World TeamTennis ( WTT ) was a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973.
45-610: Vegas Rollers [REDACTED] Sport Team tennis Founded 2019 League World TeamTennis Based in Las Vegas, Nevada Stadium Orleans Arena Colors Vegas Blue, Rollers Gold Owner World TeamTennis President Ryan Wolfington Head coach Tim Blenkiron General manager Sally Dewhurst Website vegasrollerstennis .com [REDACTED] Current season The Vegas Rollers were
90-3937: A World TeamTennis (WTT) franchise founded in 2019, owned by the league. The team was one of two expansion teams to enter the league in 2019 alongside Orlando Storm . The Vegas Rollers play their home matches at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada . The official Charity is the Marty Hennessy - Inspiring Children Foundation. Team rosters [ edit ] [REDACTED] A Vegas Rollers home match at Orleans Arena in 2019. 2019 roster [ edit ] [REDACTED] Bob Bryan [REDACTED] Mike Bryan [REDACTED] Reilly Opelka [REDACTED] Sam Querrey [REDACTED] Monica Puig [REDACTED] Evan Song [REDACTED] Harriet Dart [REDACTED] Asia Muhammad [REDACTED] Matt Reid [REDACTED] Head Coach, Tim Blenkiron References [ edit ] ^ "WTT Adds Las Vegas and Orlando Expansion Franchises To Begin Play In July 2019; WTT Schedule Released" . World TeamTennis . March 5, 2019. v t e World TeamTennis (WTT) Current champions (2021): Orange County Breakers Seasons 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Current teams Chicago Smash New York Empire Orange County Breakers Orlando Storm Philadelphia Freedoms San Diego Aviators Springfield Lasers Vegas Rollers Washington Kastles Former teams Austin Aces (2014–2015) Baltimore Banners (1974) Boston Lobsters (1974) Boston Lobsters (1974–1978) Boston Lobsters (2005–2015) California Dream (1993–2015) Chicago Aces (1974) Cleveland Nets (1974–1976) Cleveland-Pittsburgh Nets (1977) Delaware Smash (1987–2008) Denver Racquets (1974) Detroit Loves (1974) Florida Flamingos (1974) Hartford FoxForce (2000–2006) Hawaii Leis (1974–1976) Houston E-Z Riders (1974) Houston Wranglers (2005–2007) Idaho Sneakers (1994–1997) Indiana Loves (1974–1978) Indiana Loves (1983) Kansas City Explorers (1993–2012) Las Vegas Neon (2014) Los Angeles Strings (1974–1978) Los Angeles Strings (1981–1993) Minnesota Buckskins (1974) New Jersey Stars (1987–1995) New Orleans Sun Belt Nets (1974–1978) New York Apples (1974–1978) New York Buzz (1995–2010) New York Hamptons (2000–2002) New York OTBzz (1995–1998) New York Sets (1974–1976) New York Sportimes (2000–2013) Newport Beach Breakers (2003–2011) Philadelphia Freedoms (1974) Phoenix Racquets (1974–1978) Pittsburgh Triangles (1974–1976) Sacramento Capitals (1988–2013) San Diego Buds (1981–1985) San Diego Friars (1975–1978) San Diego Friars (1981–1983) San Francisco Golden Gaters (1974–1978) Schenectady County Electrics (1999–2000) Sea-Port Cascades (1977) Seattle Cascades (1974–1978) St. Louis Aces (1994–2011) Texas Wild (2013–2014) Toronto-Buffalo Royals (1974) Wichita Advantage (1990–1995) Current stadiums Credit Union 1 Arena (Chicago) Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning (New York) Breakers Stadium at
135-447: A no-line court , each match consisted of five sets. Each set featured a different configuration (men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles). Prior to each match, coaches would decide the order in which the sets would be played. Each player on a team usually played in at least one of the five sets. Scoring was no-advantage; there was no requirement to win a game by two points; at deuce , whoever scores
180-471: A 2022 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . However, they promised to return in 2023 with new expansion teams, but as of 2024 , this has not occurred. References: Current WTT teams are shown in bold , non-championship teams are shown in italics . 2008 World TeamTennis season The 2008 World TeamTennis season was the 33rd season of the top professional team tennis league in
225-523: A fun activity for our entire community." The team was named after Kastle Systems, LLC, a provider of building and office security systems, of which Ein is the majority owner and managing member. The 2008 WTT Marquee Player Draft was conducted in New York City on March 19, 2008. The order in which teams selected was based on the results the teams achieved in 2007 with weaker teams selecting earlier and stronger teams selecting later. The draft order
