Carly Gullickson is just one in a long line of successful Gullickson athletes.

A Division-I baseball player, a track star at Notre Dame, the NCAA women’s singles champion, another D-I tennis player and a pitcher with a 14-year Major League Baseball career. This is about what I see when I look at the Hall of Fame display case at my old high school. Springfield Lasers star Carly Gullickson, on the other hand, sees this when she sits down to a family dinner.

Carly, who is playing in Springfield for the second year in a row, remembers growing up in Detroit watching her dad, Bill, pitch for the Tigers. When Bill retired in 1994, he began his second career as coach and chauffeur for his six sports-crazed kids.

“When we were younger, I think we did every sport,” Carly said of her and her siblings. “Everything was crazy all the time, our parents were always driving us to different sports.”

Carly played everything growing up, but she quickly developed a love for tennis. Her mom Sandy, who played tennis at Western Kentucky, would take Carly out on the courts to hit for hours.

“She just loved it,” Carly said. “She always wanted me and my older sister to play, but my sister didn’t like it, she was a track runner.”

While Carly’s older sister Cassie went on to Notre Dame to run track, Carly started making a name for herself on the Juniors tennis circuit.

In 2001, 14-year-old Carly became the youngest player since Jennifer Capriati to win the USTA Girls’ 18s Super National Clay Court Championships. She turned pro at 17 and started playing in Wimbledons and French Opens.

Travis Parrott and Carly Gullickson after winning the 2009 US Open Mixed Doubles.

The highlight of Carly’s career is the 2009 US Open. Two days before the tournament started, Carly switched partners to Travis Parrott, (who plays WTT for the New York Sportimes). They got a wildcard berth into the tournament and two weeks later they were standing in Arthur Ashe Stadium holding the mixed doubles championship trophy.

“We were just going out to have fun and then all of a sudden we’re in the quarters, semis…,” Carly said. “We both probably played our best tennis to win that.”

Carly has tried to keep that relaxed attitude in her matches since then, but tennis has a pressure that’s different from almost every other sport.  There are no plays off on a tennis court, imagine Lebron James having to shoot and guard the ball every time down the floor.

“I’ve tried to come out in all of my matches and act like that but it’s hard for me to do that,” Carly said,  ”but for some reason at the US Open I didn’t even have trouble doing it.”

Carly has not won a Grand Slam tournament since then and Lasers coach J. L. De Jager said that Carly has a lot of talent, but does not play in enough tournaments.

“You’re not an average player if you win mixed doubles at the US Open,” De Jager said. “It’s a pity that she’s not playing full time on the tour because I think that if she really wanted to, she could be really good.”

If you look at the bench during a Lasers game, there’s a good chance you will see Carly joking with her teammates. Once she steps on the court, she isn’t afraid to crack a smile in between points.

Carly has been ranked as high as No. 52 in the world in doubles and No. 123 in singles, but right now her ranking has fallen to 124 in doubles and 1,078 in singles. Her career goal is a top 30 doubles ranking and top 50 in singles. She is getting married at the end of the month and she said that this has given her tennis career a new perspective.

“I really have to focus these next few years because I’m 25 this year and I want to have kids soon,” she said. “I need to really concentrate on my career for the next four years.”

It is tough for tennis players to improve as they near 30, but Carly hopes that by playing in more tournaments she will see her rankings start to climb.

Whenever Carly decides to hang up her racket, there will be another Gullickson ready to take over. Her sister Chelsey, a tennis player at Georgia (also where brother Craig plays baseball) won the NCAA singles title last year and her youngest sister Chloe is just learning to play.

When Carly does take a break from competitive tennis to raise her family, college recruiters will probably show up in the delivery room with letters of intent for the next great Gullickson athlete.

Melanie Oudin struggled against the Lasers Saturday night

Melanie Oudin, believed by many to be the next great American tennis player, came to Springfield last night in her World Team Tennis finale with the Philadelphia Freedoms and the Lasers were anything but intimidated.

Oudin, the only marquee player to visit Springfield this season, saw her Freedoms drop every set in a 25-13 Lasers win.

The Lasers’ Lilia Osterloh said that it is always fun to play against a big name.

“I’ve played against all of the top 10 girls, so I definitely know what it’s like,” Osterloh said. “I had a great night out here, there was a lot of crowd support and teamwork.”

Before the match Oudin said that her main concentration in this World Team Tennis season is to improve her play in the beginning of matches.

“I’m normally a slow starter in matches,” Oudin said. “I’m known for coming back in the second or third set. Here if you don’t start off well, you’re going to lose.”

Oudin looked like a prophet when she stepped onto the court for women’s singles and was broken by Osterloh in her first two service games. With Oudin down 1-3 in the set, the Freedoms subbed in Beatrice Capra but Osterloh still cruised to the 5-2 win.

With Oudin and Capra on the court at the same time two sets later for women’s doubles, the result wasn’t much different. The duo was beaten 5-4 by Osterloh and Carly Gullickson.

