(Austin will be the home team and decide order of play due to their better regular season record.)
August 2 – 11:30 a.m. EASTERN – Kastles Stadium at the Smith Center in Washington, DC
ESPN3 Live Stream: August 2 – 11:30 am ET / 10:30 am CT
ESPN2 Live Coverage joins in progress at 1 pm ET / 12 pm CT
The most compelling rivalry of Mylan WTT’s 40th season converges at the Smith Center for a fourth match in 2015, this time to decide who walks away with the King Trophy. Looking to capture a first-ever five-peat are the Washington Kastles, who have won the title in five of the last six years (two after undefeated seasons). The Kastles faced some struggles to start, but have looked better since Martina Hingis rejoined the squad late in the second week. Washington plays host to the Austin Aces, the first team to finish the regular season with a better record than the Kastles since 2010. The Aces have reached their first Mylan WTT Finals after two seasons in the professional team tennis league, and the all-rookie team began the season in the kind of dominant fashion typically displayed by the Kastles. Taking out the four-time defending champions in their second match of 2015, Austin stretched a winning streak to eight before winning their final five matches including the Western Conference Championship tilt against the California Dream.
Austin leads the overall head-to-head, 2-1, first surprising the Kastles at home, 22-17 on July 14 with victories in three disciplines, only for the Kastles to hit back on Austin’s home turf for a 22-14 reversal on July 24. In their most recent encounter, Aces wildcard Elina Svitolina led the Aces to a topsy-turvy 19-16 win to gain the ascendency. Each team played emphatic tennis to dispatch their respective Conference Championships opponents. The Kastles eased past the Philadelphia Freedoms, 25-9, to claim their fifth consecutive Eastern crown, while the Aces fought off a late start time to win all five sets against the California Dream, 25-14, winning their first title in the West.
2015 TEAM RANKINGS (regular season):
Men’s Singles: Aces – 1st, Kastles – 2nd
Women’s Singles: Aces – 2nd, Kastles – 4th
Men’s Doubles: Aces – 2nd, Kastles – 1st
Women’s Doubles: Aces – 3rd, Kastles – 1st
Mixed Doubles: Aces – 2nd, Kastles – 4th
MYLAN WTT CHAMPIONSHIPS WON BY FINALS TEAMS:
Austin Aces: 0 (first Mylan WTT Finals appearance)
Washington Kastles: 5 - 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
MYLAN WTT CHAMPIONSHIPS WON BY FINALS PARTICIPANTS:
Leander Paes (WAS): 5 - 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (w/Washington)
Martina Hingis (WAS): 3 - 2005 (w/New York Sportimes), 2013, 2014 (w/Washington)
Anastasia Rodionova (WAS): 3 - 2012, 2013, 2014 (w/Washington)
Murphy Jensen (WAS coach): 5 - 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (all w/Washington)
Rick Leach (AUS coach): 1 – 1996 (w/St. Louis Aces)
Mylan WTT Finals - TEAM ROSTERS:
Austin Aces
Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)
Jarmere Jenkins (USA)
Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)
Elina Svitolina (UKR)
Coach: Rick Leach (USA)
Washington Kastles
Martina Hingis (SUI)
Leander Paes (IND)
Sam Querrey (USA)
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)
Madison Brengle (USA)
Coach: Murphy Jensen (USA)
2015 HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS:
The cumulative game total in three matches between Kastles and Aces is 55-55.
July 14, 2015 - Austin Aces def. WASHINGTON KASTLES 22-17
July 24, 2015 - Washington Kastles def. AUSTIN ACES 22-14
July 28, 2015 - AUSTIN ACES def. Washington Kastles 19-16
(Note: Austin is the top-seeded team and will determine set order one hour before the match.)
