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 Washington Kastles

Exciting Opening Week Starts Tomorrow

July 13, 2015 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Kastles have an exciting opening week in store for the best fans in Mylan WTT. From Grand Slam champs to great giveaways, you won't want to miss a match.

TUE. 7/14 at 7 pm vs. AUSTIN ACES

KASTLES: Venus Williams, Leander Paes, Anastasia Rodionova, Denis Kudla

TICKETS: $20-$150 on Ticketmaster.com

GIVEAWAY: Kastles Championship Shirt Courtesy of GEICO (All Fans)

PREVIEW: All fans in attendance will receive a Kastles championship shirt when Venus Williams kicks off Washington's quest for the first-ever WTT 5-Peat. Local star Denis Kudla makes his Kastles debut, while former partners Anastasia Rodionova and Alla Kudryavtseva will go head-to-head in women's doubles. Rodionova and Kudryavtseva have not shared a court since splitting at the end of the 2014 WTA season.

THU. 7/16 at 7 pm vs. SAN DIEGO AVIATORS

KASTLES: Leander Paes, Anastasia Rodionova, Denis Kudla, Madison Brengle

TICKETS: $12-$100 on Ticketmaster.com

GIVEAWAY: Kastles Camouflage Hat (First 1,000 Fans)

PREVIEW: The first 1,000 fans in attendance get a camouflage Kastles hat (see below) as Washington looks to avenge its only home loss of 2014. Washington's Leander Paes and San Diego's Raven Klaasen won the Auckland doubles title and reached two other finals before breaking up in March. Madison Brengle plays her first home match for the Kastles, while World No. 1 junior Taylor Fritz plays singles and doubles for San Diego.

SAT. 7/18 at 5 pm vs. PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS

KASTLES: Leander Paes, Anastasia Rodionova, Denis Kudla, Madison Brengle

TICKETS: $12-$100 on Ticketmaster.com

PREVIEW: The Kastles defeated the Freedoms eight straight times before losing a pair of matches in Philadelphia during the 2014 regular season. They met again for the Eastern Conference Championship, which Washington won 21-16 at Kastles Stadium. Returning for the Freedoms are 19-year-old Taylor Townsend and reigning WTT Male MVP Marcelo Melo, who won the French Open men's doubles title.

Washington Kastles vs. Austin Aces Preview

Venus Williams Leads Mylan WTT Champs in 2015 Home Opener

Washington Kastles (1-0) vs. Austin Aces (0-0)

Tuesday, July 14 at 7 pm

Tickets: Ticketmaster.com, Box Office

Giveaway: Kastles Championship Shirt (All Fans)

Live Streaming: ESPN3.com

Live Scoring: WashingtonKastles.com

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (#RefuseToLose)

Coming off three Wimbledon titles and a road win in Boston, the Washington Kastles return to the Smith Center on Tuesday night for their much-anticipated home opener against the Austin Aces.

Venus Williams leads Washington alongside Arlington native Denis Kudla, Kastles veteran Anastasia Rodionova and team captain Leander Paes, who on Sunday captured his 16th Grand Slam championship.

Tickets start at only $20 and are selling fast. Fans are encouraged to secure their seats prior to match time at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets will also be on sale beginning at 10 am Tuesday via the Smith Center box office, located at 600 22nd Street NW.

All fans in attendance will receive a red, white or blue championship Kastles shirt courtesy of GEICO. The Smith Center will be blanketed in red, white and blue, with each section inside the state-of-the-art arena assigned a specific shirt color.

Before the match, a special ceremony is planned to honor the Kastles for winning the 2014 Mylan World TeamTennis Championship. Fans will want to be in their seats before the 7 pm start time for a surprise that is sure to please.

If you're in the D.C. area, there's no reason not to be at the Smith Center on Tuesday. But if you're a Kastles fan from afar, log on to ESPN3.com for live streaming.

The Kastles are already off to a winning start in 2015, defeating the Boston Lobsters 20-17 in a road match on Sunday. Rodionova swept the women's and mixed doubles sets, while the newest Kastle Kudla closed the match in men's doubles.

The Aces are expected to test the Kastles with the talented roster of World No. 52 singles player Teymuraz Gabashvili, World No. 21 doubles player Alla Kudryavtseva and former NCAA champions Jarmere Jenkins (Virginia) and Nicole Gibbs (Stanford).

SET-BY-SET PROJECTIONS

MS - D. Kudla (WAS) vs. T. Gabashvili (AUS)

Kudla and Gabashvili have more in common than meets the eye. The Kastle is coming off a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon. Three weeks earlier, the Ace reached the same stage of the French Open. Both Kudla and Gabashvili are playing their first seasons of Mylan WTT. It showed on Sunday when Kudla struggled to adjust to the fast format, falling 5-0 in men's singles to Alex Kuznetsov. He'll hope for better Tuesday.

WS - V. Williams (WAS) vs. N. Gibbs (AUS)

The Kastles have never lost a home match when Williams is in the lineup (5-0), which does not bode well for her fellow American. Gibbs won four NCAA titles during her three-year career at Stanford, so she'll feel right at home playing team tennis. But she's 1-9 in her last 10 matches on tour, none of which came against a Top 50 player. Williams, who is up to No. 15 in this week's rankings, appears to be a clear favorite.

