Sports stats

WTT Orange County Breakers

Maria Sharapova Leads Breakers' New Stars Into 2009

March 31, 2009 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Orange County Breakers News Release


NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 31, 2009 - Maria Sharapova fits the quintessential image of Newport Beach on a breezy, summer night overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and perhaps no tennis player can provide more sizzle inside Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova will join the Newport Beach Breakers as its marquee player for a fifth season in her professional career in the hopes of helping the team reach the Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League playoffs. The 21-year-old Russian will play in the Breakers' 2009 regular season finale on July 22 against the 2008 WTT Pro League runner-up Kansas City Explorers at Breakers Stadium.

Sharapova is one of four marquee players who will make Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club the center of the tennis nation for four nights in July. Andre Agassi, competing in WTT for the first time since he retired from the ATP Tour, will play against the Breakers on behalf of the Philadelphia Freedoms on July 17. John McEnroe, a long-time member of the New York Sportimes, visits Newport Beach on July 21, and Michael Chang will accompany the Sacramento Capitals for their match against the Breakers on July 11.

The Breakers completed their roster at today's WTT Pro League draft in Miami, protecting perennial fan favorite and 2008 league MVP Ramon Delgado in the first round, selecting USTA Pro Circuit all-time win leader Julie Ditty in the second round, also protecting Newport Beach resident Kaes Van't Hof in the third round, and selecting Canadian Marie-Eve Pelletier in the fourth round. The Breakers will play 14 matches (seven at home) during the 2009 WTT Pro League regular season, which runs July 2-22.

"We are proud to welcome Maria Sharapova back with the Breakers. We are happy and thrilled to provide our Southern California tennis fans with the opportunity to support one of the most successful and popular players in the world in addition to the thrilling appearances by Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Michael Chang," Breakers executive director Jeff Purser said. "Maria's association with the Breakers is in line with our mission to provide top-class entertainment and a first-rate standard of tennis."

Tickets and team information can be obtained online at www.NewportBeachBreakers.com. General admission season tickets ($215 each) and season club seat packages (beginning at $2,150 and including four padded seats and a cocktail table, one VIP parking pass per match, and access to the private, club-seat-only wine bar and VIP lounge) must be obtained by calling the ticket sales office (714-352-6301). All home matches are expected to sell out.

Tickets for six of the Breakers' seven home matches in 2009 are sold as part of two-match packages - the "Andre Agassi" package (good for the July 2 season-opener vs. the Washington Kastles and the July 17 match vs. Philadelphia, featuring Agassi) is $65 per ticket; the "Maria Sharapova" package (good for the July 19 match vs. Sacramento and the July 22 match featuring Sharapova) and "John McEnroe" package (good for the July 8 match vs. the Springfield Lasers and the July 21 match vs. McEnroe's New York Sportimes) are $60 each. The Breakers' July 11 match against the Chang-led Sacramento Capitals is $30.

The Newport Beach Breakers gave a 16-year-old Sharapova an opportunity to make her name long before she made her splash on the world tennis scene and became the WTA Tour's glamour girl. Owner of 19 WTA Tour singles titles, she played for the Breakers from 2003-05, playing for the Breakers full-time in 2003 and contributing to their 2004 WTT Championship, and came back to the team in 2007.

The former world No. 1, 2004 Wimbledon champion, 2006 U.S. Open champ and 2008 Australian Open winner continues to maintain her ties to the Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League. She made her WTT Pro League debut in 2002 with the Delaware Smash. Born in Siberia, Sharapova's formative years in tennis took place at the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Fla. at age 9. Sharapova turned pro on her 14th birthday.

Sharapova's breakthrough came in 2004; she defeated Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final to become the lowest-seeded and second-youngest ladies Wimbledon singles champion in the Open Era, and the third-youngest of all time at 17 years, two months. At year's end, she won the WTA Tour Championship and was named the WTA Tour's Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year. She won five titles in 2006, matching her 2004 haul, and dispatched Justine Henin in the U.S. Open final. Sharapova became the top-ranked female in the world in August 2005 and has more than $12 million in career earnings. Off the court, the 6-foot-2 blonde's image has been as impressive. Sharapova signed with IMG Models in 2003 and has been recognized as one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People."

