Sports stats



WTT Washington Kastles

Serena, Bouchard Injuries Force WTT Withdrawal; Kastles at Freedoms on ESPN3 Tonight

July 20, 2015 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Washington Kastles regretfully announce that Serena Williams (July 21) and the Boston Lobsters' Eugenie Bouchard (July 29) are unable to compete at Kastles Stadium this season due to injuries they sustained recently in tournament play.

Neither player will compete in Mylan World TeamTennis this season because of their respective injuries. Williams is also missing a Kastles road match against the Philadelphia Freedoms tonight, while Bouchard is missing Lobsters' matches July 27 in Boston and July 28 in Philadelphia.

Williams cited a right elbow injury when she withdrew from last week's Swedish Open, then posted on Facebook that she would be taking a week off. Bouchard is still nursing an abdominal muscle injury that forced her withdrawal on June 24 from the WTA event in Eastbourne, England.

Wimbledon women's and mixed doubles champion Martina Hingis, who is ranked No. 2 in the world in doubles, has been added to the Kastles lineup on July 29.

Madison Brengle, the 39th-ranked singles player in the world, is substituting for Williams in the nationally-televised match at Kastles Stadium tomorrow night. Fans attending tomorrow's Kastles match can choose from one of the following special offers:

* $10 credit at food concessions

* 50% off Kastles gear up to a $50 purchase

* Free Grandstand ticket to a Kastles match on July 26, 27 or 29

Fans will receive a voucher upon entry to Kastles Stadium that they will then be asked to turn in when redeeming one of the special offers.

The $10 credit at food concessions is good towards anything on the menu. There will be three combos specially priced for the evening at $10 that include a soda, bottled water or sports drink:

* Beef & Bleu Cheese Wrap and Drink Choice

* Kastle Dog, Waffle Fries and Drink Choice

* Roasted Pepper Hummus & Spicy Feta Dip Platter and Drink Choice

Representing the Kastles against the Lobsters tomorrow are Brengle, 16-time Grand Slam doubles champion Leander Paes, 34th-ranked Sam Querrey and Top 25 doubles player Anastasia Rodionova. Representing the Kastles against the Lobsters on July 29 are Hingis, Paes, Querrey and Rodionova.

In addition to the action on court, children 12 and under will receive a free tennis racquet before each match (while supplies last) and kids 16 and under are invited onto the court following the matches for autographs from all participating players.

For questions, please contact the Kastles office at 202-4-TENNIS (483-6647) or info@washingtonkastles.com.

Washington Kastles at Philadelphia Freedoms Preview

Watch Live Streaming of Kastles' Road Match on ESPN3

Washington Kastles (4-2) at Philadelphia Freedoms (1-6)

Monday, July 20 at 7 pm

Live Streaming: ESPN3.com

Live Scoring: WashingtonKastles.com

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

The Kastles and Philadelphia Freedoms meet for the third time in four days tonight at 7 pm. Live streaming of the road match is available on ESPN3.com.

Big-serving American Sam Querrey debuts for Washington and will play the remainder of the Mylan WTT season. The World No. 34 has won seven singles and four doubles titles on the ATP World Tour.

Also playing for the Kastles this evening is Madison Brengle, who thought on Saturday that her Kastles season was over. But after going 4-1 in singles last week, Brengle has been brought back to substitute for the injured Serena Williams.

On Friday in Philadelphia, the Kastles edged the Freedoms 21-20 by winning a final-set tiebreaker. Less than 24 hours later, Washington routed Philadelphia 23-6 in D.C., ending the match on a 16-0 run and setting a record for the lowest number of games ever won by a Kastles opponent.

The Freedoms have upgraded their roster for tonight's match as 10th-ranked doubles player Abigail Spears takes the place of 91st-ranked doubles player Asia Muhammad. Expect Spears to team with Taylor Townsend in women's doubles and French Open champion Marcelo Melo in mixed doubles.

SET-BY-SET PROJECTIONS

MS - S. Querrey (WAS) vs. R. Ginepri (PHL)

Robby Ginepri has not enjoyed his matches against the Kastles this season. Ginepri lost all four of his sets over the weekend to Washington, including 5-0 losses in both singles and doubles Saturday. It doesn't get any easier for Ginepri when he stares across the net at the 6-foot-6 Querrey tonight. The Americans have not met in more than five years, though Ginepri does own a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Querrey.

WS - M. Brengle (WAS) vs. T. Townsend (PHL)

Townsend should not be too thankful that she doesn't have to play against Serena Williams tonight. After all, it was just two days ago that Brengle won 14 of the first 15 points en route to a 5-0 shutout of Townsend. Brengle is just four spots off her career-high ranking of No. 35 in the world. Townsend, on the other hand, has fallen from No. 102 to No. 171 this year and is struggling with her confidence.

MD - L. Paes/S. Querrey (WAS) vs. R. Ginepri/M. Melo (PHL)

Paes and Denis Kudla were the hottest men's doubles team in Mylan WTT through the first week of the season. The Kastles captain will be hopeful that he can find the same chemistry with Querrey, who is not too shabby at doubles himself. Querrey is the World No. 47 doubles player, only 15 spots behind Paes in the most recent rankings. Ginepri and the third-ranked Melo are not meshing well and have lost four straight sets.

WD - M. Brengle/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. A. Spears/T. Townsend (PHL)

Brengle and Anastasia Rodionova enjoyed a 5-1 win over Townsend and Muhammad on Saturday. But there is no denying that Spears is a considerably better doubles player than Muhammad, winning 16 WTA doubles titles and reaching the last two US Open mixed doubles finals. The Kastles had most of their success on Saturday hitting hard and flat towards Townsend at the net. That strategy still applies this evening.

MXD - L. Paes/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. M. Melo/A. Spears (PHL)

Martina Hingis isn't back for another two matches, so coach Murphy Jensen has to hope that Paes and Rodionova get their groove back in mixed doubles. In 2012, they were 7-1. Since then, they are 2-6 and have lost three straight sets. To their advantage, Melo and Spears have no experience as a team and should be vulnerable at the start. Melo and Townsend defeated Paes and Rodionova 5-2 Friday and 5-3 Saturday.

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

World TeamTennis Stories from July 20, 2015


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