The Philadelphia Freedoms is a tennis team currently competing in

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take ...

Overview

The team traces its origins to WTT's inaugural season, in 1974. The original team starred tennis legend and social pioneer

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

, who had beaten

Bobby Riggs Robert Larimore Riggs (February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis champion who was the World No. 1 amateur in 1939 and World No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December ...

in the " Battle of the Sexes" the previous year. Other members of the team were:

Fred Stolle Frederick Sydney Stolle, AO (born 8 October 1938) is an Australian former amateur world No. 1 tennis player and commentator. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Sto ...

(Australia),

Brian Fairlie Brian Fairlie (born 13 June 1948), is a retired tennis player from New Zealand. During his career from 1968 to 1979, he won four titles in doubles, all with the Egyptian player Ismail El Shafei, and 10 singles titles in the Open era (and at lea ...

(New Zealand),

Buster Mottram Christopher "Buster" Mottram (born 25 April 1955 in Kingston upon Thames) is an English former tennis player and UK number 1 who achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15 in February 1983. Mottram represented Great Britain in the D ...

(U.K.), Julie Anthony (US), Tory Ann Fretz (US),

Betsy Nagelsen Helen Elizabeth "Betsy" Nagelsen McCormack (born October 23, 1956) is an American former professional tennis player. Career Nagelsen was the world's top junior in 1973. She won the 1973 U.S. Champion Girls' 16 and under singles. She also won the ...

(US) and Kathy Kuykendall (US). Julie Anthony later married the owner of the team, Dick Butera, and they settled in Aspen, Colorado, where she practices as a sports psychologist. Nagelsen married the late Mark McCormack, the founder and chairman of International Management Group. McCormack who represented Tiger Woods and

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

amongst others, was often referred to as one of the most powerful men in sports. Mottram was a controversial figure who spoke publicly about his extreme right wing views and made unsuccessful attempts to become a Conservative candidate for the British Parliament. Stolle was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985. Fretz was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999. Pop singer Elton John was a friend of Billie Jean King's, and was invited to participate in a promotional match during one of the team's games. In return, he was later inspired to write a song about King, also called " Philadelphia Freedom." In 1974, the Freedoms had the league's best regular-season record, but were upset by the Denver Racquets in the championship game. The following year, the Freedoms merged with the

Boston Lobsters The Boston Lobsters were a World TeamTennis team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Lobsters played home matches at the Walter Brown Arena, Boston University, in Boston, MA. The most recent Boston Lobsters were a reincarnation of two ...

. The current team joined WTT in 2001. Before the beginning of the 2008 season, the Philadelphia Freedoms announced they would be leaving their previous home at

Cabrini College Cabrini University is a private Roman Catholic university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, and was named after the first American naturalized citizen saint, Moth ...

. Their home matches would be played at a temporary tennis stadium that seated 3,000 in a parking lot outside the King of Prussia mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania (located near Philadelphia) from 2008 to 2009. From 2010 to 2016, the Freedoms played their home matches at The Pavilion on the campus of

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

. In 2017, the Freedoms home court moved to Hagan Arena on the campus of Saint Joseph's University, returning to play within the

City of Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...

for the first time since 1974.

Current roster

* Craig Kardon, Head Coach *

Caroline Dolehide Caroline Dolehide ( ; born September 5, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 102 in July 2018. Her best performances on the WTA Tour came in doubles at the 2019 and the 2022 US Opens ...

Taylor Townsend Taylor Townsend (born April 16, 1996) is an American professional tennis player. She reached career-high WTA rankings of world No. 61 in singles (July 2018) and No. 31 in doubles (December 2022). She also reached the doubles final of the 2022 U ...

Fabrice Martin Fabrice Martin (; born 11 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 228 on 23 July 2012, and his highest ATP doubles ranking, world No. 22, on 3 February 2020. Career 2019: ...

* Taylor Fritz *

Raquel Atawo Raquel Atawo (née Kops-Jones; born December 8, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player, who is currently the head woman's tennis coach for the Washington State Cougars. She is primarily a doubles specialist, winning 18 WTA doub ...

