source:
http://oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3292984
World TeamTennis Announces 2006 Schedule
04/11/06
NEW YORK, N.Y. (April 11, 2006) --- Ten of the 12 World TeamTennis teams will be in action on opening day when the 31st season of the WTT Pro League gets under way on Thursday, July 6. Pete Sampras, the top pick in last month's WTT draft will make his league debut when he and the Newport Beach Breakers host the St. Louis Aces on Monday, July 10.
The 2006 WTT schedule includes 84 matches in 12 markets beginning July 6 and running through July 26. The top two teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences will advance to the season-ending WTT Finals Weekend, set for July 28-30, at the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach, Calif.
In addition to Sampras' July 10 debut against the Aces, he is scheduled to play July 12 at the Sacramento Capitals, July 18 at the Philadelphia Freedoms, July 19 at the defending WTT Champion New York Sportimes and July 21 at the Hartford FoxForce. He meets the St. Louis Aces for a second time on July 23 in St. Louis and joins the Breakers for their July 24 match at the Houston Wranglers.
Several other top names in professional tennis will be part of the 2006 WTT season. Anna Kournikova returns to the Sacramento Capitals and opens the first week with a three-match east coast swing (July 6 at the Delaware Smash, July 8 at the New York Sportimes and July 9 at the Boston Lobsters). Kournikova rejoins the Capitals for a July 17 match in St. Louis and returns home to Sacramento to take on the Springfield Lasers on July 19.
The top men's doubles team in the world, Bob and Mike Bryan, will once again play for the Kansas City Exporers and are scheduled for four matches during the season. The Bryans open their 2006 WTT campaign July 14 when Kansas City hosts Houston and then travel to Hartford on July 15 to take on the FoxForce. On July 17, the Bryans and the Explorers travel to Delaware and they move to St. Louis on July 19 to face the Aces.
WTT veteran Martina Navratilova returns for her 18th season and she will be joined by WTT rookie Todd Martin as they combine to make five appearances for the Boston Lobsters. Navratilova opens her season at home on July 14 when the Lobsters host the New York Sportimes. She will also play on July 24 in Boston against the Delaware Smash.
Martin will play two home matches, July 19 (Houston Wranglers) and July 22 (New York Buzz) and hit the road with the Lobsters for their July 21 road match against the New York Sportimes. 2005 WTT MVP Martina Hingis also makes her only appearance for the Sportimes this season on this date.
WTT veteran John McEnroe plays his only match of the season for the Sportimes when they travel to California to face off against Newport Beach on July 25.
Venus Williams will make three appearances with the Philadelphia Freedoms, playing July 19 in Schenectady, July 21 at home against the Delaware Smash and on July 22 when the Freedoms travel to Houston.
Anastasia Myskina, currently ranked No. 13 on the WTA Tour, returns to WTT action for the Springfield Lasers after a two season absence. Myskina will play three home matches with the Lasers, including July 10 against Hartford, a July 13 match against Kansas City and July 14 when the St. Louis Aces visit Springfield. Myskina will join her teammates for one road match on July 12 in Kansas City.
During the week of July 17th, Mardy Fish and Anna-Lena Groenefeld will each play a few matches for the Houston Wranglers, and teen sensation, Nicole Vaidisova will return to the Sacramento Capitals for one match.
Now in its 31st year of play, World TeamTennis is well known for introducing innovative elements to tennis. Instant replay, which debuted at WTT matches in 2005 as the WTT Coaches Challenge, marked the first time the technology had been used in a professional tennis match, will return to select WTT matches in 2006. Other WTT firsts include co-ed format, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching, Supertiebreakers, multi-colored courts and player names on back of their shirts.
The unique gender-balanced team concept for WTT was created in the early 70s by League co-founders Billie Jean King and Larry King. The format used for a WTT Pro League match features teams comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Each match consists of five sets, with one set each of men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles.
Advanta is the presenting sponsor of the WTT Pro League and the official business credit card of World TeamTennis. Official WTT Pro League sponsors also include Gatorade, Geico and Wilson Racquet Sports. For more information on WTT including team rosters, visit www.WTT.com.
