaboration". World TeamTennis . October 16, 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Mylan World TeamTennis Returns to Sacramento Area in 2015 with California Dream". World TeamTennis . February 23, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-02-24. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Serena Williams, Eugenie Bouchard Headline Mylan World TeamTennis Player Draft for Historic 40th Season". World TeamTennis . March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  4. "Player Draft". World TeamTennis . March 3, 2015. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  5. 2015 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2015. pp. 17–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  6. 2014 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2014. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  7. 2015 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2015. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  8. 2015 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2015. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  9. 2015 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2015. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  10. "Mylan World TeamTennis – Final Results for Monday, 7/13/2015". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  11. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Friday, 7/24/2015". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  12. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Saturday, 7/25/2015". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  13. "Aces Defeat Conference Rival San Diego Aviators 25-8". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  14. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Sunday, 7/26/2015". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  15. "Mylan World TeamTennis - Results for Monday, 7/27". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  16. "Austin Aces Defeat Defending Champions Washington Kastles at Home 19-16". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  17. Kane, David. "MylanWTT StreamCap: BOS vs. WAS". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  18. 1 2 "Washington Kastles One Win Away From Record Fifth Straight Mylan WTT Title". World TeamTennis . July 30, 2015. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  19. 1 2 "Austin Aces Capture First Mylan WTT Western Conference Championship". World TeamTennis . July 30, 2015. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  20. 1 2 3 "Washington Kastles Defeat Austin Aces 24-18 to Win Record 5th Consecutive Mylan World TeamTennis Title". World TeamTennis . August 2, 2015. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  21. 1 2 "2015 League Leaders". World TeamTennis . Archived from the original on 2016-09-07. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  22. "Gabashvili, Rodionova and Garrigues Named Mylan World TeamTennis MVPs". World TeamTennis . July 31, 2015. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  23. "Mylan WTT, ESPN Agree to Multi-Year Deal for Matches on ESPN2, ESPN3". World TeamTennis . June 24, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  24. 1 2 3 "Mylan World TeamTennis – Facts & Figures" (PDF) (Press release). World TeamTennis. June 2, 2015. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  25. "World TeamTennis and Mylan Announce Title Sponsorship Extension through 2017". World TeamTennis . December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2015.