New York Empire (tennis)

New York Empire
Sport Team tennis
Founded February 17, 2016 (2016-02-17)
Current season 2016
League World TeamTennis
Team history New York Empire
2016–present
Based in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York
Stadium Forest Hills Stadium
(capacity: 2,500)
Colors Midnight express blue and carrot orange
         
Owner(s) NY TeamTennis LLC
represented by Michael Coakley
President Angela Martin
Head coach Patrick McEnroe
General Manager Colleen Hopkins
Championships None
Playoff berths None
Website www.nyempiretennis.com

The New York Empire is a World TeamTennis (WTT) team that plays its home matches at Forest Hills Stadium in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York in the United States of America.

Team history

Founding of franchise

On February 17, 2016, WTT announced that the league would return to New York City for the 2016 season. The Empire would play its home matches at historic Forest Hills Stadium. The 14,000-seat stadium was to be reconfigured to seat approximately 2,500 fans for Empire home matches. Concurrent with that announcement, the league also reported that the newly formed Empire had acquired the rights to former world number 1 male player Andy Roddick in a trade with the Orange County Breakers. Patrick McEnroe, who is from Long Island, was named the team's head coach.[1][2][3][4]

Inaugural season

The Empire struggled to a record of 2 wins and 10 losses in its inaugural season and finished last in the WTT standings.

The Empire made its debut on July 31, 2016, with a home match against the five-time defending WTT champion Washington Kastles. The match opened with Guido Pella and Neal Skupski dropping a men's doubles tiebreaker. The Empire managed to win only one set, when Pella took the men's singles, 5–2. The Kastles won the match, 22–15.[5]

Skupski had been signed to replace Oliver Marach on the roster, after Marach was selected to represent Austria at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[6][7] The Empire also lost Pella, who represented Argentina at the 2016 Summer Olympics, after he appeared in the first three matches of the season. He was replaced by Long Island native Noah Rubin for one match, Daniel Nguyen for two matches and Marcus Willis for the remainder of the season.[8][9][10]

After opening the season with three straight losses, the Empire secured the first win in franchise history on August 4, 2016, when it defeated the Springfield Lasers, 19–15, at Forest Hills Stadium. Rubin teamed with Skupski to take the opening set of men's doubles, 5–2. After dropping the second and third sets, the Empire found itself trailing, 12–9. In the fourth set, New Jersey native Christina McHale and María Irigoyen held all three of their service games while breaking Michaëlla Krajicek and Pauline Parmentier twice for a 5–1 women's doubles set win that gave the Empire a 14–13 lead heading to the final set. Irigoyen and Skupski held all four of their service games and managed a break to win the fifth set of mixed doubles, 5–2, and close out the victory.[11]

Andy Roddick appeared in two matches and lost both of his men's singles sets. Statistically, Pella was the team's strongest player, winning 65% of his men's singles games and 53% of his men's doubles games. Willis was also solid in men's singles, winning 54% of his games. After a difficult start during which McHale lost 36 of her first 48 women's singles games, she finished the season by winning 15 of her final 24 games. Playing men's singles and doubles in his only match appearance, Rubin recorded wins in 9 of his 16 games.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mylan World TeamTennis 2016 Season Includes Return to New York City, Expanded Broadcast Coverage". World TeamTennis. February 17, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Mylan World TeamTennis to Return to New York for 2016 Season". New York Empire. February 17, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ Schwartz, Peter (February 19, 2016). "Tennis Set to Return to Iconic Forest Hills Stadium". CBS New York. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Mylan World Team Tennis Introduces New York Empire". Long Island Tennis Magazine. February 17, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ Milani, Jerry (July 31, 2016). "NY Empire Drop WTT Opener, 22-15". NY Sports Day. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ "2015 Male Rookie of the Year Neal Skupski Named to New York Empire for Inaugural Mylan World TeamTennis Season: Rising British Doubles Specialist Replaces Oliver Marach, Who Will Now be Representing Austria in the Rio Olympics". New York Empire. July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Skupski Replaces Olympics-Bound Marach on NY Empire Roster". Long Island Tennis Magazine. July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Local Star, Wimbledon Junior Champion Noah Rubin, Southern California Native Daniel Nguyen Added to New York Empire Roster for Select Matches Next Week". New York Empire. July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  9. ↑ Williams, Jeff (July 29, 2016). "World Team Tennis Returns to NY Sunday Night". Newsday. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ McGrogan, Ed (August 9, 2016). "Willis, Federer Each Had Reason to Celebrate on Aug. 8". Tennis. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Empire Beat Lasers 19-15 to Notch First Win in Franchise History". Long Island Tennis Magazine. August 4, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  12. ↑ "2016 New York Empire Stats". World TeamTennis. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
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