2017 World TeamTennis season

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2017 World TeamTennis season
LeagueWorld TeamTennis
SportTeam tennis
DurationJuly 16 – August 5, 2017
Number of matchesRegular season: 42 (14 for each team)
Postseason: 1
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)ESPN2
ESPN3
Tennis Channel
Altitude Sports and Entertainment
Comcast SportsNet affiliates
Mediacom Connections
MSG
World TeamTennis Player Draft
Top draft pickUnited States Jack Sock
Picked bySpringfield Lasers
Regular season
Top seedOrange County Breakers
Season MVPRussia Teymuraz Gabashvili (Male)
Slovenia Andreja Klepač (Female)
World TeamTennis Final
VenueOmni La Costa Resort and Spa
Carlsbad, California
ChampionsOrange County Breakers
  Runners-upSan Diego Aviators
Finals MVPRussia Teymuraz Gabashvili
World TeamTennis seasons

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.[1]

The Orange County Breakers defeated the San Diego Aviators in the WTT Finals to win the King Trophy as WTT champions.

Competition format

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The 2017 World TeamTennis season included six teams. Each team played a 14-match regular-season schedule with seven home and seven away matches. The top two teams in the regular season qualified for the World TeamTennis Final at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, the home court of the San Diego Aviators. The higher seed was treated as the "home" team in the WTT Final and had the right to determine the order of play. The winner of the WTT Final was awarded the King Trophy.

League business

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On March 13, 2017, WTT announced that Billie Jean King had sold most of her majority ownership interest in the league to Mark Ein, founder and owner of the Washington Kastles, Fred Luddy, owner of the San Diego Aviators, and LionTree Partners, a merchant banking firm. Ein was named Chairman of WTT, and Ilana Kloss was to remain CEO and Commissioner of the league through the 2017 season. "After 42 seasons of World TeamTennis, Ilana and I feel this is the time to pass the baton to Mark Ein and Fred Luddy and entrust the legacy of WTT as an innovative force in tennis to them and their team", said King. "I will continue to be part of the league as a minority owner and as the owner of the Philadelphia Freedoms, and I am confident the league will continue to grow and prosper under Mark and Fred's leadership."[2]

Drafts

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The order in which franchises selected was based on the results the teams achieved in 2016, with weaker teams selecting earlier and stronger teams selecting later. The four nonplayoff teams selected first followed by the WTT Final loser and then the WTT champion. Because the 2016 WTT season schedule conflicted with the 2016 Olympics, teams were permitted to protect players who were eligible for protection in the 2016 draft based on playing for the team in 2015 (or 2014 and missing the 2015 season due to injury), went undrafted in the 2016 draft and did not participate in the league in 2016.[3]

Marquee Draft

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WTT conducted its 2017 Marquee Draft on February 16, in New York City. Each team could protect up to three marquee players or doubles teams, if they appeared in a match for the team in 2016, or qualified for protection under the special 2017 rule based on eligibility for protection in 2016. The selections made[4] are shown in the tables below.

First round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 Springfield Lasers[a] United States Jack Sock N
2 New York Empire[a] Canada Eugenie Bouchard N
3 Philadelphia Freedoms United States Sloane Stephens N
4 Washington Kastles Switzerland Martina Hingis Y
5 Orange County Breakers Pass -
6 San Diego Aviators Pass
Second round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 New York Empire United States John Isner N
2 Springfield Lasers Pass -
3 Philadelphia Freedoms United States Andy Roddick N
4 Washington Kastles United States Venus Williams Y[b]
5 Orange County Breakers Pass -
6 San Diego Aviators Pass
Third round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 New York Empire United States Mardy Fish N
2 Springfield Lasers Pass -
3 Philadelphia Freedoms Pass
4 Washington Kastles United States Bob and Mike Bryan Y Doubles team
5 Orange County Breakers Pass -
6 San Diego Aviators Pass

Notes:

  1. ^ a b The New York Empire traded the first pick in the Marquee Draft to the Springfield Lasers in exchange for the second pick and undisclosed consideration.
  2. ^ The player was protected based on being a member of the team in 2015, and not being drafted or participating in WTT in 2016, under special rule in effect for the 2017 draft.

Roster Draft

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WTT conducted its 2017 Roster Draft on March 14, in Indian Wells, California. Exempt, roster and substitute players who appeared in at least three matches for the team in 2016, could be protected.[5] Teams could also protect players who qualified for protection based on match appearances in 2015, but were unable to play in 2016, due to injury.[6] If a team selects a player who is part of an established doubles team (at least four tournaments played together in the 12 months prior to the draft), that team can protect the drafted player's doubles partner in the next round of the draft.[7] Finally, teams could protect players who qualified for protection under the special 2017 rule based on eligibility for protection in 2016. Teams holding the right to protect players could trade those rights before or during the draft.[8] If a team chooses a roster-exempt player, one who is not required to be a full-time member of the team, it is possible for a team to make four selections in the roster 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 draft until they have a complete roster.[9] Teams that have two male and two female full-time players may select roster-exempt players in rounds past the fourth round. The selections made[10] are shown in the tables below.

First round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 Philadelphia Freedoms[a] Barbados Darian King N
2 Springfield Lasers Netherlands Jean-Julien Rojer N
3 Philadelphia Freedoms United States Taylor Townsend Y[b]
4 Washington Kastles United States Sam Querrey Y
5 Orange County Breakers Belgium Yanina Wickmayer N
6 San Diego Aviators United States Shelby Rogers Y Exempt
Second round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 New York Empire Belgium Kirsten Flipkens N
2 Springfield Lasers Russia Daria Kasatkina N
3 New York Empire[a] United States Maria Sanchez N
4 Washington Kastles Brazil Bruno Soares N
5 Orange County Breakers New Zealand Michael Venus N
6 San Diego Aviators South Africa Raven Klaasen Y
Third round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 New York Empire Argentina Guido Pella N
2 Springfield Lasers Germany Benjamin Becker N
3 Philadelphia Freedoms France Fabrice Martin Y
4 Washington Kastles United States Madison Brengle Y
5 Orange County Breakers Slovenia Andreja Klepač N
6 San Diego Aviators United States Rajeev Ram Y Exempt; doubles protection
Fourth round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 New York Empire Pass
2 Springfield Lasers Netherlands Michaëlla Krajicek Y
3 Philadelphia Freedoms Pass
4 Washington Kastles Australia Anastasia Rodionova Y
5 Orange County Breakers Russia Teymuraz Gabashvili Y[b]
6 San Diego Aviators Croatia Darija Jurak Y
Fifth round
No. Team Player chosen Prot? Notes
1 New York Empire Pass
2 Springfield Lasers Pass
3 Philadelphia Freedoms United States Donald Young Y Exempt
4 Washington Kastles Pass -
5 Orange County Breakers Pass
6 San Diego Aviators Pass -

Notes:

  1. ^ a b The New York Empire traded the first pick in the first round of the Roster Draft to the Philadelphia Freedoms in exchange for the third pick in the second round and financial consideration.
  2. ^ a b The player was protected based on being a member of the team in 2015, and not being drafted or participating in WTT in 2016, under special rule in effect for the 2017 draft.

Event chronology

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Off-season

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  • February 16, 2017: WTT conducted its 2017 Marquee Draft.[4]
  • March 13, 2017: WTT announced that Billie Jean King had sold most of her majority ownership interest in the league to Mark Ein, Fred Luddy and LionTree Partners.[2]
  • March 14, 2017: WTT conducted its 2017 Roster Draft.[10]

Regular season

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Standings

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Reference:'[12]

Pos Team MP W L Pct MB GW GL
1 Orange County Breakers 14 9 5 .643 0 302 242
2 San Diego Aviators 14 9 5 .643 0 275 266
3 New York Empire 14 7 7 .500 2 279 290
4 Springfield Lasers 14 7 7 .500 2 270 284
5 Philadelphia Freedoms 14 6 8 .429 3 270 282
6 Washington Kastles 14 4 10 .286 5 263 295
The top two teams qualified for the 2017 Mylan WTT Finals
Notes:
Orange County and San Diego each won two of their four head-to-head matches. Orange County wins the tiebreaker on games won in head-to-head matches, 79–75.
New York and Springfield each won one of their two head-to-head matches. New York wins the tiebreaker on games won in head-to-head matches, 41–39.

Mylan WTT Finals

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  • The Orange County Breakers defeated the San Diego Aviators 22–18 to capture the King Trophy.[13]

ORANGE COUNTY BREAKERS def. San Diego Aviators 22-18

Women's singles – Yanina Wickmayer (Breakers) def. Naomi Broady (Aviators) 5-2

Women's doubles – Naomi Broady\Darija Jurak (Aviators) def. Andreja Klepač\Yanina Wickmayer (Breakers) 5-3

Men's doubles – Teymuraz Gabashvili\Ken Skupski (Breakers) def. Raven Klaasen\Rajeev Ram (Aviators) 5-2

Mixed doubles – Raven Klaasen\Darija Jurak (Aviators) def. Ken Skupski\Andreja Klepač (Breakers) 5-4

Men's singles – Teymuraz Gabashvili (Breakers) def. Rajeev Ram (Aviators) 5-4

Results table

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Reference:[14]

