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Philadelphia Freedoms

A Newbie's Guide to World TeamTennis

by Fran Stuchbury
July 18, 2015 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Philadelphia Freedoms


Fran Stuchbury with Philadelphia Freedoms Mascot Natty
Fran Stuchbury with Philadelphia Freedoms Mascot Natty
(Philadelphia Freedoms, Credit: Fran Stuchbury)

I have a long history of covering alternative football leagues. I was looking to start covering different sports and felt covering the Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis would be a good opportunity for me.

The Philadelphia Freedoms of World TeamTennis have played 16 seasons, starting with the inaugural WTT season in 1974 and then from 2001 to now. Tennis legend Billie Jean King owns the team.

Their opponent, the Boston Lobsters, have also played 16 seasons 1974-1978 and 2005 to now. They are owned by WTT and are seeking local owners. The price to own a WTT team is about $1.5 million dollars.

The Freedoms play at the Pavilion on the campus of Villanova, with a seating capacity of 3,500. The last sporting event I covered at Villanova was the Major League Lacrosse Championship back in August of 2003, when the Long Island Lizards defeated the Baltimore Bayhawks 15-14 in overtime.

World TeamTennis started play back in 1974 and was co-founded by Billie Jean King. It is entering its 40th season, becoming the fifth major U.S. sports league to reach that milestone, joining the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.

Seven teams play in WTT: three teams in the Eastern Conference, Boston Lobsters, Philadelphia Freedoms and Washington Kastles along with four teams in the Western Conference: Austin Aces, California Dream, San Diego Aviators and Springfield Lasers.

WTT plays a 14 game season, seven home and seven road games. The top two teams from each conference play each other in the playoffs and those winners face-off in the championship.

The most dominant team lately has been the Washington Kastles, winners of five of the last six championships. In 2011 the Kastles became the first team in WTT to go undefeated (16-0).

The league has games on NBC Sports Regional networks, and since 2003 they have had games on the Tennis Channel. In 2014 they signed a four-year deal to broadcast over 60 games on ESPN3 and to air the Finals live on ESPN2.

WTT plays on multi-color courts. As with indoor/arena football when a football goes in the stands fans get to keep it. The same goes for WTT; when tennis balls go in the stands, fans can keep them, too.

Each match consists of five different games: Men's singles, Men's Doubles, Women's Singles, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles. The order of those matchups is determined by the home team coach.

Here are some of the main rules:

  • Scoring is no-ad. The first team to win four points wins the game. Game scoring is 1,2,3 game.

  • When it is 3-3 the next point wins in WTT, unlike regular tennis where there is deuce.

  • The first team to win five games wins the set, but every game is meaningful since the team after the fifth match that has won the most games wins.

  • New this year is a 25 second on-court service clock. That will help keep the game moving. Often rules are tried first in WTT and end up being used in regular tennis.

The Freedoms had a nice selection of merchandise that included hats, sweatshirts, t-shirts and even pajama pants. I bought a hat and two car logo magnets that only cost one dollar each. I put one in my car, another on my refrigerator.

The Boston Lobsters won the match by a score of 21-17.

The Freedoms got off to a good start, winning men's singles with Robby Ginepri defeating the Lobsters Alex Kuznetsov 5-2. There were a lot of 3-3 games, and as previously mentioned, in WTT the next point won the game. Also unlike regular tennis, in WTT let serves (the served ball touches the net, strap or band and lands in court), the ball is played.

In the next match, women's doubles, Boston's Arantxa Parra Santonja and Irina Falconi defeated Philadelphia's Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend 5-2, but here is a great point. Boston was up 4-0, one game away from winning, and in regular tennis the trailing team may give up and not play hard, but in WTT every match won is added to the overall total, so Philadelphia did a decent job winning two of the last three games.

In the third match, mixed doubles, Philadelphia's Marcelo Melo and Taylor Townsend defeated Boston's Scott Lipsky and Irina Falconi 5-4. The game was tied at 4-4, and in WTT when that happens they play a nine-point tiebreaker. The first team to get five points wins, and the Freedoms go to five first.

Halftime took place and legacy youth tennis coaches played on the court for a little while. Freedoms owner Billie Jean King was given a plaque commemorating 40 years of World Team Tennis.

In the fourth match, women's singles, Boston's Irina Falconi defeated Philadelphia's Taylor Townsend 5-2.

In the fifth and final match, men's doubles, Boston's Scott Lipsky and Alex Kuznetsov defeated Philadelphia's Marcelo Melo and Robby Ginepri 5-3. Boston clinched the win early, going up 4-2 to put the score at 20-16. In WTT a team still has to win five games so the game continued until Boston won the fifth.

The Freedoms made a very wise choice in hiring Dave Leno as the public address announcer/master of ceremonies. Leno has covered the U.S Open the last two years for U.S. Open radio which also simulcasts on Sirius XM ESPN Radio Extra. He broadcasts college football and basketball for ESPN, Olympic sports with Big Ten Network, Japanese baseball and the New York Cosmos for One World Sports among many others.

He knew when to get the fans to cheer at the right moments of the matches, such as when the Freedoms were one point away from winning a match. Also he did a phenomenal job explaining the rules so fans at the game knew what was going on. It also helps that he plays tennis and has a passion for the sport.

I was able to talk to one fan during the game, Matt Schwartz from Lafayette Hill, and he said "It's a great value for fans; it's very accessible, and it's great to see big stars and young players that could be future stars. This tennis is a gift to every community that has a WTT team."

When it was over the Freedoms let fans 16 and under get autographs from the players. The league is very family friendly and the autograph session gives kids a chance to interact with professional tennis players.

The Philadelphia Freedoms do an excellent job constantly updating fans on its Facebook page that has 8,500 followers. The team gives fans game updates, informs viewers about everything that takes place during home games and posts tons of pictures for fans to see. Social media is so important these days. I am glad the Freedoms take it seriously.

Friday night the Freedoms dropped a heartbreaking 21-20 loss to Boston, losing their third match by three or less games. Thursday's loss put them at 1-4 on the season.

The Freedoms have five remaining home games: July 19th vs. the Springfield Lasers, July 20th vs. the Washington Kastles, July 23rd vs. the Austin Aces, July 26th vs. the California Dream and July 28th vs. the Boston Lobsters.

This was the first tennis match I attended in person, and it is so much better than watching it on television. WTT gives you everything that tennis has to offer: singles, doubles and mixed double matches, with a cumulative score making every single game critical.

If you're looking for a fun night out, check out a Philadelphia Freedoms game. It's an outstanding experience.




Images from this story

World TeamTennis Court, Home of the Philadelphia Freedoms
World TeamTennis Court, Home of the Philadelphia Freedoms
(Fran Stuchbury)		 Fran Stuchbury with Philadelphia Freedoms Mascot Natty
Fran Stuchbury with Philadelphia Freedoms Mascot Natty
(Fran Stuchbury)		  

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