Mylan World TeamTennis Team Relocates Franchise to Las Vegas

For the first time in league history, Las Vegas will be home to a Mylan World TeamTennis professional team.  The Sacramento Capitals announced today they are moving the franchise to Las Vegas where they will compete in Mylan WTT as the Las Vegas Neon at the Amanda and Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Center.

With the move, the conferences are set for the 39th season of Mylan World TeamTennis.  The Neon will join the Western Conference with the San Diego Aviators, Austin Aces and Texas Wild.

The 2013 Mylan WTT Western Conference champion Springfield Lasers will be moving to the Eastern Conference in 2014 to join the defending league champion Washington Kastles, Boston Lobsters, and Philadelphia Freedoms.  Washington won its third consecutive championship last July with a 25-12 victory over Springfield at the Mylan WTT Finals.

Sacramento moves to Las Vegas after playing 28 seasons in the California state capital. The Capitals won a league record six Mylan WTT championships, including four straight from 1997-2000.  

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman welcomed the Mylan WTT franchise to Las Vegas at a press conference at Darling Tennis Center Tuesday afternoon. “We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome the Las Vegas Neon and World TeamTennis to our great city,” Mayor Goodman said. “The Darling Tennis Center is a beautiful facility and I'm excited that we will have action-packed and electrifying professional tennis making its home in Las Vegas.”

Las Vegas will play 14 regular season matches, including seven home matches at the Darling Tennis Center this July.  The Mylan WTT regular season starts on Sunday, July 6 and runs through Wednesday, July 23.  The top two teams from each conference advance to the Mylan WTT Conference Championships on Thursday, July 24.  The Eastern and Western Conference champions will face off at the Mylan WTT Finals on Sunday, July 27, on the home court of the Western Conference champion. 

Las Vegas also announced plans to bring back Las Vegas resident and current ATP player Sam Querrey, who played for Sacramento last year.  Querrey was part of the U.S. Davis Cup team that fell to Great Britain this past weekend.  Las Vegas will have the option to retain the rights to the 2013 Sacramento players although their 2014 team lineup will not be determined until the Mylan WTT Marquee Player Draft on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and the Mylan WTT Roster Player Draft on Tuesday, March 11.  Las Vegas will pick third in both drafts.

Kolleen McNamee, who has served as Sacramento’s general manager since the fall 2012, will continue in the role for the Neon. “The Capitals franchise enjoyed many great years in Sacramento and we will miss our truly dedicated fan base there,” McNamee said. “But we can’t wait to start this new chapter and to bring a fun, exciting brand of tennis to the Las Vegas community.”

McNamee said the move was necessitated because the franchise was unable to find a permanent home in Sacramento. In past years, the team has constructed a temporary stadium and in 2013 played its home matches in a mall parking lot.

Mylan WTT is well known for showcasing and introducing innovative elements to tennis including instant replay, teams featuring men and women in equal roles, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching and timeouts, Overtime and Supertiebreakers, multicolored courts and player names on the back of shirts.

Each Mylan WTT team is comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Team matches consist of five sets, with one set each of men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.  The first team to reach five games wins each set. One point is awarded for each game won, and a nine-point tiebreaker is played if a set reaches four all. If necessary, Overtime and a Supertiebreaker are played to determine the outright winner of the match.

For more information on the Las Vegas Neon, please visit www.lasvegasneontennis.com or call 916-304-5722. Find the Neon on Twitter @LVNeonTennis or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LVNeonTennis.  For more information on Mylan WTT, visit www.WTT.com.

About Mylan World TeamTennis: Mylan World TeamTennis showcases the best in professional team tennis competing for the King Trophy, the league’s championship trophy which is named after co-founder Billie Jean King.  The 39th season of Mylan WTT runs July 6-27, 2014.  For more information on Mylan WTT, visit www.WTT.com.