The Washington Kastles is one of eight franchises that compete in World TeamTennis. Founded in 2008 and based in Washington, D.C., the Kastles have won the WTT championship six times, tied for a league record. The team is named for Kastle Systems, a security company founded by owner Mark Ein.
Venue
The Kastles play outdoors on the roof of Union Market at 1309 5th Street, NE, Washington, DC.
The team played its 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons in a temporary stadium erected each summer on the site of the former Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington. They played the next three seasons at Kastles Stadium at The Wharf, a 2,600-seat facility erected in 2011 on the Southwest Waterfront. That facility was torn down for the city's waterfront development project.
From 2014 to 2018, the Kastles played indoors at George Washington University's Charles E. Smith Center at 22nd and G Streets NW. In 2014, two matches drew 3,275 fans, setting a Kastles attendance record. A new record of 4,200-plus was set the following year after the venue sold out and additional seating section was installed.
History
The Kastles were founded by D.C. entrepreneur Mark Ein
The Washington Kastles were founded by Mark Ein as an expansion franchise in 2008, where they finished 6–8.
They won their first King Trophy (named after former world No. 1 player and league co-owner Billie Jean King) in 2009 despite losing their first four matches and finishing just 7–7 during the regular season.
The Kastles failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2010 but then went undefeated in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons, winning all 14 regular-season matches, the Eastern Conference championship and the WTT championship.
In 2011, the Kastles went undefeated, the first perfect season for a World TeamTennis team and only the second team, after the 1994 Newport Beach Dukes, to win all of its regular-season matches. (The Newport Beach Dukes lost in the playoffs). It was the first time a Washington professional sports team posted an undefeated regular season and also won its league championship.
In 2012, the Kastles finished 16–0 again, becoming the first U.S. professional sports team to complete back-to-back perfect seasons.
The Kastles won their 2013 season opener against the New York Sportimes, 23–15, notching their 33rd consecutive victory and equaling the winning streak of the NBA's 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers. In their next match, they beat the Boston Lobsters, 25–12, a 34th victory that set the U.S. record for a winning streak by a major professional sports team.[1]
On July 10, 2013, the Kastles had their winning streak snapped by the Texas Wild in Las Colinas, Texas. The next night at home, the Kastles fell to the Springfield Lasers. Martina Hingis was not with the team for the back-to-back losses due to her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Kastles won the remaining 10 matches of the regular season and ended up with the best record in the WTT at 12–2. The Kastles beat the Boston Lobsters in the Eastern Conference Championship match on July 25 by a score of 25–12. The Kastles repeated that score of 25–12 in a rain-delayed WTT Championship match against the Springfield Lasers to win their third consecutive WTT Championship and post a final season record of 14–2.
The Kastles continued their winning ways in 2014. Even though the Kastles lost four regular season matches (a home record of 6–1), they posted the best record in the Eastern Conference and hosted the Philadelphia Freedoms in the Eastern Conference Championship match. The Kastles won their fifth Eastern Conference Championship by a score of 21–16.
The Kastles then traveled to Springfield, Missouri, to face the Springfield Lasers in the Mylan WTT Championship Match on July 27, 2014. Since the Kastles had a better regular-season record, they were considered the home team. The Kastles swept all five events and won their fourth consecutive WTT Championship by a score of 25–13. Bobby Reynolds won his Men's Singles event and the Men's Doubles event, his last match as a Washington Kastle. The only other team in the 39-year history of World Team Tennis that won four championships in a row are the Sacramento Capitals. With their WTT Championship in 2015, the Kastles stand alone with five consecutive WTT titles.
The Kastles have missed the playoffs and failed to win the Eastern Conference Championship and WTT Championship only five times in the existence of the franchise (2008, 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2018).
In 2015, the Kastles got off to a slow start and after the first seven matches of the season the team's record was 4–3. In typical Kastles style, the team then reeled off 5 wins in a row and won 6 out of the 7 final matches of the regular season to end up with a record of 10–4, the best record in the WTT's Eastern Conference.
On July 30, 2015, the Kastles hosted the Philadelphia Freedoms at home in the Eastern Conference Championship by a score of 25–9.
On Sunday, August 2, 2015, the Kastles hosted the Austin Aces in the WTT Finals and defeated the Aces 24–18 in extended play. The Kastles extended their consecutive WTT Championship Title streak to 5 in a row and their sixth overall title.
The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics took place during the 2016 World TeamTennis season and many teams had multiple players attend the event. The Kastles were no exception with Leander Paes, Anastasia Rodionova, Martina Hingis and Venus Williams attending the Olympics. The Kastles missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010 and finished third in the league with a record of 7-5 (only 12 matches were played in 2016).