* Donald Young

2020 season

2019 season

During the 2019 WTT draft, the Freedoms protected Taylor Townsend, Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo. The Freedoms also drafted Adrian Menendez-Maceiras with the 7th pick in the first round. Later, the Freedoms signed Donald Young who was the 2017 French Open Men's Doubles finalist, Danielle Collins who was a Seminfalist at the

2019 Australian Open The 2019 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park from 14 to 27 January 2019. It was the 107th edition of the Australian Open, the 51st in the Open Era, and the first Grand Slam of the year. The tourn ...

, Grigor Dimitrov who has eight ATP Tour titles to his name, and Tommy Paul, who was #129th in the world in men's singles at the time of his signing.

2018 season

Led by returning coach and Coach of the Year, Craig Karden,

US Open (tennis) The US Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament held annually in Queens, New York. Since 1987, the US Open has been chronologically the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year. The other three, in chronological o ...

champion

Sloane Stephens Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3 after Wimbledon in 2018. Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion, and has won seven WTA Tour singles titles in ...

, WTT Male Rookie of the Year, Kevin King and returning fan favorite and WTT Female MVP

Taylor Townsend (tennis) Taylor Townsend (born April 16, 1996) is an American professional tennis player. She reached career-high WTA rankings of world No. 61 in singles (July 2018) and No. 31 in doubles (December 2022). She also reached the doubles final of the 2022 ...

, the Freedoms managed to put together a successful regular season by going 12-2 and qualifying for a spot in the championship. While the Freedom's played their home games at Hagan Arena at St. Joe's, the championship game was held at the

Daskalakis Athletic Center Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) is a athletic and recreational facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The facility is best known for its 2,509-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to multiple Drexel University Dragons sports teams includin ...

at Drexel University. The Freedom's took on the

Springfield Lasers The Springfield Lasers are a World TeamTennis franchise. The franchise was purchased and donated to the city of Springfield, Missouri by the Cooper family in 1996. They play their home matches at Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex. Hist ...

and lost the first two sets of the match in men's and women's doubles and went down 10-5 at the half. However, the Freedoms managed to re-take the lead 15-14 following two convincing wins in mixed doubles and a dominating woman's singles performance by Taylor Townsend. The championship came down to the final set in the form of men's singles where Kevin King took a 3-1 lead over

Miomir Kecmanović Miomir Kecmanović ( sr-Cyrl, Миомир Кецмановић, ; born 31 August 1999) is a Serbian professional tennis player. Kecmanović reached his best singles ranking of world No. 28 on 24 October 2022 and he peaked at world No. 161 on 16 ...

. However, Kecmanović stormed back and won four straight games including a break of King twice to give Lasers a 19-18 victory and a Championship.

2017 season

Led by 2017

champion

, 2017 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open in ...

and returning fan favorite Donald Young, the Freedoms played competitively, going into the final weekend of the season in playoff contention. Led by returning championship-winning coach Craig Kardon, the 2017 squad also featured familiar faces like

, in her third season with the Freedoms, and 2016

Male Rookie of the Year

, returning to dominate in men's and mixed doubles for the second consecutive season. The 2017 season also featured the WTT debut of sensational rookie Darian King, the highest-ranked professional tennis player in the history of Barbados. Freedoms fans were thrilled by a visiting appearance from tennis great Venus Williams (

Washington Kastles The Washington Kastles is one of eight franchises that compete in World TeamTennis. Based in Washington, D.C., since 2008, the Kastles won the WTT championship in the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons. The team is named for Kastle S ...

), who played in Philadelphia just weeks after reaching the final of the 2017 The Championships, Wimbledon.

2016 season

Led by recent world no. 1

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...

, past junior world no. 1 Donald Young, and returning fan favorite

CoCo Vandeweghe Colleen "CoCo" Vandeweghe ( ) (born Colleen Mullarkey; December 6, 1991) is an American professional tennis player. A former Junior US Open champion and top 10 singles player, she has also won two WTA titles, both at the Rosmalen Grass Court ...