270-454: A group led by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Mark Ein , a native of Washington, D.C. At the press conference announcing the team's creation, Ein said, "I am thrilled to bring World TeamTennis to our area. WTT tennis is great entertainment emphasizing fan interaction, and it is the only major sport with men and women playing together on the same team. The Washington Kastles season will be an exciting summertime addition to our local economy and
315-466: A jillion other things to do in the summertime in Houston." The team sold fewer than half of the 4,500 available tickets for a match that featured Anna Kournikova playing for the visitors. Late in the 2007 season, attendance at Wranglers' home matches was typically less than 1,000. The Washington Kastles joined the league as an expansion franchise , making their debut in 2008. The team was founded by
360-437: A switch to a deep blue playing surface and gray outer court. In partnership with DecoTurf, these colors were determined to be the best for livestreaming and television. WTT was founded in 1973 by Dennis Murphy , Dick Butera, Fred Barman, Jordan Kaiser, and attorney and promoter Larry King , each of whom organized and owned the various participating teams of the fledgling professional tennis league. Murphy had previously founded
405-409: A trendsetter for the rest of the tennis world. The Indian Wells Masters has purple courts. Over time, lines were introduced to WTT's courts, purple replaced the brown and they reverted to traditional solid-colored courts. But in 2006, the league returned full-time to the signature calico/checkerboard pattern. In 2019, the league made efforts to modernize and update its look and branding, including
450-560: Is ordinarily determined as follows: Expansion teams select in the middle of each round. If there is an even number of teams, an expansion team selects in the middle position that is closest to the first pick. There were seven nonplayoff teams in 2007, and ranked from worst record to best record, they were However, the Wranglers folded prior to the draft. Therefore, the Breakers, Aces, Lobsters, Sportimes, Smash and Explorers were assigned
495-646: The California Dream . On January 13, 2016, WTT announced that the California Dream franchise had been terminated. On February 17, 2016, the Boston Lobsters had ceased operations and had been replaced with a new franchise called the New York Empire . In March 2017, Billie Jean King announced the sale of her majority share in WTT to venture capitalist Mark Ein , the founder and owner of
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#1732791169150540-716: The Inglewood Forum in Los Angeles. In 1976 the West All-Stars, led by Chris Evert and Betty Stöve , capped an incredible comeback when they defeated Billie Jean King and Evonne Goolagong in a super tiebreaker, 5–4, giving the West a stunning 28–27 overtime victory at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. After trailing at one stage by 24–17, the West, led by Stove and Dianne Fromholtz , won
585-598: The 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 MLS's New England Revolution ). WTT also held annual All-Star games for the seasons from 1975 to 1978. Marty Riessen (Cleveland) and Greer Stevens (Boston) won Most Valuable Players (MVP) honors for the inaugural all-star gala won by the East, 28–21, at
630-662: The San Diego Aviators . On February 4, 2014, the Sacramento Capitals were relocated to Las Vegas and renamed the Las Vegas Neon. On March 5, 2014, the Las Vegas Neon franchise was terminated, leaving the league with seven teams. 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
675-548: The Vegas Rollers . On October 23, 2019, the league announced it would be awarding a record $ 5 million in prize money, including an additional $ 1 million for the postseason, during its 45th season and would be expanding again, adding two new franchises in 2020. In February 2020, the league announced its expansion to nine teams for the 2020 season with the Chicago Smash . In June 2020, WTT announced it would be
720-627: The World Hockey Association , and gave a number of WHA club owners preferential options on WTT franchises. Charles "Chuck" Reichblum (now popularly known as "Dr. Knowledge"), industrialist John H. Hillman III, and lawyer William "Bill" Sutton, who became the owners of the Pittsburgh Triangles , had, in 1972, founded the similar National Tennis League (NTL), a forerunner to WTT and Reichblum's brainchild. Founding members of WTT were reported to have been invited to join
765-542: The Capitals qualified based on finishing first or second. The teams were seeded 1 through 5, regardless of conference, with the top three seeds getting a bye to the WTT Semifinals. The fourth seed and the wild card met in a wild card match with the winner facing the number 1 seed in the semifinals. The other semifinal match pitted the number 2 seed against the number 3 seed. The winners of the semifinal matches met in
