WTT 2013: With 34 straight wins, Kastles set new milestone

Martina Hingis, the 2013 Mylan WTT Female MVP, during the Kastles’ win over Boston. Hingis recently announced her second comeback to the WTA pro circuit and is scheduled to compete in doubles at next month’s Rogers Cup in Toronto. (photo by Kwai Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

July 9, 2013, Kastles Stadium at the Wharf, Washington, D.C. – What an electrifying evening!  The fans could not hide their enthusiasm, cheering every point, every game, and every match the Washington Kastles won against the Boston Lobsters. Indeed, at the end, it was a night to remember.

With a 25-12 victory, the Kastles broke the record for most consecutive professional sports wins in history, a feat previously held by the NBA’s 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.  (The Lakers’ record of 33 wins was nearly broken earlier this year by the Miami Heat, who were stopped after 27 straight victories during the 2012-13 NBA season.)

The uniqueness of the World TeamTennis (WTT) format, where a single victory can only be obtained by the collective excellence of four or five players playing as a team, is what made this record so difficult to tie – let alone break – that one can guarantee that it will never be broken in in future league play.  An examination of the facts and statistics will explain why.

• Over the course of these 34 wins, the Kastles recorded two perfect seasons.  No other WTT team has had even one 16-0 season.
• The Kastles rotated a total of 12 players in their roster over this three-year period, forcing Coach Murphy Jensen to juggle at least 4 players in every match.
• In using four players out of 12, he would have had a possible 495 permutations to assign.  The fact that each permutation managed to win consistently in 170 (or 5 x 34) sets suggests that Jensen had done a masterful job over this period. (Not surprisingly, Jensen was named the WTT Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012.)

Although the Kastles’ streak ended in their very next match, they went on to defeat Boston three more times during the season, including the Eastern Conference Championships on July 25.  On Sunday, they face Andy Roddick and the Springfield Lasers in an attempt to win their third straight WTT title.

Tickets for the Mylan WTT Finals on July 28 at 5 p.m. ET between Washington and Springfield are available at ticketmaster.com.

Photos: Washington Kastles 25, Boston Lobsters 12
all photos by Kwai Chan / Meniscus Magazine