, the Freedoms finished with a winning record once again in 2016. Led by fifth-year Head Coach Josh Cohen and returning Director of Player Development Craig Kardon, the towering tandem of 6’5”

and 6”2’

Naomi Broady Naomi Broady (; born 28 February 1990) is a British tennis player. She has won one WTA doubles title, as well as nine singles titles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 March 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of wor ...

were the top Mixed Doubles combination in

while Martin, Young, and Lukas Lacko combined for the second-best Men's Doubles record in the league. Broady and rookie American

Samantha Crawford Samantha Crawford (born February 18, 1995) is a former American tennis player. In her career, Crawford won one singles title and five doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. In July 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 98. ...

were a force to be reckoned with in Women's Doubles. Freedoms fans were also thrilled by a visiting appearance from tennis great

(

New York Empire (tennis) The New York Empire is a World TeamTennis (WTT) team that plays its home matches at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx, New York City. The team played its inaugural 2016 season at the Forest Hills Stadium in Forest Hills, ...

2015 season

Once again, the Freedoms hosted seven home matches at the Villanova Pavilion.

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

was drafted to play for the Washington Kastles at Philadelphia on July 20, 2015, but sustained an elbow injury that prevented her from playing. The Bryan Brothers and

Eugenie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; french: Eugénie Bouchard, ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam t ...

played for the California Dream and the Boston Lobsters, respectively, at Philadelphia in the last two home matches. The Freedoms made it into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Washington Kastles. In a game played on the Kastles' home court, the Freedoms lost 25-9 and fell short of making it into the championship match.

2014 season

The Philadelphia Freedoms played 14 regular season matches in the 2014 season, and hosted 7 of them at the Villanova Pavilion.

Victoria Azarenka Victória Fyódarauna Azárenka ( be, Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former w ...

played for the Freedoms against the San Diego Aviators;

also made an appearance at a home match, playing for the Austin Aces. The Freedoms made it into the playoffs but lost to the Washington Kastles before they could reach the Eastern Conference Finals, achieving their best season since 2007. Team member

Marcelo Melo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. The Italian version of the name is Marcello, differing in having an additional "l". Marcelo may refer to: * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapi ...

was named the 2014 WTT MVP.

2013 season

The Philadelphia Freedoms competed in 14 matches throughout the 2013

season. They hosted seven home matches at the Villanova Pavilion featuring marquee players including:

, John McEnroe, Martina Hingis and

Bob and Mike Bryan The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...

. Coached by Josh Cohen, the Freedoms fell short of a playoff run and ended the 2013 season with a record of 5-9. During the 2013 season, the Philadelphia Freedoms also welcomed a new member to their team. They unveiled their new mascot, Nettie, at their home opener against the

with the help of

co-founder

2012 season

The Philadelphia Freedoms competed in the 2012

season. The Freedoms hosted seven home matches at the Villanova Pavilion and competed in seven away matches. This season featured marquee players including: James Blake,

Ryan Harrison Ryan Harrison (born May 7, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. Harrison has won one career ATP title in singles at the 2017 Memphis Open to go along with four in doubles, including the 2017 French Open. Before turning 16, Harriso ...

, John McEnroe,

Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis ( ; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Australia in 1999 and 2003, winni ...

, and Martina Hingis. This was head coach Josh Cohen's first season leading the Freedoms. The Freedoms ended their season with a record of 5-9.

Team Rosters

2019 Roster

* Craig Kardon, Head Coach *

Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...

Adrián Menéndez Maceiras Adrián Menéndez Maceiras (; born 28 October 1985) is a Spanish tennis player. He has a career high-ranking singles of World No. 111, achieved in June 2015. Menéndez Maceiras has reached the finals of fourteen Futures tournaments, winning ni ...

* Danielle Collins * Donald Young *

Adrian Mannarino Adrian Mannarino (born 29 June 1988) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 22, attained on 19 March 2018. He won his first ATP Tour singles title at the 2019 Rosmalen Open on grass. He is ...

Feliciano Lopez Feliciano may refer to: People * Feliciano (name), including a list of people with the name Places * San José de Feliciano, Argentine city * Feliciano River, river in Argentina * Estadio Feliciano Gambarte, stadium in Argentina * Dom Feliciano

Mitchell Krueger Mitchell Krueger (born January 12, 1994) is an American tennis player. Krueger has a career-high singles ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) of world No. 135, achieved on 18 July 2022. He also has a career-high ATP doubles ...