Osterloh said that she and Gullickson have developed a trust on the court this season.

“Carly is so fun,” Osterloh said. “We really enjoy playing together, she has my back and I have her back.”

Beatrice Capra is going the college route

The 20-year-old Oudin and the 19-year-old Capra represent the two different approaches to starting a tennis career.

Oudin tore through the juniors cicuit and turned pro at 16. She grabbed the national spotlight with her run to the quarterfinals at the 2009 US Open.

And then she was branded with that title, “Next big thing.” With the Williams sisters in decline, American tennis fans are ready for the next great women’s player to emerge.

Oudin’s world ranking climbed to 31 last year and it looked like we had found our savior. But gone are the days when a 16-year-old Martina Hingis could win the Australian Open, and the physical grind of life on the pro tour caught up with Oudin. Her ranking has now tumbled to 100.

Capra made it to the third round of the US Open last year, before losing to Maria Sharapova, but she elected to delay her professional career and enroll at Duke this fall.

“I think that going to college and maturing physically and mentally is really going to help me in the long run and keep me from getting so burnt out,” Capra said.

As other women’s players like Capra start to rise, Oudin said she is feeling that burden being lifted off of her shoulders.

“Everyone isn’t looking at me to be the next best American,” Oudin said. “There are a lot of other girls that are starting to do really well.”

Capra cannot be sure that she made the right call by putting that prize money on hold to get her education and let her game mature. But as Oudin knows all too well, once you go pro, there’s no going back.

Scores:

Mixed doubles: (SGF) Rik De Voest and Carly Gullickson 5-2 Nathan Healey and Beatrice Capra (PHI)

Women’s singles: (SGF) Lilia Osterloh 5-2 Melanie Oudin/Capra (PHI)

Men’s doubles: (SGF) Jean Anderson and De Voest 5-4 Brendan Evans and Healey (PHI)

Women’s doubles: (SGF) Osterloh and Gullickson 5-4 Oudin and Capra

Men’s singles: (SGF) De Voest 5-1 Evans/Healey (PHI)

In a blowout match that got very interesting at the end, the Springfield Lasers topped the Boston Lobsters 23-17 in overtime to snap a five-match losing streak.

Lasers coach JL De Jager steps up big time Wednesday night

Head coach J.L. De Jager and mens’s singles player Rik De Voest joined the team last night in Boston after being part of South Africa’s Davis Cup team the week before. The Lasers squared off against the same Lobsters tonight in Springfield and this time they took a 19-12 lead into the last event of the night, men’s doubles.

The Lasers’ Paul Hanley had been on the sidelines all night with a shoulder injury, but he decided to try to play in the last event.

Hanley couldn’t continue after the second game, so the 38-year-old De Jager had to step in and finish out the set.

De Jager, who says he no longer plays competitive tennis, stepped right onto the court and held serve at 4-0. Then he promptly pulled his hamstring.

There were no more men on the Springfield bench, so De Jager did his best Kirk Gibson impression and played hurt.

“This is something you do for the team,” De Jager said. “If I have to come out and sacrifice my body for the team, then that’s what it’s all about.”

The Lobsters men’s doubles team of Eric Butorac and Jan-Michael Gambill won the set 5-3 to force an overtime period where the Lasers would need to win only one game to win the match.

With De Voest serving on match point, the Lobsters lofted a lazy return toward De Jager at the net who slammed the ball at Butorac’s feet for the win.

“We managed to get through the set,” De Voest said, “and in the last game I just told him to get as close to the net as possible and he said ‘Yeah if it comes to me I’ll make the play’ so he did and we got it done.”

De Voest and Carly Gullickson got the team off to a good start, opening the match with a 5-2 win in mixed doubles. From there, the Lasers rolled to wins in women’s doubles and men’s singles.

The Lasers used a strategy of lobbing shots high into the air when the Lobsters rushed the net in doubles and Boston struggled to put away the high shots.

“It’s pretty hard to hit an overhead under the lights here so I constantly told the girls whenever they get in trouble just go to the lob,” De Jager said.

Last night the Lobsters beat the Lasers 24-19, a big reason being that the world’s No. 39 ranked singles player John Isner was playing for Boston.

De Voest pulled off the shocker last night by beating the hard-serving American 5-4, but Isner was too much to handle in doubles.

De Voest has had a grueling schedule of late, he played in Wimbledon and then it was straight to Chicago for a tournament, then to South Africa for the Davis Cup, back to Boston on Monday and now here he is in Springfield.

Unfortunately for De Voest, things won’t slow down much. The Lasers play in Washington DC on Thursday, New York on Friday and then back to Springfield on Saturday.

