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WTT Finals Weekend Gets Underway

Posted on August 2, 2019

CARLSBAD, Calif. – World TeamTennis’ 44th season has been whittled down to four semifinalists competing in the 2019 WTT Playoffs, held for the first time in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena with the semifinals taking place on Friday, with the WTT Final to follow on Saturday.

The teams vying to hoist the King Trophy – the iconic moment symbolic of winning the World TeamTennis championship – include the regular season champion Philadelphia Freedoms, two of the league’s past three champions – the 2018 WTT champion Springfield (Mo.) Lasers and 2016 WTT champion San Diego Aviators – and the New York Empire, making its first ever appearance in the WTT Playoffs. These teams finished in the top four (of eight teams) in WTT’s regular season standings.

The entire WTT Finals Weekend will air live and exclusively on CBS Sports Network, with Friday’s WTT semifinals taking place at 4 p.m. PT (local time) and 7 p.m. PT and Saturday’s WTT Final airing at 7 p.m. PT. Jason Knapp and analyst Sam Groth will call the WTT Playoffs action, with Olivia Dekker and Nick Gismondi serving as sideline reporters, and guest analyst Katrina Adams and lifestyle reporter Shaun T also contributing to the telecasts.

Below is a breakdown of World TeamTennis’ semifinal matchups and playoff schedule:

Springfield (Mo.) Lasers vs. San Diego Aviators

WTT Semifinal No. 1 – Friday, Aug. 2 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas – 4 p.m. PT (CBS Sports Network)

Records: Springfield (9-5; No. 2 seed); San Diego (9-5, No. 3 seed)

2019 Head-to-Head:  July 21 (at San Diego) – San Diego def. Springfield, 24-20

July 24 (at Springfield) – Springfield def. San Diego, 22-17

Franchise history in the WTT Final:

Springfield won the King Trophy in 2018 and finished runner-up in 1999, 2001, 2009, 2013 and 2014.

San Diego (including its past franchise history when known as the San Diego Buds) won the King Trophy in 1984, 1985 and 2016 and finished runner-up in 2017.

Springfield roster:

PLAYER                              COUNTRY/NATIONALITY              WTT SEASONS PLAYED
Anna Blinkova                                         Russia                                                          1
Olga Govortsova                                      Belarus                                                        3
Robert Lindstedt                                     Sweden                                                        2
Enrique Lopez Perez                               Spain                                                           1
Abigail Spears                                          USA                                                              9

Coach: John-Laffnie de Jager (South Africa)

San Diego roster:

PLAYER                              COUNTRY/NATIONALITY              WTT SEASONS PLAYED
Anna-Lena Groenefeld                         Germany                                                       7
Jonny O’Mara                                         England                                                        1
Arina Rodionova                                    Australia                                                       6
James Ward                                            England                                                         1

Coach: John Lloyd (England)

Springfield 2019 WTT season stats 
San Diego 2019 WTT season stats 

Philadelphia Freedoms vs. New York Empire

WTT Semifinal No. 2: Friday, Aug. 2 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas – 7 p.m. PT (CBS Sports Network)

Records: Philadelphia (11-3; regular season champion and No. 1 seed); New York (8-6; No. 4 seed)

2019 Head-to-Head

July 30 (at New York) — Philadelphia def. New York, 25-15

July 31 (at Philadelphia) – New York def. Philadelphia, 21-16

Franchise history in the WTT Final:

Philadelphia won the King Trophy in 2001 and 2006 and finished runner-up in 1974 and 2018.

New York is making its first WTT Playoffs appearance in franchise history.

Philadelphia roster:      

PLAYER                              COUNTRY/NATIONALITY              WTT SEASONS PLAYED
Raquel Atawo                                      USA                                                               7
Fabrice Martin                                    France                                                          4
Mitchell Krueger                                 USA                                                              1
Taylor Townsend                                USA                                                              6
Coach: Craig Kardon (USA)

 

New York roster:           

PLAYER                              COUNTRY/NATIONALITY              WTT SEASONS PLAYED
Ulises Blanch                                             USA                                                       1
Mardy Fish                                                 USA                                                       9
Kirsten Flipkens                                        Belgium                                                2
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez                  Spain                                                   2
Neal Skupski                                               England                                               5
Coach: Luke Jensen (USA)

Philadelphia 2019 WTT season stats 

New York 2019 WTT season stats – 

WTT Final – Saturday, Aug. 3 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. PT (CBS Sports Network)

Each of WTT’s eight teams played 14 regular season matches in 2019 – seven home matches and seven away matches – for a league-wide total of 59 regular season matches. WTT introduced professional team tennis to the world in 1974, with Billie Jean King famously serving as its co-founder. WTT is one of five active U.S. pro sports leagues which has been in operation for over 40 years, along with the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. For more information on World TeamTennis, please visit www.wtt.com.