810-682: The Central Section: Cleveland Nets, Detroit Loves, Pittsburgh Triangles, Toronto-Buffalo Royals. The Western Division consisted of the Gulf Plains Section: Chicago Aces, Florida Flamingos, Houston E-Z Riders, Minnesota Buckskins; and the Pacific Section: Denver Racquets, Hawaii Leis, Los Angeles Strings, San Francisco Golden Gaters. Following the initial 1974 season several teams moved, folded, or failed to meet
855-609: The French Open denied him the opportunity to become the first male player since Rod Laver to win all four Major singles titles in a calendar year. The league began play in May 1974, with George MacCall as Commissioner of the 16 teams, many with tennis-themed nicknames. The Eastern Division consisted of the Atlantic Section: Baltimore Banners, Boston Lobsters, New York Sets, Philadelphia Freedoms; and
900-785: The Las Vegas metropolitan area External links [ edit ] Official website Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vegas_Rollers&oldid=1244125838 " Categories : Sports clubs and teams in Las Vegas World TeamTennis teams Sports clubs and teams established in 2019 2019 establishments in Nevada Hidden category: Official website different in Wikidata and Misplaced Pages World TeamTennis The league's season normally took place in
945-539: The Marquee Player Draft. Teams could protect up to four players to which they held the rights from the previous season or acquired in a trade. Rights to roster players could be traded from one team to another before or during the draft, and the acquiring team could protect and then select those players. In addition, the rights to make a selection in a particular position within the draft could be traded from one team to another. The selections made are shown in
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#1732791169150990-486: The NTL prior to formation of the competing WTT in 1973. In 1974, Billie Jean King began the first WTT season by securing the professional women tennis players. Dr. Leonard Bloom, Arthur Ashe , and Wilt Chamberlain helped to secure the professional men tennis players. Two WTT players, Connors and Goolagong, were not allowed to participate in the 1974 French Open due to their associations with WTT. Connors' exclusion from
1035-3682: The Palisades Tennis Club (Orange County) USTA National Campus (Orlando) Michael J. Hagan Arena (Philadelphia) Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (San Diego) Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex (Springfield) Orleans Arena (Vegas) Kastles Stadium at Union Market (Washington) Other related articles Team tennis No-line court v t e Sports in Las Vegas Professional Las Vegas Raiders Vegas Golden Knights Las Vegas Aces Las Vegas Aviators Las Vegas Lights FC Henderson Silver Knights Las Vegas Royals Nevada Pharaohs Vegas Ballers Las Vegas Legends Vegas Rollers Vegas Knight Hawks Las Vegas Desert Dogs Sin City Trojans USA Sevens Fabulous Sin City Rollergirls Vegas Thrill Amateur Las Vegas Thunderbirds Vegas Jesters Collegiate UNLV Rebels CSN Coyotes Las Vegas Bowl Vegas Kickoff Classic Fortress Invitational See also Sports teams based in Nevada v t e Sports teams based in Nevada Australian rules football USAFL Las Vegas Gamblers [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Baseball PCL Las Vegas Aviators Reno Aces Basketball WNBA Las Vegas Aces ABA Las Vegas Royals Nevada Pharaohs TBL Vegas Ballers Esports CDL Vegas Legion OWL Vegas Eternal Football NFL Las Vegas Raiders WFA Nevada Storm Sin City Trojans Ice hockey NHL Vegas Golden Knights AHL Henderson Silver Knights ECHL Tahoe Knight Monsters (2024) MWHL Reno Ice Raiders Vegas Jesters USPHL Las Vegas Thunderbirds Indoor football IFL Vegas Knight Hawks Box lacrosse NLL Las Vegas Desert Dogs Roller derby WFTDA Fabulous Sin City Roller Derby Rugby football NARL Las Vegas Blackjacks Soccer USLC Las Vegas Lights FC NPSL Las Vegas Legends UPSL Nevada Coyotes FC Tennis WTT Vegas Rollers Volleyball PVF Vegas Thrill College athletics NCAA Div. I Nevada Wolf Pack UNLV Rebels NJCAA Div. I CSN Coyotes WNC Wildcats See also: Sports in
1080-782: The United States. The New York Buzz defeated the Kansas City Explorers , 21–18, in the WTT Final to win the King Trophy as WTT champions. The 2008 World TeamTennis season included 11 teams split into two conferences (Eastern and Western). The Eastern Conference had six teams, and the Western Conference had five teams. Each team played a 14- match regular-season schedule with seven home and seven away matches. The top teams in each conference were
1125-406: The WTT Final to decide the winner of the King Trophy and the league championship. Higher seeded teams were treated as "home" teams in playoff matches and had the right to determine order of play. The Houston Wranglers folded following the 2007 season. Owner Linda McIngvale said, "This is not the right type of community for the Wranglers. We're just too big of a city with too many options. There's
1170-661: The Washington Kastles, and Fred Luddy , the founder of ServiceNow and owner of the San Diego Aviators. In January 2019, Carlos Silva became the CEO and ushered in new deals with CBS and ESPN creating the largest-ever audience for WTT on July 21, 2019, on a CBS broadcast. In March 2019, the league announced its expansion to eight teams for the 2019 season, with the creation of the Orlando Storm and
1215-482: The conference champions. WTT Championship Weekend matches were played at Allstate Stadium at Westfield Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, California . The conference champions and runners-up qualified for the playoffs. In addition, there was a wild-card team that was either the host team (the Sacramento Capitals ) or the team with the best record among teams that did not finish first or second in their conference, if
1260-649: The final set plus two games in overtime to draw the West All-Stars even at 27. Tom Okker (San Francisco) and Dianne Fromholtz (Los Angeles) won MVP honors that year. In the 1977 All Star Game held at the San Diego Sports Arena, Björn Borg (Cleveland–Pittsburgh) and Betty Stöve (Seattle–Portland) captured MVP awards as the East bested the West, 23–18. WTT held its final All-Star event in Las Vegas in 1978. The first league ended play in 1978. League play resumed in 1981 as TeamTennis , with four California teams, expanding to eight teams in 1982. In 2005,
1305-473: The financial requirements of the league, and the league also added one expansion team, the San Diego Friars. For the 1975 season World Team Tennis consisted of 10 teams, and it remained with that number of teams throughout the rest of the existence of the first league. The teams that played from 1974 to 1978 were: WTT was the first professional sports experience for Jerry Buss (eventual owner of
1350-609: The first major professional tennis league to resume operations since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic . The league committed to play the entirety of its 45th season at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia from July 12 through August 2. In March 2021, Carlos Silva stepped down as CEO. The current COO is Allen Hardison. The 2021 season was November 13–28 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. WTT announced it would not hold
1395-399: 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. For much of World Team Tennis' history, its distinct court was an instant symbol for fans to recognize what they were watching. The iconic four-color (calico) court originated in the early 1970s and was unveiled for
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1440-482: The league had twelve teams. In 1984, Billie Jean King became Commissioner and major owner of the league, following her retirement from tournament tennis competition. In 1985 a recreational league for non-professionals was added, which was co-branded with the professional league. In 1992, the name of the league was changed back to World TeamTennis . In 2000 the current logo was adopted. In February 2001, Billie Jean King retired as commissioner and Ilana Kloss became
1485-571: The new commissioner. In 2005 and 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, New York Buzz, New York Sportime, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Newport Beach, Sacramento, Springfield, and St. Louis. Sacramento won
1530-434: The next point wins the game. The first team to reach five games wins each set. A nine-point tiebreaker is played if a set reaches four-all. One point is awarded for each game won. If necessary, extended play and a supertiebreaker were played to determine the winner of the match. 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
1575-616: The order of play. July 24: #4 SACRAMENTO CAPITALS 22 , #5 Boston Lobsters 15 July 25: #1 KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS 21 , #4 Sacramento Capitals 10 July 26: #2 NEW YORK BUZZ 25 , #3 New York Sportimes 17 (overtime) July 27: #2 New York Buzz 21 , #1 KANSAS CITY EXPLORERS 18 Reference: There were seven WTT regular-season matches telecast nationally on the Tennis Channel . These matches all featured marquee players and were recorded and premiered between two and eight days after they were played. The WTT Final