MD - D. Kudla/L. Paes (WAS) vs. T. Gabashvili/J. Jenkins (AUS)

After a rough showing in singles on Sunday, Kudla regrouped and teamed with Kastles substitute Rajeev Ram for a 5-4 win in men's doubles. He'll upgrade partners on Tuesday when Paes plays his first match of the season. Expect Paes to provide great leadership to Kudla as he did over the past five seasons to Bobby Reynolds. On the other side of the net, Austin's Jenkins won the 2013 NCAA doubles title for Virginia.

WD - A. Rodionova/V. Williams (WAS) vs. N. Gibbs/A. Kudryavtseva (AUS)

As if the Kastles' home opener needed another intriguing storyline, there's the case of Rodionova and Kudryavtseva. In 2014, they won three WTA doubles titles together and qualified for the year-end championships. But Kudryavtseva formed a partnership with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the start of 2015. Neither Kudryavtseva, nor Rodionova, has won a title this season, and Tuesday marks their first meeting since splitting up.

MXD - L. Paes/V. Williams (WAS) vs. J. Jenkins/A. Kudryavtseva (AUS)

When you put Paes and Williams together, you wind up with 38 major titles. That's 38 more than the entire Aces roster combined. But the Kastles' mixed doubles duet isn't perfect. In 10 prior sets with the Kastles, Paes and Williams are 6-4. Should Kastles coach Murphy Jensen opt to only play Williams in two sets, Paes and Rodionova provide him with an experienced backup plan. They are 8-4 all-time for Washington.

New-Look Kastles Beat Lobsters in Season Opener

Match Review Courtesy of BostonLobsters.net

On a beautiful opening night at the Manchester Athletic Club, the Boston Lobsters dropped a hard fought match to the 4-time defending champion Washington Kastles 20-17.

The Lobsters opened up their 2015 season with a tough mixed doubles loss, as Scott Lipsky and Arantxa Parra Santonja teamed up against a Kastles team of Rajeev Ram and Anastasia Rodionova. The Kastles broke serve early and jumped to a 3-1 lead to start the match. The big-serving Lipsky kept the Lobsters in the contest as they battled back to a one game deficit at 3-4, however the Kastles' Rodionova was clutch to close out the set 5-3 with a strong service game.

In women's doubles, the Lobsters were edged by a score of 5-2, as the Kastles took a commanding 10-5 match lead. The Kastles were able to break Parra Santonja's serve at 3-2 after a few winning returns from both Madison Brengle and Rodionova.

Subbing in for an injured Chase Buchanan, newcomer Alex Kuznetsov earned an early break as he took a controlling 3-0 lead to start the match. Kuznetsov rolled in the next two games, using his strong forehand and net game to cruise to a 5-0 victory over a very solid opponent in Denis Kudla, equalizing the match score at 10-10.

In women's singles, fan favorite Irina Falconi and Brengle traded service breaks twice to begin the penultimate set of the contest. The match remained close until Brengle was able to pull away, breaking Falconi's serve at 4-3 for a 5-3 victory.

The final set began with a strong showing from both Lipsky and Kuznetsov of the Lobsters, highlighted by a backhand return winner from Kuznetsov to break the big serving Ram and give the Lobsters an overall 16-15 advantage. The Kastles stormed back, however, breaking Lipsky's serve and eventually setting up a match tiebreaker. After a few lengthy exchanges between the two teams at net, the Kastles were able to take the tiebreaker and the match, punctuated by a Ram overhead slam.

Select Tables & Boxes Available for Individual Matches

Dinner, Beverages, Parking, VIP Hospitality Among Perks

You can't find them anywhere on Ticketmaster.com, but we're happy to announce that a very limited number of Emirates VIP Dream Seats and Premier Courtside Boxes are available for individual matches this season.

Perfect for the most special evenings with business clients, family or friends, all dinner tables and boxes come with four seats, pre-match VIP Hospitality and VIP parking. VIP Hospitality includes free food and attendance at press conferences featuring the likes of Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Martina Hingis!

Emirates VIP Dream Seats dinner tables also come with a delicious, catered multi-course dinner and an open bar. You never know who your neighbors will be: First Lady Michelle Obama, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and ESPN personality Tony Kornheiser enjoyed Emirates VIP Dream Seats in 2014.

Located on the lower level along the south sideline, only one of the 32 Emirates VIP Dream Seats dinner tables remains!

Premier Courtside Boxes are the closest sideline seats to the court, bringing you only feet from the fast-paced Kastles action. You'll never have to leave your great view thanks to in-seat food and beverage service. Grab one of the last remaining boxes and the only thing between you and Kastles Stadium Court will be the players on it!

Individual Match Kastles Tables and Boxes

Match Date Table Box

Kastles vs. Aces 7/14 Sold Out $1,000

Kastles vs. Aviators 7/16 $1,000 $500

Kastles vs. Freedoms 7/18 $1,000 $500

Kastles vs. Lobsters 7/21 $2,500 Sold Out

Kastles vs. Lasers 7/26 $1,000 $500

Kastles vs. Dream 7/27 $1,000 $500

Kastles vs. Lobsters 7/29 $1,500 $1,000

You don't want to waste another minute before securing a Emirates VIP Dream Seats dinner table or Premier Courtside Box. They can be purchased by contacting Kastles ticket manager Scott Dawson at 202-654-7047 or via E-mail.

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