Black Tennis Pros

Press Release

WASHINGTON – February 11, 2010 – The Washington Kastles, the 2009 World TeamTennis Champions, are proud to announce that for the third consecutive season, world #1 ranked Serena Williams will lead the Kastles after protecting her rights and selecting her earlier today in the league’s Marquee Player Draft. In a move to bolster their 2010 title hopes, the Kastles, in a trade with the Philadelphia Freedoms, added Venus Williams to the squad. Serena will play four matches for the Kastles and Venus will play three.

Serena has played in front of sell-out crowds in her two prior trips to Kastles Stadium for the 2008 and 2009 WTT seasons. This summer, she will make one home appearance at Kastles Stadium, as will Venus for a different match.

Serena is the defending Wimbledon singles and women’s doubles champion and two-time defending Australian Open singles champion. Coming off her 2010 Australian Open championships in singles and women’s doubles, Williams now has 25 career Grand Slam titles, 12 in singles, 11 in women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles. Williams’ 12 Grand Slam singles titles tie her with American legend Billie Jean King for sixth all-time. She holds more Grand Slam titles than any other active female player and has won more prize money than any woman in the history of professional sports.

Venus has won 20 career Grand Slam titles, including five Wimbledon singles titles. She is the reigning Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open women’s doubles champion and holds a total of seven Grand Slam titles in singles, 11 in women's doubles and two in mixed doubles. She also has won three Olympic gold medals, one in singles and two in women's doubles.

With the addition of Venus, the Kastles roster now has a total of 61 Grand Slam titles including 19 women’s singles, 26 women’s doubles, six men’s doubles and 10 mixed doubles championships.

"I'm looking forward to returning to Washington, DC this summer and helping my Kastles teammates defend our WTT Championship title,” said Serena about her return to the nation’s capital. “There's something special about playing in the middle of downtown DC in that setting with the great support of our fans."

During the July 5 - 25 season, the Williams sisters and the Kastles will welcome opponents John McEnroe, who returns with their Eastern Conference rivals, the New York Sportimes, in a rematch of last season’s now infamous and hotly contested battle, and Anna Kournikova and the St. Louis Aces. Martina Hingis, making her return to professional tennis, will likely come to DC when another Eastern Conference foe, the New York Buzz, takes on the Kastles.

“The historic opportunity to have both Serena and Venus on our team is a thrill, both for the success of our team and for our fans, whose support has been so integral to our success,” said team owner Mark Ein. “They are the epitome of what is great about the sport of tennis and will lead an unprecedented collection of talent for us on the court in 2010.”

“It takes world-class talent to win championships and there are no more accomplished athletes than Serena and Venus,” said Kastles head coach Murphy Jensen, who guided the squad to the 2009 title in his first season coaching in the WTT Pro League. “Last summer was truly a dream season for us, and come July 5, the dream continues in D.C.”

The rest of the 2010 Kastles roster will be determined during the March 16 WTT Pro League Roster Draft.

“The hardest thing about winning our first title will be defending it, because everyone will be gunning for us,” continued Ein. “We want to keep the King Trophy right here in D.C. and in order to accomplish that, we’re going to put the most talented team possible on the court every single match, home and away.”

The Kastles are entering their third WTT season. In 2009, the Kastles earned the franchise’s first playoff berth before defeating their heated rivals, the Sportimes, at home in the Eastern Conference Finals. In an epic final, before a capacity Kastles Stadium crowd, the Kastles rallied from down three championship points to triumph over the Springfield Lasers 23-20 to win their first King Trophy.

Great season ticket packages can be purchased by visiting www.washingtonkastles.com or by calling 202-4TENNIS. You can also follow the Kastles on Facebook at facebook.com/washkastles and on Twitter at twitter.com/WashKastles.

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Playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis in a 3,000-seat temporary stadium in the King of Prussia Mall's parking lot is quite a bit different from playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

But for Venus Williams, they both mean one thing: fun on the tennis court.


"It's two different types of fun," Williams said before last night's match. "I love playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms. I love the team aspect, the support you get. It's just so different."

Williams, 29, is in her sixth WTT season, four as a member of the Freedoms. This season, she will play three matches for Philadelphia.

In her 2009 debut on Tuesday night, she led the Freedoms to a 23-16 win over the Washington Kastles. She scored a singles victory and partnered with Nathan Healey to earn a mixed doubles win.


