Sports stats

WTT Washington Kastles

Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sam Querrey Lead 2011 Kastles

February 15, 2011 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Serena and Venus Williams will lead the charge for Coach Murphy Jensen in 2011 as he and the Washington Kastles seek a second World TeamTennis title in the last three years. The Williams sisters and Top 20 men's player Sam Querrey were acquired by the Kastles during Tuesday's Marquee Player Draft. Querrey was drafted by the Kastles after they acquired the first round Marquee Draft pick of the Springfield Lasers for cash consideration and a swap of a later pick.

One year younger than Venus, Serena Williams is one of the most dominant players in the history of professional tennis. From the 2002 French Open through the 2003 Australian Open, she won all four Grand Slam singles titles consecutively. She is 13-3 in Grand Slam singles finals overall - with two of her three losses coming against big-sister Venus. Despite missing the last seven months with a foot injury, Serena is still the 12th-ranked player in the world.

Were it not for Serena, Venus Williams would have likely emerged as the greatest women's player of the 21st century. The 30-year-old is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and a two-time US Open singles champion. To go with her seven major singles titles, Venus is also a seven-time runner-up. She lost to little sister Serena in six of those seven finals.

But there are benefits to having a world-class sibling. The Williams sisters have won all 12 Grand Slam women's doubles finals that they've reached - including four consecutive majors from Wimbledon in 2009 through the 2010 French Open. Altogether, Serena and Venus have combined to win 48 major titles in 61 finals (see below for more on their major dominance.)

This is Serena's fourth season with the Kastles and Venus's second with the team.

Their countryman Querrey is one of the biggest hitters in tennis. The 6-foot-6 Californian set a world record during the 2007 US Open Series by hitting 10 consecutive aces in a match against James Blake. Eight months later, he joined the Florida Marlins for a round of batting practice and hit two home runs at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

On the court, Querrey reached a career-high ranking of No. 17 last month. The 23-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, winning four ATP World Tour titles on four different surfaces (indoor hard, outdoor hard, clay and grass). Querrey also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Among those expected to battle the Kastles this summer in Washington are two of the most recognizable names in the history of tennis - John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova - both of whom have built intense rivalries with the Kastles from their previous appearances in Kastles Stadium.

McEnroe will lead the New York Sportimes into Kastles Stadium this summer for a much-anticipated Eastern Conference showdown.

Kastles fans will remember McEnroe from the now-infamous "Rumble at the Capital" match during the 2009 season. The Kastles and the Sportimes met at Kastles Stadium and tempers erupted between McEnroe, the Sportimes' Robert Kendrick and the Kastles' Leander Paes and Rennae Stubbs. WTT officials fined each team for their verbal sparring during the highly charged match and the incident was featured on ESPN as the play of the week. You can relive that moment by clicking here.

McEnroe coined the catch-phrase and wrote the best-selling book, "You Cannot Be Serious," following a career marked by meltdowns and major titles. A seven-time Grand Slam champion, McEnroe's accuracy on serve and touch off the ground helped him to an 82-3 record in 1984. Besides broadcasting duties, Johnny Mac continues playing tennis on the ATP Champions Tour.

Like McEnroe, Kournikova is still the object of the affection of fans worldwide, even though she played her last pro match in 2003. The Russian will be paying the Kastles a visit this July as a member of the St. Louis Aces.

Playing girls four years older than her, a 14-year-old Kournikova won the prestigious Orange Bowl junior tournament in 1995. By the end of 1996, she was in the WTA Top 60. When she reached the 1997 Wimbledon semifinals, Kournikova-mania reached full force. The subject of Internet searches and magazine covers, Kournikova peaked at No. 8 in singles and No. 1 in doubles. She and Martina Hingis won the Australian Open doubles title in 1999 and 2002.

The remaining members of the 2011 Washington Kastles will be determined on March 15th during the WTT Roster Player Draft.

