Springfield, MO — Tickets are now on sale for the Springfield Laser pro tennis team home season, July 14-31 at Cooper Tennis Complex.
The Lasers take the court as the defending champions of the World TeamTennis league, having brought home the WTT King Trophy last summer for the first time in the team’s 23-year history.
The Lasers open the WTT season in Springfield Sunday, July 14, facing the Philadelphia Freedoms, whom they beat 19-18 at the Aug. 5, 2018 WTT Finals.
Home dates include:
- Sun., July 14 Season opener Philadelphia at Springfield, 7 p.m.
- Tues., July 16 Orlando at Springfield, 6 p.m.
- Wed, July 17 New York at Springfield, 7 p.m.
- Thurs., July 18 Washington at Springfield, 7 p.m.
- Wed., July 24 San Diego at Springfield, 7 p.m.
- Tues., July 30 Orange County at Springfield, 7 p.m.
- Wed., July 31 Las Vegas at Springfield, 7 p.m.
Grandstand, box, season tickets and VIP packages are now available at Cooper Tennis Complex, 2331 E. Pythian St., or call Paul Nahon, Lasers General Manager, at 417-837-5800. Tickets are also available online at SpringfieldLasers.com. Grandstand tickets are $10-$15.
The team features 2018 team star Miomir “Misha” Kecmanovic as a franchise player, appearing in Springfield, July 14, 16, 17 and 18. Kecmanovic, 19, clinched the winning point in the Lasers’ 2018 championship match against Philadelphia, later named WTT Championship MVP. A rising young Serbian player, he achieved his career-high ranking of No. 83 earlier this month.
The roster also includes returning crowd favorite, American Abigail Spears, 37, who helped take the team to the 2018 championship match with solid doubles play. Spears won her first Grand Slam title in 2017 with a mixed doubles crown at Australian Open (w/Cabal.) She has earned 21 WTA doubles titles, most recently in 2018 in Nottingham (w/Rosolska), and is currently ranked No. 31 in doubles.
New to the team is doubles specialist Joe Salisbury, 26, considered the league’s top pick in men’s doubles. Salisbury from London, England, just reached his career-high rank of No. 20 in April, following a title win at Dubai, his third title.
Enrique “Kiki” Lopez Perez, 27, makes his WTT debut this season. From Madrid, Spain, Perez reached a career-high rank of No. 135 in April. He made it to the doubles final in Bangkok in February and the singles final in Zhuhai in March.
Anna Blinkova, a 20-year-old from Russia, also makes her WTT debut. Blinkova has had an incredible month, earning three ITF World Tour titles all this May: a W100 doubles title at Trnava, Slovakia (w/Knoll), where she also reached the finals in singles; a W80 doubles title at Cagnes-sur-Mer (w/Knoll); and a W60 doubles title in Weisbaden (w/Kickmeyer), where she reached the semifinals in singles. She reached career-high doubles ranking of No. 79 in April.
Newly named to the roster is returning player Olga Govorstova, 30, from Belarus. Govortsova appeared with the Springfield Lasers in 2014, becoming a fan favorite and helping take the team to the WTT Finals. She has eight WTA Doubles titles and an additional eight ITF titles, seven in singles. She earned an ITF World Tour W100 doubles title at Midland, Mich., in February (w/Savinykh).
Popular Lasers Coach John-Laffnie “JL” De Jager returns to Springfield this summer for his 13th season coaching the Lasers, and his 20th year with WTT.
ABOUT WORLD TEAMTENNIS
World TeamTennis showcases the best in professional tennis with the innovative team format co-founded by Billie Jean King in the 1970s. Recognized as the leader in professional team tennis competition, WTT features many of the world’s best players competing annually for the King Trophy, the League’s championship trophy named after King. Since the League’s debut, virtually every major champion of the Open era has played WTT, including Andre Agassi, Venus and Serena Williams, Pete Sampras, Stefanie Graf, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Bob and Mike Bryan, Martina Hingis, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Naomi Osaka. Owned by innovator Fred Luddy, entrepreneur Eric Davidson and tennis icon Billie Jean King, WTT is one of five active U.S. pro sports leagues which has been in operation for more than 40 years, along with the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. Learn more at WTT.com.
ABOUT THE LASERS
The Springfield Lasers were established in 1996 by the late Harry Cooper, who gifted the team to the Springfield-Greene County Park Board. The Lasers are now one of the oldest teams in the WTT league, managed by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board and playing home matches at Cooper Tennis Complex. The Lasers won their first WTT Championship in 2018, after making it to the WTT finals in 2014, 2013, 2009, 2001 and 1999.
For more information on Springfield Lasers, visit SpringfieldLasers.com, or look for Springfield Lasers on Facebook or @SGFLasers on Twitter and Instagram.
For media inquiries, contact Jenny Fillmer Edwards, Public Relations for the Springfield Lasers and Public Information Administrator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, at 417-224-5510 (mobile).