MATCH POINT
TENNIS SUPERSTARS VENUS WILLIAMS AND ANDY RODDI MAKE A RACKET AT THIS YEAR’S MYLAN WORLD TEAMTENNIS. BY MARNI PRICHARD MANKO
Tennis superstars Venus Williams and Andy Roddick make a racket at this year’s Mylan World Teamtennis.
Marking a departure from its usual home at Villanova University’s Pavilion, Billie Jean King’s Mylan World Teamtennis and the Philadelphia Freedoms team has found a new home for the 2017 season at Saint Joseph’s University’s Hagan Arena. And this year’s line-up looks to be one of the best ever, with American superstar and 32-time ATP World Tour champ Andy Roddick heading up the roster.
“It’s great to be back on the Freedoms’ team and playing for Billie Jean,” says Roddick, who last took part in 2010.
The Philadelphia Freedoms were founded in 1974, the year after King famously beat Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes match. Roddick’s joined by up-and-comer Sloane Stephens, Fabrice Martin, and returning fan favorite Taylor Townsend. But the fans are sure to be on their feet when legendary player Venus Williams takes the court on July 24 as a visiting marquee player hitting for the Washington Kastles.
“The Philadelphia Freedoms and Mylan World Teamtennis are pro competitions unlike any other,” says Freedoms General Manager Barbara Perry. “Billie Jean King cofounded Mylan WTT with the idea that sports can be a platform for social change. So WTT is about equality—men and women playing together on the same team.” 5600 City Ave., 800298-4200; philadelphia freedoms.com