The Washington Kastles Grand Slam Honor Roll

Serena Williams

Singles Champion (13) - 2010: Australian Open, Wimbledon; 2009: Australian Open, Wimbledon; 2008: US Open; 2007: Australian Open; 2005: Australian Open; 2003: Australian Open, Wimbledon; 2002: French Open, Wimbledon, US Open; 1999: US Open

Singles Runner-up (3) - 2008: Wimbledon; 2004: Wimbledon; 2001: US Open

Mixed Doubles Champion (2) - 1998: Wimbledon, US Open (w/Max Mirnyi)

Mixed Doubles Runner-up (2) - 1999: Australian Open (w/Max Mirnyi); 1998 - French Open (w/Luis Lobo)

Venus Williams

Singles Champion (7) - 2008: Wimbledon; 2007: Wimbledon; 2005: Wimbledon; 2001: Wimbledon, US Open; 2000: Wimbledon, US Open

Singles Runner-up (7) - 2009: Wimbledon; 2003: Australian Open, Wimbledon; 2002: French Open, Wimbledon, US Open; 1997: US Open

Mixed Doubles Champion (2) - 1998: Australian Open, French Open (w/Justin Gimelstob)

Mixed Doubles Runner-up (1) - 2006: Wimbledon (w/Bob Bryan)

Serena and Venus Williams

Women's Doubles Champions (12) - 2010: Australian Open, French Open; 2009: Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open; 2008: Wimbledon; 2003: Australian Open; 2002: Wimbledon; 2001: Australian Open; 2000: Wimbledon; 1999: French Open, US Open

Rennae Closes Out Professional Career; Vika Leads Belarus to Fed Cup Success

Photo by Max Cook

It's only been two weeks, but three members of the 2010 Washington Kastles couldn't wait to get back on the courts after the Australian Open, one for the last time.

Rennae Stubbs played her final professional match on Feb. 6 to cap Australia's Fed Cup tie against Italy. It was a bittersweet day for the 39-year-old. Italy had already won the deciding point of the tie before Stubbs and Anastasia Rodionova took the court to play Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Though Stubbs and Rodionova started strongly, they fell to Errani and Vinci 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.

"What emotions don't I have," Stubbs said after the match. "It was a very emotional weekend. I was trying not to think about it at all... My teammates have been ultra-supportive. I think nobody's really wanted to talk about it until now. Fed Cup has been one of the more joyous moments of my career. Every single time I've put on the green and gold, I've loved it."

Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka led the Belarusian Fed Cup team to a 4-0 record in the Europe/Africa round-robin event held in Israel February 2-5. Azarenka did not drop a set in singles action, defeating Sybille Bammer of Austria, Jelena Pandzic of Serbia, Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. Thanks to Vika's singles success, Belarus will host Estonia April 16-17 for the right to play in World Group II next season.

"I can't describe how happy we all are to win today and pass the group!!!" Vika tweeted on February 5th. "I'm so proud of my team and my country!! Go Belarus!!!!"

After falling in the final round of the Australian Open qualifying event, Bobby Reynolds flew to Honolulu. But he wasn't there for a vacation; he was in Hawaii to compete at a USTA Pro Circuit Challenger. Reynolds defeated Sam Groth and Austin Krajicek before falling in a final-set tiebreak to countryman Alex Kuznetsov in the quarterfinals. Reynolds also reached the quarterfinals of the doubles draw with Travis Parrott.

Follow Kastles Coach Murphy Jensen on His New Website!

Photo by Andrew Riddle

Hey Kastles Fans! Check out and subscribe to Coach Murphy's new website and social network! It's the best way to keep track of the former Grand Slam winner, international tennis personality and the coach of your Washington Kastles!

Have You Joined the Kastles' Facebook and Twitter Pages

Photo by Max Cook

Hey Kastles fans, have you joined the Kastles Facebook and Twitter pages yet If you have, you could have followed all the action of today's Marquee Draft on Facebook or Twitter where you will always get the latest Kastles news first.

The Kastles post real-time scores, results and updates on Facebook and Twitter to get the news to you as it happens. Plus, the Kastles post Special Offers, pictures, videos and news all throughout the year, giving fans a front-row seat to everything Kastles!

So what are you waiting for Click here to "Like" the Kastles Facebook page and click here to "Follow" the Kastles on Twitter today!

KASTLES 2011 SEASON

The 2011 WTT season runs from July 5-24!

Stay tuned for the announcement of the Kastles 2011 match schedule!



World TeamTennis Stories from February 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