Marquee Player Appearances:
Bob/Mike Bryan (KC Explorers) Kansas City, Delaware, Hartford, St.Louis
Martina Hingis (NY Sportimes) New York Sportimes (Westchester)
Anna Kournikova (Sacramento) Sacramento, Delaware, Boston, St. Louis, New York Sportimes
Todd Martin (Boston) Boston (2 matches), New York Sportimes
John McEnroe (NY Sportimes) Newport Beach
Anastasia Myskina (Springfield) Springfield (3 matches), Kansas City
Martina Navratilova (Boston) Boston (2 matches)
Pete Sampras (Newport Beach) Newport Beach, NY Sportimes, Sacramento, Houston, Hartford, Philadelphia, St. Louis
Venus Williams (Philadelphia) Philadelphia, Houston, New York Buzz (Schenectady)
2006 Schedule - World TeamTennis Pro League presented by Advanta
Thurs., July 6
NY Buzz @ Boston
NY Sportimes @ Hartford
Sacramento @ Delaware (Kournikova)
Philadelphia @ Houston
Newport Beach @ Springfield
Fri., July 7
NY Buzz @ Hartford
Delaware @ Philadelphia
St. Louis @ Kansas City
Sat., July 8
Sacramento @ NY Sportimes (Kournikova)
NY Buzz @ Delaware
Houston @ Springfield
Hartford @ St. Louis
Kansas City @ Newport Beach
Sun., July 9
Sacramento @ Boston (Kournikova)
NY Sportimes @ NY Buzz
Springfield @ Houston
Mon., July 10
NY Sportimes @ Philadelphia
Hartford @ Springfield (Myskina)
Boston @ Kansas City
St. Louis @ Newport Beach (Sampras)
Tues., July 11
Philadelphia @ Boston
Delaware @ Hartford
NY Buzz @ NY Sportimes
Houston @ Newport Beach
St. Louis @ Sacramento
Wed., July 12
Philadelphia @ NY Buzz
Springfield @ Kansas City (Myskina)
Newport Beach @ Sacramento (Sampras)
Thurs., July 13
Boston @ NY Sportimes
Hartford @ Delaware
St. Louis @ Houston
Kansas City @ Springfield (Myskina)
Sacramento @ Newport Beach
Fri., July 14
NY Sportimes @ Boston (Navratilova)
Philadelphia @ Delaware
St. Louis @ Springfield (Myskina)
Houston @ Kansas City (Bryan Bro.)
NY Buzz @ Sacramento
Sat., July 15
Kansas City @ Hartford (Bryan Bro.)
Delaware @ NY Sportimes
Boston @ Philadelphia
Houston @ St. Louis
NY Buzz @ Newport Beach
Sun., July 16
Sacramento @ Houston
Springfield @ Newport Beach
Mon., July 17
Boston @ NY Buzz
Hartford @ NY Sportimes
Kansas City @ Delaware (Bryan Bro.)
Sacramento @ St. Louis (Kournikova)
Tues., July 18
Boston @ Hartford
Newport Beach @ Philadelphia (Sampras)
Delaware @ Houston
Wed., July 19
Houston @ Boston (Martin)
Philadelphia @ NY Buzz (V. Williams)
Newport Beach @ NY Sportimes (Sampras)
Hartford @ Delaware
Kansas City @ St. Louis (Bryan Bro.)
Springfield @ Sacramento (Kournikova)
Thurs., July 20
No matches scheduled
Fri., July 21
Houston @ NY Buzz
Newport Beach @ Hartford (Sampras)
Boston @ NY Sportimes (Hingis/Martin)
Delaware @ Philadelphia (V. Williams)
St. Louis @ Springfield
Sacramento @ Kansas City
Sat., July 22
NY Buzz @ Boston (Martin)
NY Sportimes @ Delaware
Philadelphia @ Houston (V. Williams)
Springfield @ St. Louis
Kansas City @ Sacramento
Sun., July 23
Newport Beach @ St. Louis (Sampras)
Mon., July 24
Delaware @ Boston (Navratilova)
Hartford @ NY Buzz
St. Louis @ Philadelphia
Newport Beach @ Houston (Sampras)
Springfield @ Kansas City
NY Sportimes @ Sacramento
Tues., July 25
Springfield @ NY Buzz
Philadelphia @ Hartford
Houston @ Kansas City
NY Sportimes @ Newport Beach (McEnroe)
Wed., July 26
Hartford @ Philadelphia
Boston @ Springfield
Kansas City @ St. Louis
Delaware @ Sacramento
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment