2014 World TeamTennis season

Last updated
DurationJuly 7 – 23, 2014
Eastern Conference Champions champions Washington Kastles
Western Conference Champions champions Springfield Lasers
WTT Final – King Trophy
DateJuly 27, 2014
Venue Springfield, Missouri
Champions Washington Kastles
WTT seasons seasons
  2013
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]

Contents

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. 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
PosTeamMPWLPCTMBGWGL
1 Washington Kastles 14104.7140303213
2 Philadelphia Freedoms 1495.6431284254
3 Boston Lobsters 14113.0719189322
2014 Eastern Conference Playoffs
Western Conference
PosTeamMPWLPCTMBGWGL
1 San Diego Aviators 14104.7140287236
2 Springfield Lasers 1477.5003270239
3 Austin Aces 1468.4294232290
4 Texas Wild 1468.4294263274
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 SDASPRSDAWASPHISPRBOSBOSTEXTEXSDATEXPHISDA
11-2319-1720-1810-2511-2513-2122-1818-20
(OT)
23-22
(STB 7–4)
12-2318-2222-1621-1812-22
Boston Lobsters TEXWASWASSPRSDAAUSAUSSDAPHIWASPHIWASPHISPR
14-23
(OT)
16-24
(OT)
8-2513-23
(OT)
19-21
(OT)
18-2220-18
(OT)
15-20
(OT)
14-259-2321-239-256-257-25
Philadelphia Freedoms SPRSDAWASTEXAUSWASSDASPRWASBOSBOSAUSBOSWAS
21-20
(STB 7–3)
19-20
(STB 1–7)
10-2521-22
(STB 1–7)
25-1114-2319-1821-1822-15
(OT)
25-1423-2118-2125-621-20
(STB 7–4)
San Diego Aviators AUSPHIAUSTEXBOSTEXWASPHIBOSSPRAUSSPRTEXAUS
23-1120-19
(STB 7–1)
18-2019-20
(STB 6–7)
21-19
(OT)
21-1822-1818-1920-15
(OT)
18-19
(STB 2–7)
22-1821-1522-1322-12
Springfield Lasers PHITEXAUSBOSTEXAUSTEXPHISDAWASTEXSDAWASBOS
20-21
(STB 3–7)
16-17
(STB 5–7)
17-1923-13
(OT)
19-18
(STB 7–6)
21-1313-2218-2119-18
(STB 7–2)
24-1025-1615-2115-2325-7
Texas Wild BOSSPRWASSDAPHISPRSDASPRWASAUSAUSSPRAUSSDA
23-14
(OT)
17-16
(STB 7–5)
15-2420-19
(STB 7–6)
22-21
(STB 7–1)
18-19
(STB 6–7)
18-2122-1318-2322-23
(STB 4–7)
23-1216-2516-2213-22
Washington Kastles BOSTEXBOSPHIAUSPHISDATEXPHISPRBOSBOSSPRPHI
24-16
(OT)
24-1525-825-1025-1023-1418-2223-1815-22
(OT)
10-2423-925-923-1520-21
(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]

Mixed doubles
RankPlayerTeamGPGWGLPCT
1 Marcelo Melo Philadelphia Freedoms 1106842.618
2 Liezel Huber Philadelphia Freedoms 1026339.618
3 Martina Hingis Washington Kastles 714130.577
4 Olga Govortsova Springfield Lasers 623527.565
5 Eva Hrdinová Austin Aces 532924.547
6 Leander Paes Washington Kastles 1095851.532

Individual honors

Reference: [2] [27]

AwardRecipientTeam
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
RankTeamGPGWGLPCT
1 Philadelphia Freedoms 1106842.618
2 Washington Kastles 1105951.536
3 Springfield Lasers 1005149.510
4 San Diego Aviators 1125656.500
5 Texas Wild 1115259.468
6 Austin Aces 1074859.449
7 Boston Lobsters 1144866.421

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Kastles</span> American tennis team

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Aces</span>

The Austin Aces were a World TeamTennis (WTT) team in Austin, Texas, USA. The team was known as the Newport Beach Breakers from 2003 until the 2011 season and as the Orange County Breakers during 2012 and 2013, before moving to Texas for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Aviators</span>

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. 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 San Diego Aviators season was the 20th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT) and its first playing in San Diego, California.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 World TeamTennis season</span> Sports season

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. The Washington Kastles defeated the Austin Aces in the WTT Final to win their fifth consecutive King Trophy.

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

The 2015 Springfield Lasers season was the 20th 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 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 San Diego Aviators season was the 22nd season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT) and it’s third playing in San Diego County, California.

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 2016 Philadelphia Freedoms season was the 16th season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT).

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.

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