Last night, Williams made her home debut - her only scheduled appearance in King of Prussia this season - in an 18-15 loss to the Sacramento Capitals and received the loudest ovation from a crowd that flocked to the makeshift stadium to catch one of the sport's biggest stars. Many fans headed to the exits after she concluded her night with two wins and a loss.

In the women's singles match, 25-year-old Angela Haynes upset the Wimbledon runner-up, 5-1. Williams is third in the Women's Tennis Association rankings, while Haynes is 129th in the world.

The upset, combined with Sam Warburg's 5-1 win over Healey, gave the Capitals a commanding 10-2 lead after two sets.


Williams took to the court a second time and redeemed herself. She teamed with Healey to defeat Mark Knowles and Olga Puchkova, 5-2, in mixed doubles.

In women's doubles, Williams and Wayne's Lisa Raymond beat Haynes and Puchkova, 5-1.

"I missed a few shots, but the next two games were good," Williams said. "All the matches were either really good for us or really bad, but that's team tennis for you."


Williams' contributions to the Freedoms come on the heels of a grueling Wimbledon run that ended Saturday on Centre Court. Venus fell short of her sixth Wimbledon and eighth Grand Slam title, losing to her younger sister, Serena, 7-6 (3), 6-2. The sisters were back on the court just hours later to claim their fourth Wimbledon doubles championship by defeating Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

"You've just got to make sure you don't burn out," Williams said. "Everyone's different. I'm only playing three times for the Freedoms, which is short, but I can use the matches to prepare for the U.S. Open."

In the meantime, Williams and her sister endure scrutiny that no other American tennis players seem to face - such as Jason Whitlock's criticism of Serena as an underachiever in a column on Foxsports.com on Tuesday. But the older sister does not seem to be worried about it.

"Who is Jason Whitlock?" Williams asked, confused. "Is he an athlete?"

When told he was a columnist, she answered, "Oh, I don't read the press."

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In just its second season fielding a World TeamTennis franchise, Washington will host the professional tennis league's championship finals this summer.

The Washington Kastles once again will play their seven home matches on the site of the city's former convention center, 11th and H streets NW, at a 3,000-seat stadium that's roughly 30 percent bigger than the one constructed for the team's inaugural season.

In addition, Washington will host the 2009 Advanta WTT Championships finals on July 26.

The Kastles' seven-game home stand opens July 7 with a visit from former world No. 1 Venus Williams, who competes for the Philadelphia Freedom. That's just three days after Wimbledon women's final is schedule to be played. Venus is a five-time and defending champion of the grass-court classic.

For a second consecutive year, Serena Williams headlines the Kastles' roster, but she won't be in the lineup for a head-to-head meeting with her elder sister. Serena's lone home match for the Kastles will be July 14.

Other top names visiting Washington to take on this Kastles this summer include John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova.

Tickets go on sale Monday at 10 a.m., available through the team's Web site, www.washingtonkastles.com and Ticketmaster. Group and box seats can be bought by phone, 202-483-6647.

The Kastles home schedule is below:

July 7 -- Philadelphia Freedom (Venus Williams)

July 8 -- St. Louis Aces (Anna Kournikova)

July 12 -- N.Y. Buzz

July 14 -- Newport Beach Breakers (Serena Williams' only home match)

July 16 -- N.Y. Sportimes (John McEnroe)

July 21 -- N.Y. Buzz

July 22 -- Springfield Lasers

July 26 -- Advanta WTT Championship Finals

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Serena Williams, who last weekend claimed her 10th major title by winning the Australian Open, will return to Washington this summer to play for the city's World TeamTennis franchise, the Washington Kastles.

And Venus Williams will also visit Washington to face the Kastles as the marquee player for the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Serena's selection as the top pick in the marquee player draft was announced yesterday, and it represents a coup for team owner Mark Ein, who brought the franchise to town last summer.

Other top names visiting Washington this summer include John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova.

As the Kastles' featured player, Serena, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, will play one home match and three on the road. She won't be on the roster when Venus visits the Kastles, so the sisters won't face each other in Washington.

The 2009 season runs July 2-26. Dates of the Kastles' home matches will be announced in February.

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American Venus Williams visits the Bloomingdale's Atrium at the King of Prussia Mall for a press conference prior to playing World Team Tennis.


Venus stretches during warmup prior to playing doubles with the Philadelphia Freedoms against the Delaware Smash in a World Team Tennis Match on July 9, 2008 in King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania

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