2017 World TeamTennis season
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Postseason: 1
| 2017 World TeamTennis season | |
|---|---|
| League | World TeamTennis |
| Sport | Team tennis |
| Duration | July 16 – August 5, 2017 |
| Matches | Regular season: 42 (14 for each team) Postseason: 1 |
| Teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN2 ESPN3 Tennis Channel Altitude Sports and Entertainment Comcast SportsNet affiliates Mediacom Connections MSG |
| World TeamTennis Player Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Jack Sock |
| Picked by | Springfield Lasers |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Orange County Breakers |
| Season MVP |  Teymuraz Gabashvili (Male)  Andreja Klepač (Female) |
| World TeamTennis Final | |
| Venue | Omni La Costa Resort and Spa Carlsbad, California |
| Champions | Orange County Breakers |
| Runners-up | San Diego Aviators |
| Finals MVP | Teymuraz Gabashvili |
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.
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
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
Event chronology
Off-season
- 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
- July 30, 2017: With a record of 4 wins and 8 losses, the Washington Kastles were eliminated from playoff contention, when they lost on the road to the New York Empire, 25–18.[11]
- August 1, 2017: With a record of 6 wins and 7 losses, the Springfield Lasers were eliminated from playoff contention, when the Orange County Breakers defeated the Washington Kastles, 23–14.
- August 1, 2017: With a record of 6 wins and 7 losses, the Philadelphia Freedoms were eliminated from playoff contention, when they lost on the road to the San Diego Aviators, 21–18, in extended play.
Standings
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
- 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
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
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
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]
