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| The Bryan Brothers join the Washington Kastles this summer |
From our friends at the Washington Kastles...
Bryan Brothers Join Kastles’ Quest for Unprecedented Sixth Straight WTT Championship
Martina Hingis, Leander Paes, Sam Querrey, Anastasia Rodionova, Madison Brengle return with new Kastle Mardy Fish to Defend Title
The winningest all-time men’s doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan, will join the Washington Kastles this summer as the team seeks its record-breaking sixth Mylan World TeamTennis title in a row and seventh in eight seasons. With a career-high singles ranking of World No. 7, six career singles titles and eight career doubles titles, Mardy Fish also debuts for the team this season to round out Head Coach Murphy Jensen's squad.
The winningest all-time men’s doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan, will join the Washington Kastles this summer as the team seeks its record-breaking sixth Mylan World TeamTennis title in a row and seventh in eight seasons. With a career-high singles ranking of World No. 7, six career singles titles and eight career doubles titles, Mardy Fish also debuts for the team this season to round out Head Coach Murphy Jensen's squad.
For the first time in WTT’s 40-year history, the Kastles, led by three-time WTT Coach of the Year Murphy Jensen, are seeking a fifth straight King Trophy as WTT champions with an all-star roster featuring Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Denis Kudla, Leander Paes, Sam Querrey, Anastasia Rodionova and Madison Brengle.
The Bryan brothers and Fish will represent Washington at Kastles Stadium at the Smith Center during the 41st Mylan WTT regular season, which begins on July 31. The Bryans have never played WTT in Washington, DC, but on August 1st, 2016, Kastles fans will have a chance to see the most successful duo in tennis play for the first time in Kastles Stadium at the Smith Center.
“We are so pumped to join the Kastles and help them win a sixth straight championship,” Bob Bryan said following Friday’s Mylan WTT Draft. “The entire Washington community has embraced the team and we know the atmosphere in their stadium is unreal. We can’t wait to play there on August 1st.”
The Bryan brothers and Fish will be joined by five members of the 2015 championship team: Martina Hingis, Leander Paes, Sam Querrey, Madison Brengle, and Anastasia Rodionova. The 2015 Kastles capped another successful season and maintained their perfect all-time playoff record; 12-0 since 2009.
Bob and Mike Bryan are Mylan WTT veterans, having made their league debut in 1999. That season, the pair faced off in a doubles match against another set of brothers - the Kastles’ own three-time WTT Coach of the Year Murphy and brother Luke Jensen. The 2016 season will be number 14 for Bob and Mike.
The Bryans have become the single most dominant doubles team in the history of the men’s game. The pair brought home Olympic gold medals in 2012. Ten times they have finished the season as the World No. 1 doubles pair. In total, they have spent 438 weeks at World No. 1 in doubles and collected 16 grand slam titles playing as a pair, more than any other men’s team in the Open Era. The Bryans are also the only doubles pairing in the Open Era to hold all four major titles at once.
Kastles Captain Leander Paes, 2015 WTT Finals MVP and owner of 17 grand slam doubles titles, and Martina Hingis, who paired with seven-time Kastle Paes to win three of four mixed doubles grand slams in 2015, will return to lead the Kastles this year.
Currently ranked World No. 1 in doubles and coming off a recent 41-match winning streak, Hall-of-Famer Hingis will reunite with 22nd-ranked doubles player Anastasia Rodionova in women's doubles. Hingis earned recognition as the WTT Finals MVP in 2014, while Rodionova brought home the WTT Female Co-MVP award last year. A Kastle since 2012, Rodionova won women's doubles sets during each of the last four Mylan WTT championship matches.
“I am thrilled to come back for my fourth season with the Kastles,” said Hingis. “Playing alongside my teammates under Murphy’s leadership and in front of our Washington fans has been an incredible experience. Washington feels like a second home to me. I can’t wait to bring home another King Trophy.”
World No. 38 Sam Querrey and World No. 57 Madison Brengle each debuted for the Kastles in 2015 and both will return to the squad for the 2016 season. The big-serving Querrey has won eight singles titles on the ATP World Tour, including the Delray Open in February, and boasts career-high rankings of No. 17 in singles and No. 23 in doubles.
Brengle, meanwhile, is a rising star on the women’s circuit. In 2015, she easily transferred that success to Mylan WTT. She led the Kastles in women’s singles by playing a team-high 57 games, including a victory in the championship-clinching game in a 24-18 extended play win over the Austin Aces at Kastles Stadium at the Smith Center.
American former top-ten player Mardy Fish will round out the team this year. Fish will add significant experience to the Washington roster. He joins the Kastles in an Olympics season after having captured the silver medal in singles at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
"The 2016 team is a perfect mix of our Kastles fan favorites with the addition of some incredible new players," said Kastles owner Mark Ein. "The core of the 2015 team - which was probably our best lineup ever - is returning, and we have added the greatest doubles team of all time in the Bryan brothers. This team is built to win a championship and make our community proud.”
Kastles Stadium at the Smith Center hosts six regular season matches July 31 - August 13, with the full schedule expected to be released later this month.
The first place finishers in the Eastern and Western Conferences will meet at the Mylan WTT Finals on August 27 in New York City.
Single-match Kastles tickets go on sale this spring. In the meantime, fans are encouraged to secure season tickets to see the Bryan brothers, Hingis, Paes, and the rest of the Kastles crew. A limited number of four-seat VIP tables and boxes are available, as well as individual seats with spectacular views in the Kastles Baseline Experience and Kastles Baseline Club. Season tickets start at $150 and can be purchased by calling (202) 4-TENNIS (483-6647).
Founded in 2008 by local entrepreneur Mark Ein, the Washington Kastles have won five consecutive Mylan World TeamTennis titles and six overall. In 2011 and 2012, they completed the only perfect seasons in the league's 41-year history. In 2013, Washington extended its winning streak to 34 matches, setting a new major U.S. pro sports record. The team's mission is to bring the Washington, D.C. community together, make tennis accessible to everyone in the Greater Washington area and actively support local charitable partners. To that end, the Kastles provide ticket or racquet donations to nearly 200 charitable, military and civic organizations each year. Learn more about the team by visiting WashingtonKastles.com.
About Mylan World TeamTennis:
Mylan World TeamTennis is the innovative leader in professional team tennis competition and features many of the world’s best players competing annually for the King Trophy, the league’s championship trophy named after co-founder Billie Jean King. In 2015, Mylan WTT became only the fifth major professional team sports league in the United States to reach the 40th season mark, joining an elite list that includes the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