On February 16, 2017, the Mylan WTT Marque Draft was held. The Kastles drafted Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Bob and Mike Bryan (all were protected status by the Kastles).
On March 13, 2017, it was announced that Mark Ein and Fred Luddy (owner of the San Diego Aviators) had purchased Billie Jean King's majority ownership of the WTT. King will retain a minority stake in WTT and continue as majority owner of the Philadelphia Freedoms franchise. Mark Ein will become Chairman of World Team Tennis and Ilana Kloss will remain as CEO and Commissioner through 2017. Mr. Ein has also recently invested in a new DC-based team in the Overwatch League, a professional eSports league developed and fully controlled by Blizzard Entertainment.
On March 14, 2017, the WTT Roster Draft was held. Washington selected Sam Querrey, Bruno Soares, Madison Brengle and Anastasia Rodionova.
On March 13, 2018, the WTT Draft was held. Washington protected Bob and Mike Bryan, Venus Williams and Madison Brengle. The Kastles selected Tennys Sandgren (first round), Robert Lindstedt (second round) and Nicole Melichar (third round). Also returning to the Kastles is Frances Tiafoe who was added to the roster after the drafts and Naomi Osaka was also added. Matthew Ebden and Christina McHale appeared as substitutes in the first match of the season.
The 2019 WTT Draft was held In March 2019 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The Kastles drafted Frances Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios, Venus Williams, Bruno Soares, Ooshihito Mishioka, Marta Kostyuk and Lyudmyla Kichenok. Tiafoe, Williams and Kyrgios were declared franchise players.
Justin Gimelstob controversy
On June 25, 2008, Kastles' player Justin Gimelstob was on the Washington, D.C., morning radio show "The Sports Junkies", talking about his tennis career, his interactions with other tennis pros, his dalliances with such female players as Martina Hingis, and a variety of other topics. During the interview, Gimelstob, a regular guest on the show, said that when he faced Anna Kournikova (who played for the St. Louis Aces) the following month match in Washington: "I’m going to serve it right at the body, about 128, right into her midriff. If she's not crying by the time she comes off court then I did not do my job." Asked if that meant he hated the Russian, with whom he trained as a youth, he replied: "Hate is a very strong word. I just despise her to the maximum level just below hate."[2] He added that he would not like to sleep with Kournikova, "because she's such a douche." Instead, "I wouldn't mind having my younger brother, who's a kind of a stud, nail her and then reap the benefits of that."
Gimelstob subsequently lost his job as a commentator on the Tennis Channel.
Kournikova originally had planned to pull herself from the event but decided to play. In the mixed doubles portion of the match, Mashona Washington and Gimelstob defeated Kournikova and Travis Rettenmaier. 5–2 (though Gimelstob did not start the set. He came in for Scott Oudsema at 2–0).
People
Head coach
Thomas Blake was named head coach of the Washington Kastles in June 2008. Blake became a professional tennis player in 1996 and most notably partnered with his brother, James Blake, to play doubles in the US Open in 1996 and 2002. In 2005, Blake retired from professional singles play.
Murphy Jensen was named the Kastles' head coach at the start of the 2009 season. Jensen and his brother, Luke, won the French Open doubles championship in 1993 and hosts a show on the Tennis Channel. After the Kastles finished undefeated in 2011 and 2012, Jensen was named the league's Coach of the Year. Jensen was also named the league's Coach of the Year in 2013.
Roster – 2018 Team Roster
Murphy Jensen, Head Coach, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Coach of the Year
July 19: @ Boston Lobsters: 7 p.m.: 23–19 win(8–3)
July 21: vs. Boston Lobsters: 7 p.m. (WAS: Martina Hingis): 25–9 win(9–3)
July 22: vs. Springfield Lasers: 7 p.m. (WAS: Martina Hingis, Sloane Stephens): 23–15 win(10–3)
July 23: @ Philadelphia Freedoms: 7 p.m. (WAS: Martina Hingis): 20–21 loss (10–4)
Eastern Conference Championship (Kastles Stadium at the Smith Center, Washington, D.C.)
July 24: Kastles (Home team based on Record) vs. Philadelphia Freedoms: 7 p.m. (WAS: Martina Hingis): 21–16 win(11–4)
World TeamTennis Championship (Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex, Springfield, Missouri)
July 27: Kastles (Home team sets order of play due to better regular season record) vs. Springfield Lasers: 5 p.m. (WAS: Martina Hingis): 25–13 win (12–4)
Current season
