WTT Philadelphia Freedoms

Philadelphia's Lisa Raymond Selected By Philadelphia Freedoms In Roster Player Draft

March 15, 2011 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Philadelphia Freedoms News Release


(PHILADELPHIA, Pa.) The Philadelphia Freedoms added four outstanding players to their 2011 team during today's World TeamTennis Roster Draft. Roster players added to the team include former world no. 1 doubles player Lisa Raymond, rising American Beatrice Capra, a WTT rookie, Brendan Evans and local resident Nathan Healey. Raymond, Capra, Evans and Healey join American teen phenom Melanie Oudin on the 2011 roster.

The roster players will compete with last month's announced marquee player visits from Venus Williams of the Washington Kastles (July 6), Lindsay Davenport of the St. Louis Aces (July 12), John McEnroe of the New York Sportimes and the Freedoms' Melanie Oudin (July 13) and Bob and Mike Bryan of the Kansas City Explorers (July 19). All Freedoms home matches are played indoors at the Pavilion at Villanova University with a start time of 7:05 p.m. The Philadelphia Freedoms play seven matches at home during the WTT regular season on July 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 18 and 19.

Local Wayne, Pa., native and former world no. 1 doubles player Lisa Raymond was selected in the Roster Exempt Draft which preceded the regular Roster Draft today. She holds seven Grand Slam doubles titles - three women's and four mixed - and was a member of the 2004 Olympic Team playing doubles with Martina Navratilova. Raymond has been a member of Freedoms for eight of the past ten years.

Raymond celebrated her return to the team saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of the Philadelphia Freedoms team again this year. As a local resident, playing for my home team on my home court is as good as it gets. Philly is a great sports town and I am proud to be a part of it."

The Freedoms selected Beatrice Capra as their first round draft pick. Capra will be playing for Duke University next fall and 2011 marks her first World TeamTennis season. She competed in her first main draw Grand Slam tournament at the 2010 US Open where she advanced to the third round before falling to former world no. 1 player Maria Sharapova.

Brendan Evans reached a career-high combined no. 2 ranking while on the junior circuit. At that time he scored three out of four Grand Slam doubles titles with partner Scott Oudesma at the US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon. 2011 will mark Evans' first season of WTT competition.

Reading, Pa. resident, Nathan Healey, was the fourth round draft pick for the Freedoms. He again joins his 2009 Freedoms teammate Lisa Raymond on the 2011 roster. This Australian native player is the winner of three doubles titles and currently leads the tennis academy at White Manor Country Club. Healey also served as the tennis coach for former world no. 1 player Lleyton Hewitt.

Last month Melanie Oudin was the Freedoms top pick in the WTT Marquee Player Draft. Oudin, making her Freedoms and WTT debut in 2011, burst onto the tennis scene as a qualifier at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, defeating former world no. 1 Jelena Jankovic before falling in the 4th round. She followed that with a remarkable run at the 2009 US Open, which included wins over Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova, becoming the youngest American Grand Slam quarterfinalist since Serena Williams in 1999. Oudin has been a stalwart for the U.S. Fed Cup team since 2009.



World TeamTennis Stories from March 15, 2011


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