© 2012 Daily Tennis News Wire -
The 2012 World TeamTennis Pro League schedule kicks off on Monday, July 9, with the defending champion Washington Kastles vying to continue their 16-match winning streak that started last summer, as they face off against the Orange County Breakers in Irvine, Calif. League officials today released the 59-match schedule for the three-week regular season of the WTT Pro League presented by GEICO, which runs July 9-28 and concludes with the WTT Finals Weekend, Sept. 14-16 in Charleston, S.C.

The WTT Pro League presented by GEICO, which was co-founded by Billie Jean King, is a professional sports league featuring three generations of tennis stars playing in a coed team format.

The Kastles, who won their second WTT championship last summer with the first undefeated season in WTT history, open the 2012 season on the road against the newly rebranded Orange County Breakers led by former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport. The Breakers, who previously played in Newport Beach since 2003, will make their 2012 debut at the Bren Events Center on the UC Irvine campus.

One of the most highly anticipated matches is a head-to-head showdown between Martina Hingis of the New York Sportimes and the Kastles' Venus Williams on Monday, July 23 in Albany, N.Y. The two former world No. 1s battled 21 times on the WTA Tour, with Hingis holding a narrow 11-10 edge. Hingis is expected to play at least 10 of the Sportimes' 14 matches, including five at the Sportimes' regular home venue Sportime Stadium at Randall’s Island in New York, N.Y., and matches in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Albany, N.Y.

Venus Williams will also play in Washington, D.C. on July 24, two days after her sister Serena's only WTT appearance, July 22, also in the nation's capital. It is expected to be the final stateside appearance for Serena Williams prior to the Olympic Games in London.

Davenport, who missed the 2011 season due to pregnancy, will be playing most of her 2012 schedule close to her Southern California home with the Orange County Breakers in Irvine, Calif. Davenport will play all seven Breakers' home matches at the Bren Events Center on the campus of UC Irvine, and will hit the road for matches in Sacramento, Springfield and Boston. Davenport and husband Jon Leach welcomed their third child in January 2012.

Mardy Fish, the top-ranked American male on the ATP Tour, will play home matches for the Sacramento Capitals on July 12 and 13.

Tennis' big man John Isner returns to the Boston Lobsters for two matches, July 23 at home against the Philadelphia Freedoms, and July 24 in Albany, N.Y., to take on the Hingis-led Sportimes.

Mark Philippoussis, who was the top pick in last month’s Marquee Player Draft, plays on July 25 in Philadelphia then leads his Freedoms west to take on Sacramento on July 27 and Orange County on July 28.

Other top names set for WTT action this summer include the world’s top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan of the Kansas City Explorers; John McEnroe of the New York Sportimes; and James Blake of the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Each of the eight teams will play 14 matches - seven home, seven away. Eastern Conference teams are the Boston Lobsters, New York Sportimes, Philadelphia Freedoms and Washington Kastles. Western Conference teams are Orange County Breakers, Sacramento Capitals, Springfield Lasers and Kansas City Explorers. The top two teams from both the Western and Eastern Conference advance to the WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO, Sept. 14-16, at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C.

Team lineups will be finalized at the WTT Roster Draft on Tuesday, March 13 at Noon EST on WTT.com. Marquee players typically play a limited schedule while roster players play the full 3-week season.

For a full schedule and list of marquee player dates, visit www.WTT.com.


2012 SCHEDULE - World TeamTennis Pro League presented by GEICO

including Marquee matches in parentheses - subject to change (as of March 7, 2012)

Monday, July 9
Sacramento Capitals at Boston Lobsters
Kansas City Explorers at Springfield Lasers
Washington Kastles at Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB)

Tuesday, July 10
Springfield Lasers at New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis - NYS)
Sacramento Capitals at Philadelphia Freedoms (James Blake - PHL)

Wednesday, July 11
Boston Lobsters at Philadelphia Freedoms
Washington Kastles at Springfield Lasers
Kansas City Explorers at Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB)

Thursday, July 12
New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis - NYS) at Washington Kastles
Kansas City Explorers at Sacramento Capitals (Mardy Fish - SAC)

Friday, July 13
Washington Kastles at Boston Lobsters
Philadelphia Freedoms at New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis - NYS)
Springfield Lasers at Kansas City Explorers
Orange County Breakers at Sacramento Capitals (Mardy Fish - SAC)