Abbreviation and Color Key:
New York Empire – NYE • Orange County Breakers – OCB • Philadelphia Freedoms – PHI
San Diego Aviators – SDA • Springfield Lasers – SPR • Washington Kastles – WAS

Win  • Loss  • Home  • Away

Team Match
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
New York Empire PHI PHI WAS PHI OCB OCB SDA PHI WAS OCB SDA WAS SPR SPR
20–18 21–20 23–24
(STB,
3–7)
13–25 23–21
(EP)
18–24
(EP)
16–21 25–18 20–19
(STB,
7–1)
16–22 18–21 25–18 21–18 20–21
Orange County Breakers SDA SPR WAS NYE NYE SPR SDA SDA NYE PHI WAS SDA WAS PHI
14–17 23–15 15–22 21–23
(EP)
24–18
(EP)
25–10 22–19 19–22 22–16 21–22
(STB,
4–7)
24–14 24–17 23–14 25–13
Philadelphia Freedoms NYE NYE NYE SPR WAS WAS WAS NYE SPR OCB SDA SPR SDA OCB
18–20 20–21 25–13 21–18
(EP)
23–17
(EP)
20–18 15–20
(EP)
18–25 18–22
(EP)
22–21
(STB,
7–4)
18–21
(EP)
21–20 18–21
(EP)
13–25
San Diego Aviators OCB SPR WAS SPR SPR NYE OCB OCB SPR NYE PHI OCB PHI WAS
17–14 18–17 16–23 24–16
(EP)
20–22
(EP)
21–16 19–22 22–19 16–22 21–18 21–18
(EP)
17–24 21–18
(EP)
22–17
Springfield Lasers WAS OCB SDA PHI SDA SDA OCB WAS PHI SDA WAS PHI NYE NYE
24–20
(EP)
15–23 17–18 18–21
(EP)
16–24
(EP)
22–20
(EP)
10–25 23–21
(EP)
22–18
(EP)
22–16 22–16
(EP)
20–21 18–21 21–20
Washington Kastles SPR NYE OCB SDA PHI PHI PHI SPR NYE SPR OCB NYE OCB SDA
20–24
(EP)
24–23
(STB,
7–3)
22–15 23–16 17–23
(EP)
18–20 20–15
(EP)
21–23
(EP)
19–20
(STB,
1–7)
16–22
(EP)
14–24 18–25 14–23 17–22

Television

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The 2017 season was the final year of a four-year television rights contract between WTT and ESPN, Inc.[15] The WTT Final was streamed live on ESPN3. ESPN2's live telecast of the WTT Final began at 9:00 pm PDT, one hour after the match's start time. ESPN3 streamed 11 regular-season matches live. Five of those matches were also televised live by the Tennis Channel and Comcast SportsNet affiliates.[16] Matches carried live on the Tennis Channel were available on Mediacom's MC22 (Mediacom Connections) channel, which also provided live coverage of some matches involving the Springfield Lasers that were not aired nationally.[14] Select matches streamed live by ESPN3 were rebroadcast by regional sports networks Altitude Sports and Entertainment, Comcast SportsNet affiliates, MC22 and MSG.[16]

Sponsorship

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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 continued to sponsor events at which children met with WTT players and were 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.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "World TeamTennis and Mylan Announce Title Sponsorship Extension through 2017". World TeamTennis. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "King Sells Majority Stake of World TeamTennis to Ein & Luddy". World TeamTennis. March 13, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  3. ^ Rennae Stubbs (Presenter) (March 14, 2017). 2017 Mylan WTT Roster Draft (Live webcast). World TeamTennis. Event occurs at 55:30. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Jack Sock is Top Pick in 2017 Mylan WTT Marquee Draft". World TeamTennis. February 16, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  5. ^ 2017 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2017. pp. 17–18. Retrieved July 23, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ 2017 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2017. p. 18. Retrieved July 23, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ 2017 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2017. p. 27. Retrieved July 23, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ 2017 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2017. pp. 28–29. Retrieved July 23, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ 2017 Mylan WTT Official Rules Guide (PDF). World TeamTennis. 2017. p. 26. Retrieved July 23, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ a b "Darian King Selected As Top Pick in 2017 Mylan WTT Roster Draft". World TeamTennis. March 14, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  11. ^ Chiesa, Victoria (July 30, 2017). "Empire Sweep Kastles in Flipkens' Coaching Debut". World TeamTennis. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  12. ^ "2017 League Standings". World TeamTennis. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Breakers Top Aviators 22-18 To Win 2017 Mylan WTT Title". Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  14. ^ a b "2017 Schedule". World TeamTennis. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  15. ^ "Mylan WTT, ESPN Agree to Multi-Year Deal for Matches on ESPN2, ESPN3". World TeamTennis. June 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Mylan WTT on TV". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
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