Breakers returning to OC
The Orange County Breakers of World Team Tennis are returning this summer, the league announced Monday.
The Breakers, who played in Orange County from 2003-13, were sold to entrepreneur Lorne Abony after the 2013 season. They moved to Texas and were rebranded as the Austin Aces.
Now, Abony is bringing the franchise back to Orange County to play at a to-be-announced venue.
“”There’s been a great deal of local interest in professional team tennis returning to the area, so I am honored to bring this storied Breakers franchise back to Orange County,” Abony said in a press release. “I have always been a believer in the Mylan World TeamTennis product and how it connects a community with professional tennis. We look forward to building a championship caliber team here and offering our fans unprecedented access to some of the top tennis players in the world.”
The Breakers are in final negotiations with an intimate outdoor venue, according to the release. The team played at Palisades Tennis Club when it began as the Newport Beach Breakers, and later in a stadium erected in the Newport Beach Country Club parking lot and nearby at The Tennis Club. The team was re-branded as the Orange County Breakers and moved to the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine for 2012 and ’13. But they drew increasingly sparse crowds except on marquee player nights, despite having local Orange County players like Steve Johnson and Coco Vandeweghe.
Breakers General Manager Allen Hardison, a Corona del Mar High alumnus, said the opportunity to play in an outdoor venue again was appealing to the team.
“We had challenges finding a permanent venue in Austin, but then everything fell into place to bring the team back to its Southern California roots in a beautiful facility that we look to announce soon,” Hardison said in the release.
The Breakers will play 12 matches (six home and six away) in the 2016 regular season, which runs July 31 to Aug. 13. There will now be two WTT teams in Southern California. Among the other teams the Breakers will compete against are the San Diego Aviators, formerly the New York Sportimes. The Aviators were re-branded and moved to Carlsbad in 2014.
The Breakers had success as the Austin Aces. They have been coached by Newport Beach resident Rick Leach, the 2015 World Team Tennis Coach of the Year who himself formerly played for the Breakers and whose father Dick formerly coached the franchise. The Aces went 12-2 in the regular season and advanced to the 2015 World Team Tennis finals before losing to the Washington Kastles.
The 2015 team included league Male MVP Teymur Gabashvili, Female Rookie of the Year Alla Kudryavtseva, world No. 19 Elina Svitolina, Nicole Gibbs and Jarmere Jenkins. The Breakers can retain the rights to any of the 2015 players who sign up for the 2016 World Team Tennis Draft, which is scheduled for March 25 in Miami.
Season tickets are expected to start as low as $210, and all seating will be reserved. The team will also offer VIP tables directly above the baseline of the court that will include full food and beverage service. Individual match tickets will go on sale later this spring. To purchase season tickets or get more information, visit www.BreakersTennis.com or call the Breakers office at (949) 434-4560.