Agassi, 38, is a former World No. 1 who won 60 career singles titles including eight Grand Slam singles championships, is the only man to win all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Agassi won Wimbledon in 1992, the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1999, the Australian Open in 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2003, and the French Open in 1999. His 17 ATP Masters Series titles are more than any other player in history.

"Playing World TeamTennis is a great experience," Agassi said. "Team play is a terrific way to showcase tennis, especially for kids. WTT is competitive, it's fun and there's a really great energy from the fans. I'm looking forward to playing WTT again."

McEnroe, 50, claimed the world's No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles during his pro tour career. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles (three at Wimbledon and four at the U.S. Open), nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title during his career. This is the ninth year of WTT Pro League action for McEnroe, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999. A fiery personality on the court, McEnroe is one of the sport's most popular television commentators.

Chang, 37, grew up in the Orange County city of Placentia and is a 2008 International Hall of Fame inductee. He won his only Grand Slam among his 34 singles titles at the 1989 French Open and became the youngest male to win a men's Grand Slam singles title (at 17 years, 3 months). Chang's fourth-round, five-set victory in the 1989 French Open over then-World No. 1 Ivan Lendl, in which he rallied from two sets down while overcoming severe leg cramps that led him to serve under-handed at times and play countless lob shots, is the most memorable match of his career.

Delgado, 32, a six-year veteran of the Breakers, was with Newport Beach when it captured the King Trophy (WTT Championship) in 2004. He is a longtime member of Paraguay's Davis Cup team and recorded his most high-profile win at the 1998 French Open when he defeated Pete Sampras in the second round. Delgado's best ATP career singles result came as a finalist at Bogota in 1998. He was ranked as high as No. 52 in singles in 1999 and No. 91 in doubles in 2007. Delgado's WTT-best 63 games won and 61% winning percentage (games) in men's singles earned him the 2008 WTT Male MVP Award.

Newport Beach native Van't Hof, 22, returns to the Breakers for the second consecutive year. He completed his collegiate tennis career at USC in 2008 by winning the NCAA Men's Division I doubles championship. Van't Hof graduated from Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana) in 2004 after compiling a 43-1 record his senior season, capped by his winning the 2004 CIF-Southern Section Individual singles championship, and earning Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register Player of the Year honors. As a USTA junior in the Boys 18 division, he was ranked No. 1 in Southern California and No. 4 nationally.

Kentucky resident Ditty, a left-handed doubles specialist in the prime of her career, passed Paul Goldstein and Nana Smith as the USTA Pro Circuit's all-time win leader in September as she swept the singles and doubles titles at the ColemanVision Tennis Championships for her 31st and 32nd victories. She currently owns 33 Pro Circuit wins (24 doubles, nine singles) and finished as the women's 2008 Pro Circuit money winner. Ditty, 30, was named to the United States Fed Cup team for its February 2009 quarterfinal against Argentina and teamed with Liezel Huber in doubles to win the tie's decisive match, 6-2, 6-3, and propel the U.S. to the April 25-26 semifinals. She is ranked No. 123 in singles and No. 88 in doubles on the WTA Tour.

Pelletier, 26, will form a formidable partnership with Ditty and give the Breakers a strong presence in women's and mixed doubles. A Canadian Fed Cup player in 2007 and 2008, Pelletier owns 13 ITF Women's Circuit titles - 11 in doubles, including two in 2008 - and ascended to her career-best WTA Tour doubles ranking in February at No. 90. She is currently ranked No. 103 in doubles and No. 309 in singles.

Breakers Stadium (capacity 2,000) is located at The Newport Beach Country Club along Pacific Coast Highway, with views overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Hoag Hospital Foundation has been granted the rights to manage the Breakers through 2009 by WTT with profits from the team's operations for the season benefiting Hoag Hospital.



World TeamTennis Stories from March 31, 2009


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.

Other Recent Orange County Breakers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central