Category: World Team Tennis

Boris Becker in action on a 2005 Hartford FoxForce pocket schedule from World Team Tennis

Hartford FoxForce

February 16, 2014

The Hartford FoxForce were members of Billie Jean King’s summer time World Team Tennis promotion for seven summers between 2000 and 2006. WTT clubs often had appearance deals with one or two big name stars each summer who generated much of the team’s ticket sales heat. Notable names to suit up for the FoxForce over the years included Boris Becker, James Blake and Monica Seles. The FoxForce held their matches initially at the Hartford State Armory and later in an arena at the Blue Fox Run Golf Course.

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1986 World Team Tennis Media Guide

Corpus Christi Advantage

November 22, 2013

The Corpus Christi Advantage were an especially obscure One-Year Wonder from Billie Jean King’s World Team Tennis league.  Or, as it was known during Corpus Christi’s lone season in the circuit in 1986:  Domino’s Pizza TeamTennis. The TeamTennis format called for four-person teams consisting of two male and two female players.  A match included one set each of men’s and women’s singles, one set each of men’s and women’s doubles and one set of mixed doubles. The Advantage did not return to the league for a second season in 1987.

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1974 Denver Racquets Pinback Button from World Team Tennis

Denver Racquets

September 14, 2013

The Denver Racquets were one of 16 teams that competed during the debut season of World Team Tennis in the summer of 1974.  World Team Tennis was a co-ed sports league promoted by women’s superstar Billie Jean King.  Each club consisted of three male and three female players. The Racquets played out of Denver Auditorium Arena. After a slow start to the season, the Racquets caught fire late and upset King’s own Philadelphia Freedoms team in the championship finals. The Racquets would not defend their title, however, as the franchise move to Phoenix under new ownership for the 1975 season.

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1988 World Team Tennis Program

Portland Panthers

August 28, 2013

The Portland (Oregon) Panthers played two quiet seasons in Domino’s Pizza TeamTennis (better known as World Team Tennis) in the summers of 1988 and 1989.
The Team Tennis format, at the time, featured four-person rosters with two male and two female players.  The Panthers’ best known player was Dianne Balestrat, better known during her 1970’s heyday as Dianne Fromholtz. The Aussie ranked in the world top ten for women’s singles from 1976 to 1979.

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1994 World Team Tennis Program

Phoenix Smash

August 25, 2013

The Phoenix Smash of World Team Tennis were a summer co-ed tennis promotion during the early 1990’s. The Smash were operated by the Colangelo family, owners of the NBA Phoenix Suns, and played at the Suns’ brand new home, America West Arena. Despite ranking first in World Team Tennis attendance every season with a roster that included American superstar Jimmy Connors, the Smash were less popular than Colangelo’s other summer properties in the new arena. The Smash struggled to get decent dates as a result and the promotion shut down after a three-season run.

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