1620-676: The preliminary first through sixth draft positions. The Philadelphia Freedoms lost the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship Match and had a worse record than the Springfield Lasers , who lost the Western Conference Championship Match. Therefore, the Freedoms were assigned the preliminary seventh draft position and the Lasers the eighth. The New York Buzz lost the 2007 WTT Final and were assigned
1665-673: The preliminary ninth draft position. The 2007 WTT champion Sacramento Capitals were assigned the preliminary tenth draft position. The addition of the expansion Washington Kastles resulted in 11 teams in the league, and the Kastles were assigned the sixth draft position putting them in the middle with five teams drafting before them, and five teams drafting after them. This resulted in the Explorers, Freedoms, Lasers, Buzz and Capitals each moving down one position. Teams could protect up to two marquee players or doubles teams to which they held
1710-466: The rights from the previous season or acquired in a trade. Rights to marquee players could be traded from one team to another before or during the draft, and the acquiring team could protect and then select those players. The selections made are shown in the tables below. The 2008 WTT Roster Player Draft was conducted in Miami on April 1, 2008. Teams selected in the same order as was determined for
1755-512: The second season in a row to become the first professional sports franchise to go two complete seasons without a loss. Their 32-match winning streak is one shy of the major professional sports record of 33 consecutive wins set by the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . They began the next season with 2 wins making their streak 34 games, setting the new record. In 2013, World TeamTennis
1800-855: The summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA would often take a break from their tour schedules to partake in World TeamTennis. WTT was the first professional sports league to grant equal status to each man and woman competing for their teams. Many top tennis players have participated in the league over the years, including Billie Jean King , Rod Laver , Björn Borg , Ilie Nastase, Chris Evert , John McEnroe , Evonne Goolagong , Jimmy Connors , Martina Navratilova , Andre Agassi , Pete Sampras , Michael Chang , Serena Williams , Venus Williams , Lindsay Davenport , Kim Clijsters , Martina Hingis , John Isner , Sam Querrey , Sloane Stephens , Naomi Osaka , and Frances Tiafoe . Originally played on
1845-462: The table below. Reference : Win • Loss • Home • Away *Indicates match went to overtime All playoff matches were played as part of WTT Championship Weekend at Allstate Stadium at Westfield Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, California . Higher seeded teams (shown in CAPS below) were treated as "home" teams and had the right to determine
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1890-552: The tables below. Notes: WTT conducted its 2008 Roster-Exempt Player Draft on the same day as its Roster Player Draft. Teams drafted in the same order as in the Marquee Player Draft and the Roster Player Draft. Teams were permitted to select part-time players classified by the league as either roster-exempt based on their recent appearances in international team events or featured roster players based on WTT's discretion. The selections made are shown in
1935-401: The third season in 1976. It was originally created to eliminate court lines ( no-line court ). Originally, the service boxes were blue and green, the baseline area brown and the doubles alleys maroon. These colors were chosen to represent the different tennis court surfaces: green for grass, blue for hard, maroon for clay and brown for dirt. The league's technicolor playing surface served as
1980-590: 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 Sportimes. During the 2011 season the Washington Kastles completed a perfect 16–0 schedule, winning their second championship in three seasons. In 2012, the Washington Kastles completed their second consecutive perfect season, going 16–0 for
2025-578: Was renamed Mylan World TeamTennis after Mylan, a generics and specialty pharmaceuticals company, signed a three-year deal as the title sponsor. The Kansas City Explorers relocated to Irving, Texas, and became the Texas Wild . On November 21, 2013, the Orange County Breakers were sold, relocated to Austin, Texas and renamed the Austin Aces . On January 16, 2014, the New York Sportimes were sold, relocated to San Diego and renamed
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