Sports stats



WTT Washington Kastles

Anastasia Starts WTA Finals Tonight; Martina Wins Kremlin Cup

October 21, 2014 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


From the US Open semifinals and Wimbledon final to three World TeamTennis titles as a Kastle, Anastasia Rodionova has enjoyed an exceptional career since turning pro in May 1997.

But as her 18th season on the tennis tour winds down, Rodionova will enjoy a rare first when she makes her WTA Finals debut tonight. Rodionova and 2013 Kastles substitute Alla Kudryavtseva are among the Top 8 singles players and doubles teams vying for the prestigious year-end championship.

They will meet US Open champions and No. 4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina at 1:30 am DC time live on Tennis Channel and ESPN3.com. If you can't stay up late, be sure to set your DVR as Rodionova plays for a place in the semifinals.

While Makarova and Vesnina hold a 2-1 head-to-head advantage, Rodionova and Kudryavtseva enter the WTA Finals with much more momentum. They are 10-3 since the US Open, including a win over World No. 1s Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci and a run to the Tianjin Open title.

The Russians, on the other hand, have played only one match after beating Martina Hingis and Flavia Pennetta in the US Open final. As the top-seeded team at Moscow last week, Makarova and Vesnina were upset in the first round by Aleksandra Krunic and Katerina Siniakova.

Makarova and Vesnina defeated Rodionova and Kudryavtseva 6-4, 6-4 at Toronto in August 2013. Rodionova and Kudryavtseva reversed that result in February with a 6-4, 6-4 win en route to the Dubai title. When the two teams met again a month later at Miami, Makarova and Vesnina edged the former Kastles teammates 3-6, 6-2, [10-8].

With a win tonight, Rodionova and Kudryavtseva would advance to Saturday's semifinals against either No. 2 seeds Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng or Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suá rez Navarro. Errani and Vinci, who lead all teams with five titles this season, are on the other half of the draw.

Awaiting the tournament champions are 1,500 ranking points, $500,000 in prize money and the newly-unveiled Martina Navratilova WTA Finals Doubles Trophy.

Ironically, Navratilova played a part in another of Rodionova's most important matches. The legendary left-hander and Kastles captain Leander Paes defeated Rodionova and Andy Ram 6-3, 6-3 in the 2003 Wimbledon mixed doubles final.

Vesnina, too, was on the other side of the net for a major moment in Rodionova's career. Rodionova reached her first and only Grand Slam women's doubles semifinal when she and Cara Black beat Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the 2010 US Open.

Hingis Wins Kremlin Cup, Returns to WTA Top 10

Kastles Star Teams with Pennetta for 40th Doubles Title

Martina Hingis ended her season in style Saturday, capturing the 40th doubles title of her Hall-of-Fame career.

In doing so, Hingis jumped from No. 13 to No. 9 in the WTA Doubles Rankings -- her first appearance in the Top 10 since the week of August 19, 2002.

The Kastles star and Flavia Pennetta defeated No. 4 seeds Caroline Garcia and Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 7-5 to win the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Hingis and Pennetta were playing together for the fourth straight week after winning the Wuhan Open and reaching the second round at Beijing and Tianjin.

With two titles and two other finals appearances in eight tournaments, the Swiss and Italian fell only 64 ranking points shy of qualifying for the WTA Finals.

"In China we had a good win, but then the last two tournaments we weren't as successful as we'd hoped," said Hingis. "I think we were a little bit nervous, as we were trying to qualify for Singapore... It's nice to finish the season right here with the Kremlin Cup title."

After losing the first set of their first-round match, Hingis and Pennetta swept the next eight en route to the title. Along the way, the No. 2 seeds defeated former Kastle Arina Rodionova and her partner, Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-2, 7-5.

Hingis ends her season with a 27-11 doubles record, including a 20-6 mark with Pennetta as her partner. In addition to titles at Moscow and Wuhan, Hingis and Pennetta reached finals at Eastbourne and the US Open.

Having enjoyed so much success in such little time with Pennetta, Hingis has a great chance to return to the top of the rankings in 2015.

The World No. 9 has no points to defend and as many as 5,500 to gain at the Australian Open, French Open and WTA Finals. Hingis could also net up to 1,990 points at Wimbledon after losing her 2014 opener with Vera Zvonareva of the Austin Aces.

Hingis spent 35 weeks as the World No. 1 in doubles between 1998 and 2000.

Join the 2015 Kastles as a Seasonal Employee or Intern

More than 25 Jobs Posted on TeamWorkOnline.com

It takes more than talented players and a savvy coach to form a successful sports franchise. The five-time World TeamTennis champion Washington Kastles are looking to round-out their tremendous team with more than 25 seasonal jobs and internships now posted on TeamWorkOnline.com.

The Kastles can jump start your career in the tennis industry with opportunities available in ticketing, site development, game operations, communications, marketing and other areas.

You could be writing a game presentation script for the home opener, promoting our matches at community events, posting content on the Kastles' Facebook page or helping negotiate major sponsorship deals!

A full list of open positions can be found below. Detailed job descriptions are available by clicking the respective links for each position. Applications are being accepted online only through TeamWorkOnline.com.

2015 SEASONAL JOBS

Charity Classic Coordinator

Gameday Operations Coordinator

Marketing Coordinator

Media Coordinator

Media Director

Sponsorship Coordinator

Team and Travel Coordinator

Ticket Sales and Analysis Coordinator

2015 INTERNSHIPS

Charity Classic Internship

Community Relations Internship

Graphic Design Internship

Marketing and Merchandise Internship

Photography Internship

Public Relations Internship

Sales and Operations Internships (6)

Sponsorship Internship

Stadium Operations Internship

Team Operations Internships (2)

Team and Travel Internship

Video Internship

• Discuss this story on the World TeamTennis message board...

World TeamTennis Stories from October 21, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central