* Tommy Paul

2018 Roster

* Craig Kardon, Head Coach *

* Kevin Anderson *

* Kevin King *

Gabriela Dabrowski Gabriela "Gaby" Dabrowski (; pl, Dąbrowska, ; born April 1, 1992) is a Canadian professional tennis player. She reached her best singles ranking of world No. 164 by the WTA on November 3, 2014 and her highest doubles ranking of world No. 4 on ...

(substitute) *

Jackson Withrow Jackson Withrow (born July 7, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. He played college tennis at Texas A&M. Withrow has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 50 achieved on 26 September 2022. Career 2011 Withrow competed at t ...

(substitute)

Former Freedoms players

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...

, 2009 * Prakash Amritraj, 2010 * James Blake, 2012 *

Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at ...

, 2011 *

Beatrice Capra Beatrice "Trice" Capra (born April 6, 1992 in Ellicott City, Maryland) is an American tennis player who attended Duke University. Her highest WTA singles ranking is no. 201, which she reached on September 20, 2010. She is the daughter of Giova ...

, 2011 * Julia Cohen, 2011 *

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 ...

, 2001 * Ramon Delgado, 2010 *

Joshua Eagle Joshua Eagle (born 10 May 1973) is a former professional male tennis player and current professional tennis coach from Australia. In January 2013 he was appointed as the Australian Davis Cup coach, having previously won Tennis Australia's elit ...

, 2004 * Brendan Evans, 2011 *

Luka Gregorc Luka Gregorc (born 14 February 1984) is a retired Slovenian tennis player. Gregorc reached his highest singles ranking of World No. 172 in August 2009. He lives in the United States, in the city of Boca Raton, Florida. Career Juniors Gregorc's ...

, 2012 * Sam Groth, 2013 *

Nathan Healey Nathan Healey (born 27 February 1980 in Gosford, New South Wales) is an Australian tennis player. Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles. In 2006, he earned a wildcard to the Australian Open, making the 3rd round, whe ...

, 2011 * Jordan Kerr, 2012 * Madison Keys, 2009 *

Noppawan Lertcheewakarn Noppawan "Nok" Lertcheewakarn ( th, นพวรรณ เลิศชีวกานต์; born 18 November 1991) is a former professional Thai tennis player. At 2009 Wimbledon Championships, she won the 2009 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' ...

, 2010 *

Courtney Nagle Courtney Nagle (born September 29, 1982) is a former American professional tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each pla ...

, 2010 *

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

, 2003 *

Daniel Nestor Daniel Mark Nestor ( ; sr, Данијел Нестор, Danijel Nestor; born September 4, 1972) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. Nestor won 91 men's doubles titles (with 11 different partners), including an Olympic gold medal a ...

, 2007 * Frederic Niemeyer, 2007 * Eric Nunez, 2009 *

Melanie Oudin Melanie Jennings Oudin (born September 23, 1991) is an American former professional tennis player. The former world junior No. 2 was a member of the American Fed Cup team from 2009 to 2011 and the winner of the 2011 US Open mixed-doubles title ...

, 2011 * Jessica Pegula, 2013 *

, 2012 * Karolína Plíšková, 2012 *

Kristýna Plíšková Kristýna Plíšková (; born 21 March 1992) is an inactive Czech professional tennis player. Plíšková has won one singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as nine singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 31 Ju ...

, 2012 *

Patrick Rafter Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He reached the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking on 26 July 1999. His career highlights include consecutive US Open ...

, 2004 *

Lisa Raymond Lisa Raymond (born August 10, 1973) is an American retired professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. Raymond has eleven Grand Slam titles to her name: six in women's doubles and five in mixed doubles. On J ...

, 2007 *

, 2010 *

Chanda Rubin Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. During her career, she reached the semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open, the quarterfinals of the French Open three times, and had wins over world- ...

, 2006 *

, 2013 *

, 1974 * Rennae Stubbs, 2006 * Venus Williams, 2009

References

External links

Official website
{{Pennsylvania Sports World TeamTennis teams Tennis in Pennsylvania Sports teams in Pennsylvania Sports in Philadelphia Sports clubs established in 2001 2001 establishments in Pennsylvania

Overview

Current roster

2020 season

2019 season

2018 season

2017 season

2016 season

2015 season

2014 season

2013 season

2012 season

Team Rosters

2019 Roster

2018 Roster

Former Freedoms players

See also

References

External links