New York Empire Set for World TeamTennis Semifinals
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:
WTT Semifinal No. 1 – Friday, Aug. 2 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas – 7 p.m. EST (CBS Sports Network)
Springfield (Mo.) Lasers vs. San Diego Aviators
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
July 24 (at Springfield) – Springfield def. San Diego, 22-17
Springfield Roster
Anna Blinkova Russia
Olga Govortsova Belarus
Robert Lindstedt Sweden
Enrique Lopez Perez Spain
Abigail Spears USA
Coach: John-Laffnie de Jager (South Africa)
San Diego Roster:
Anna-Lena Groenefeld Germany
Jonny O’Mara England
Arina Rodionova Australia
James Ward England
Coach: John Lloyd (England)
WTT Semifinal No. 2: Friday, Aug. 2 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas – 10:00 p.m. EST (CBS Sports Network)
Philadelphia Freedoms vs. New York Empire
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, 25-1
July 31 (at Philadelphia) – New York def. Philadelphia, 21-16
Philadelphia Roster:
Raquel Atawo USA
Fabrice Martin France
Mitchell Krueger USA
Taylor Townsend USA
Coach: Craig Kardon (USA)
New York Roster:
Ulises Blanch USA
Mardy Fish USA
Kirsten Flipkens Belgium
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez Spain
Neal Skupski England
Coach: Luke Jensen (USA)
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.
