2017 New York Empire season

The 2017 New York Empire season was the second season of the franchise in World TeamTennis (WTT). The Empire finished third in WTT with a record of 7 wins and 7 losses.

2017 New York Empire season
World TeamTennis3rd place
Record
2017 record7 wins, 7 losses
Home record4 wins, 3 losses
Road record3 wins, 4 losses
Games won–lost279–290
Team Info
Owner(s)NY TeamTennis LLC
represented by Michael Coakley
General ManagerMichele Cope
CoachGigi Fernández
StadiumUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
(capacity: 2,800)

Season recap

Marquee Draft, a new home court and a new general manager

The Empire had the first selection in each round of WTT's 2017 drafts due to finishing the 2016 season in sixth place. The Empire traded the first overall selection in the Marquee Draft to the Springfield Lasers for the second overall pick and undisclosed consideration. The Lasers used that pick to select Jack Sock. With the second selection in the first round, the Empire chose Eugenie Bouchard and left Andy Roddick unprotected. In the second round, the Empire selected John Isner, who had been left unprotected by the Lasers. The Empire's third round selection was Mardy Fish, who had been left unprotected by the Washington Kastles.[1][2]

After playing its inaugural season at Forest Hills Stadium, the Empire announced at the draft that its 2017 home matches would be played on Court 17 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, New York City. The stadium has seating for 2,800 fans and is easily accessible by public transportation. Parking is available on premises. The Empire also introduced its new general manager, Michele Cope, who said "Court 17 is a great showcase court for New York Empire matches. Fans will be close to great professional team competition, and also enjoy a fan-friendly and entertaining atmosphere."[2][3]

Gigi Fernández named new head coach

On March 1, the Empire named International Tennis Hall of Famer Gigi Fernández as the team's new head coach, replacing Patrick McEnroe. Fernández said, "This is going to be a fantastic summer for the New York Empire with a really strong team that already includes John [Isner], Genie [Bouchard] and Mardy [Fish]. We'll finalize the remainder of the roster very soon, and then it's time to start thinking about match strategy. I really can't wait to work with these amazing athletes."[4][5] McEnroe had recently taken a position with Sportime NY as co-director of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.[6]

A third-place finish

The Empire finished its second season in the league with a 7-7 record, more than tripling its win total from 2016. The team started off the season on July 16 with a thrilling home win over the Philadelphia Freedoms, which marquee player John Isner clinched with a 5-2 final set win in Men’s Singles over Donald Young. The next night, the Empire traveled to Philadelphia and beat the Freedoms once again, with Mardy Fish taking down Young in a winner-take-all tiebreak in the final set.

Having already achieved last season’s win total after two matches, the Empire looked to keep the momentum going in Washington. Fish overcame a two-game deficit to push the match into a deciding supertiebreak, but came up short against Frances Tiafoe to hand the Empire its first loss of the season. After a 25-13 loss at home to Philadelphia, the Empire were able to get back above .500 by winning at home against the Orange County Breakers in a match that was moved indoors due to rain.

The team then went on the road for a week, losing two matches in California before beating both Philadelphia and Washington. It returned home on July 27 with a 5-4 record, but despite the presence of Eugenie Bouchard, it was again swept by the Breakers and San Diego Aviators. Knowing that it would need to win the rest of its matches to have a chance at qualifying for the WTT Finals, the Empire had a convincing 25-18 win over Washington before closing out its home schedule with a memorable win over the Springfield Lasers, in which Marcus Willis saved a match point and defeated Benjamin Becker in a final-set tiebreak.

At 7-6, the Empire’s playoff hopes were slim, but still alive, as the team traveled to Springfield to play its final match of the season. Needing a win and losses from both the Aviators and Breakers, the Empire won two of the first three sets. The match was eventually decided in a Supertiebreak, where New York’s Kirsten Flipkens lost to Sorana Cirstea, ending the Empire’s playoff hopes but at the same time clinching the franchise’s first-ever Top 3 finish. Orange County and San Diego’ s subsequent wins meant that the Empire finished the season 2 matches out of first place.

Event chronology

Draft picks

Since the Empire had the worst record in WTT in 2016, it had the first selection in each round of the league's drafts.

Marquee Player Draft

The Empire traded the first overall selection in the Marquee Player Draft to the Springfield Lasers in exchange for the second overall pick and undisclosed consideration. The selections made[1] by the Empire are shown in the table below.

Round No. Overall Player chosen Prot?
122 Eugenie BouchardN
217 John IsnerN
3113 Mardy FishN

Statistics

Players are listed in order of their game-winning percentage provided they played in at least 40% of the Empire's games in that event, which is the WTT minimum for qualification for league leaders in individual statistical categories.

Men's singles
Player GP GW GL PCT
Mardy Fish713140.437
John Isner752.714
Marcus Willis442519.568
Total1226161.500
Women's singles
Player GP GW GL PCT
Kirsten Flipkens844341.512
Eugenie Bouchard1697.563
Maria Sanchez312.333
Total1035350.515
Men's doubles
Player GP GW GL PCT
Neal Skupski1226161.500
Mardy Fish713536.493
Marcus Willis422220.524
John Isner945.444
Total1226161.500
Women's doubles
Player GP GW GL PCT
Maria Sanchez1005254.491
Kirsten Flipkens1105258.473
Eugenie Bouchard404.000
Total1105258.473
Mixed doubles
Player GP GW GL PCT
Neal Skupski974750.485
Kirsten Flipkens1085157.472
John Isner835.375
Marcus Willis725.286
Eugenie Bouchard413.250
Total1125260.464
Team totals
Event GP GW GL PCT
Men's singles1226161.500
Women's singles1035350.515
Men's doubles1226161.500
Women's doubles1105258.473
Mixed doubles1125260.464
Total569279290.490

Transactions

See also

References
  1. "Jack Sock is Top Pick in 2017 Mylan WTT Marquee Draft". World TeamTennis. February 16, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  2. Milani, Jerry (February 16, 2017). "Bouchard, Isner, Fish Claimed by NY Empire in Mylan WTT Marquee Player Draft". NY Sports Day. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  3. "New York Empire Selects John Isner, Eugenie Bouchard and Mardy Fish in Marquee Draft". World TeamTennis. February 16, 2017. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  4. "Fernandez Named New York Empire Coach". World TeamTennis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  5. Milani, Jerry (March 1, 2017). "New York Empire Names International Tennis Hall of Famer Gigi Fernandez As Coach". NY Sports Day. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  6. Milani, Jerry (December 21, 2016). "Patrick McEnroe to Join SPORTIME, John McEnroe Tennis Academy, As Co-Director". NY Sports Day. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
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