Men’s Singles – Teymuraz Gabashvili (Aces) vs. Sam Querrey (Kastles)
Teymuraz Gabashvili, ranked No. 1 in Mylan WTT this season in men's singles, will face off against Sam Querrey for the third time this season. Querrey joined the Kastles roster during the second week of the season and has been an expert closer in the Kastles’ last two wins, sealing both sets, 5-0. Gabashvili has been a revelation in the Mylan WTT format, taking home the Male MVP Award presented by Forevermark for his efforts across all men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed, but the Russian has had his best results in the former, closing out the Aces’ closest match of the season in a 7-1 Supertiebreaker. Gabashvili and Querrey have split their two sets this season; the American first beat the Russian 5-3 to clinch the Kastles’ first win over the Aces on July 24, only for Gabashvili to turn the tide in emphatic fashion -- winning 5-0 en route to the Aces’ most recent win over Washington on July 28.
Women’s Singles – Elina Svitolina (Aces) vs. Madison Brengle (Kastles)
Elina Svitolina was a late addition to the Aces squad, but has helped her team to three wins leading into the Mylan WTT Finals -- including a 5-1 defeat of Brengle to clinch their most recent victory over the Kastles on July 28. Brengle has otherwise been a tough out in women’s singles as the No. 2 in the league; the American was in solid form to take out 2015 Wimbledon quarterfinalist CoCo Vandeweghe 5-2 en route to the Kastles win over the Freedoms at the Eastern Conference Championship. In Austin, Svitolina was even more ruthless in taking out California Dream’s Jarka Gajdosova, 5-1, at the Western Conference Championship on July 30. Though she may be more of a doubles priority for the Kastles, Martina Hingis remains an option in women’s singles, as well, having won her most recent set, 5-1.
Men’s Doubles – Teymuraz Gabashvili/Jarmere Jenkins (Aces) vs. Sam Querrey/Leader Paes (Kastles)
Gabashvili and Jenkins swept past the Kastles in men’s doubles during their first victory on July 14, but the Kastles have been more business-like in their current formation, winning the last two on July 24 and July 28. The Aces have played the same men’s doubles pairing throughout the season, and are the second best team in the league behind Querrey and Paes. The Kastles have won their last eight sets of men’s doubles ahead of the Mylan WTT Finals, including a 5-2 win over reigning French Open men’s doubles champion Marcelo Melo and Robby Ginepri.
Women’s Doubles - Alla Kudryavtseva/Elina Svitolina (Aces) vs. Martina Hingis/Anastasia Rodionova (Kastles)
Both Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova boast two of the top winning percentages women's doubles this season, and have helped the Kastles maintain the No. 1 spot in the discipline as the 2015 season headed into the finals stretch. These two teams have yet to face one another, but Hingis and Rodionova have nearly three full seasons under their belts, where Svitolina and Kudryavtseva -- the 2015 Mylan WTT Female Rookie of the Year -- have played just four sets together, winning three. At the Western Conference Championship on July 30, Kudryavtseva and Svitolina eased past Jarka Gajdosova and 2015 Mylan WTT Female co-MVP Anabel Medina Garrigues of the California Dream, 5-3, while Hingis and Rodionova edged Taylor Townsend and CoCo Vandeweghe on the same day in the East.
Mixed Doubles – Alla Kudryavtseva/Teymuraz Gabashvili (Aces) vs. Martina Hingis/Leander Paes (Kastles)
These two teams have played one another just once during Mylan WTT’s 40th season; Hingis and Paes began the Kastles’ only regular season victory over the Austin Aces with a 5-3 mixed doubles set over Gabashvili and Kudryavtseva on July 24. Back at the start of the season, it was the Russian pair who took mixed against Paes and Venus Williams to take out the Kastles and catapult them into the King Trophy hunt. Hingis and Paes have been clinically efficient, including a 5-1 thrashing of Marcelo Melo and Taylor Townsend during the Eastern Conference Championship on July 30. Kudryavtseva and Gabashvili have played together for all but one match in 2015, and have been the second best mixed doubles team in the league thanks to their expert communication and relentless aggression.