Saturday, July 14
Springfield Lasers at Philadelphia Freedoms
Sacramento Capitals at Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB)

Sunday, July 15
Springfield Lasers at Boston Lobsters
Philadelphia Freedoms at Washington Kastles
New York Sportimes at Kansas City Explorers

Monday, July 16
Kansas City Explorers (Bob and Mike Bryan - KC) at Philadelphia Freedoms
Boston Lobsters at Washington Kastles
Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB) at Springfield Lasers
New York Sportimes at Sacramento Capitals

Tuesday, July 17
Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB) at Boston Lobsters

Wednesday, July 18
Kansas City Explorers at Boston Lobsters
Philadelphia Freedoms at New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis - NYS)
Sacramento Capitals at Washington Kastles

Thursday, July 19
Boston Lobsters at New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis - NYS)
Orange County Breakers at Philadelphia Freedoms
Sacramento Capitals at Springfield Lasers

Friday, July 20
New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis/John McEnroe - NYS) at Philadelphia Freedoms
Orange County Breakers at Washington Kastles
Sacramento Capitals at Kansas City Explorers

Saturday, July 21
Orange County Breakers at Kansas City Explorers

Sunday, July 22
New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis - NYS) at Boston Lobsters
Kansas City Explorers at Washington Kastles (Serena Williams - WAS)
Springfield Lasers at Sacramento Capitals

Monday, July 23
Philadelphia Freedoms at Boston Lobsters (John Isner - BOS)
Washington Kastles (Venus Williams - WAS) at New York Sportimes* (Martina Hingis - NYS) *in Albany, N.Y.
Springfield Lasers at Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB)

Tuesday, July 24
Boston Lobsters (John Isner - BOS) at New York Sportimes* (Martina Hingis - NYS) *in Albany, N.Y.
Philadelphia Freedoms at Washington Kastles (Venus Williams - WAS)
Springfield Lasers at Kansas City Explorers
Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB) at Sacramento Capitals

Wednesday, July 25
Washington Kastles at New York Sportimes (Martina Hingis / John McEnroe - NYS)
Boston Lobsters at Philadelphia Freedoms (Mark Philippoussis - PHL)
Kansas City Explorers at Springfield Lasers
Sacramento Capitals at Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB)

Thursday, July 26
no matches scheduled

Friday, July 27
New York Sportimes at Springfield Lasers
Washington Kastles at Kansas City Explorers
Boston Lobsters at Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB)
Philadelphia Freedoms (Mark Philippoussis - PHL) at Sacramento Capitals

Saturday, July 28
Washington Kastles at Springfield Lasers
New York Sportimes at Kansas City Explorers
Philadelphia Freedoms (Mark Philippoussis - PHL) at Orange County Breakers (Lindsay Davenport - OCB)
Boston Lobsters at Sacramento Capitals

regular season ends July 28 - top two teams from both the Western and Eastern Conference advance to the WTT Finals Weekend in Charleston, S.C.

WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO, Sept. 14-16 (match times TBD)
Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C.
Friday, September 14 - WTT Conference Championship #1
Saturday, September 15 - WTT Conference Championship #2
Sunday, September 16 - WTT Finals presented by GEICO


TEAM Match Venue / Start Time
Orange County Breakers................... Bren Events Center at UC Irvine Campus, Irvine, Calif. // 7:00pm PT
Sacramento Capitals.......................... Sunrise Marketplace Stadium, Citrus Heights, Calif. // 7:35pm PT
*Kansas City Explorers....................... Explorers Stadium at Barney Allis Plaza, Kansas City, Mo. // *7:35pm CT
(*except Sunday, July 14 and Tuesday, July 24 will start at 7:05pm CT)
Springfield Lasers............................... Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex, Springfield, Mo. // 7:05pm CT
Boston Lobsters.................................. The Joan Norton Stadium at Ferncroft Country Club, Middleton, Mass. // 7:00pm ET
#New York Sportimes....................... Sportime Stadium at Randall's Island, New York, N.Y. // #7:00pm ET
(#The New York Sportimes will play two home matches at SECFU Arena at the Univ. of Albany in Albany, N.Y., on July 23 & 24, start times for Albany matches are 7:30pm ET)
Philadelphia Freedoms...................... The Pavilion at Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. // 7:00pm ET
Washington Kastles............................ Kastles Stadium at the Wharf, Washington, D.C. // 7:10pm ET