Scores:

Mixed doubles: (SGF) Carly Gullickson and Rik De Voest 5-2 Chanelle Scheepers and Eric Butorac (BOS)

Women’s doubles (SGF) Gullickson and Lilia Osterloh 5-3 Scheepers and Mashona Washington (BOS)

Men’s singles: (SGF) De Voest 5-2 Jan-Micheal Gambill (BOS)

Women’s singles: (SGF) Osterloh 4-5 Scheepers (BOS)

Men’s doubles: (SGF) De Voest and Paul Hanley/JL De Jager 3-5 Gambill and Butorac (BOS)

Overtime: (SGF) De Voest and De Jager 1-0 Gambill and Butorac (BOS)

Raven Klaasen (photo by Alex Stocksdale)

The Springfield Lasers dropped to last place in the World Team Tennis Western Conference after a 21-17 overtime loss to their instate rivals, the Kansas City Explorers, Saturday night at Cooper Tennis Complex.

The Lasers opened their season this week with four home matches and after a convincing win Monday night, the team dropped three straight.

“Obviously it’s disappointing that we’re not doing so well,” the Lasers’ Paul Hanley said. “Hopefully when we go on the road things can change a little bit.”

Hanley said that he is actually looking forward to playing some road matches because the court in Springfield does not suit his style of play well.

“This sort of surface is not my favorite,” he said. “It’s a very high bouncing surface, so it will be interesting to see what the away surfaces are like.”

Hanley’s doubles partner Raven Klaasen said that the high bouncing surface is actually an advantage for the team because they are used to playing on it.

“This court is very bouncy so it’s hard for guys to come in one day and start playing on it,” Klaasen said. “The home court advantage at the start of the season has been nice for me.”

Klaasen’s play in men’s singles has been a pleasant surprise in this first week. In Monday’s match Klaasen’s set was the only one the Lasers lost, but he got the win in each of the team’s next three outings.

Men’s singles was the first event of every match this week and Klaasen said he likes the role of setting the tone for the Lasers.

“The result of the team is a lot more important than my personal results but if I can get the team off to a good start then that’s key,” he said.

Klaasen came out hot Saturday night, he downed the Explorers’ Ricardo Mello 5-3 to start the match.

The momentum didn’t carry over however as Lilia Osterloh, the Lasers’ women’s singles player, fell to a hard-serving Madison Brengle 5-1.

From there the Lasers lost both women’s doubles and mixed doubles and by the time Klaasen and Hanley took the court for men’s doubles, the Lasers were down 18-12.

Klaasen and Hanley beat Mello and Alex Kuznetsov 5-2 to force overtime.

The Lasers would have had to win four straight games in overtime to get the win, but in the first game, Kuznetsov came up with some big serves and the Explorers (1-3) walked away with their first win of the season.

“We knew we could get one break, it would probably be really hard to get two breaks though,” Klaasen said. “We gave ourselves a chance and he hit a great serve when it counted so it was a long shot but we stuck in there and gave ourselves a chance.”

The Lasers travel to St. Louis Monday to take on the Aces and they are hoping a change of surface will help them bounce back.

Scores

Men’s singles: (SGF) Raven Klaasen 5-3 Ricardo Mello (KC)

Women’s singles: (SGF) Lilia Osterloh 1-5 Madison Brengle (KC)

Mixed doubles: (SGF) Paul Hanley/Carly Gullickson 3-5 Mello/Kveta Peschke (KC)

Women’s doubles: (SGF) Osterloh/Gullickson 3-5 Brengle/Peschke (KC)

Men’s doubles: (SGF) Hanley/Klaasen 5-2 Mello/Alex Kuznetsov (KC)

Overtime: (SGF) Hanley/Klaasen 0-1 Mello/Kuznetsov (KC)

Well you can’t get any closer than that. On Wednesday night at Cooper Tennis Complex, the Springfield Lasers and the Newport Beach Breakers played five sets for two and a half hours and it all came down to one point.

With the mixed doubles tiebreak all knotted up, the Lasers’ Carly Gullickson returned a serve and then came right toward the net. The Breakers’ Travis Rettenmaier jammed Gullickson up as she approached by hitting the ball toward her feet. Gullickson managed a pretty strong volley but it sailed long.

When Gullickson’s volley landed just a foot past the baseline, the Lasers had lost 5 points to 4 in the tiebreak to go down 5 games to 4 in the set and 20 games to 19 overall.

The Lasers' Raven Klaasen won his singles set

Lasers coach Martin Damm said that this will be one of the toughest matches his team plays all year.

“It was a great match, very exciting,” Damm said. “It came down to the last point and she (Gullickson) hit a good return, but Rettenmaier came back with a great volley.”

The Breakers’ strategy on the final point is one that they had used often during the match and Damm said that he had spoken with Gullickson about delaying her approach to the net, but it’s difficult to make those adjustments on the fly.

“I told her a couple of times to stay back, but then she was staying back all the way instead of coming to the net after the second shot,” Damm said. “That’s the way it is sometimes.”

In World Team Tennis, the home team picks the order of events and the Springfield Lasers saved mixed doubles for last, because their team of Paul Hanley and Gullickson is one of the best in the league.

The teams entered the last set tied at 15. The Breakers’ mixed doubles team of Rettenmaier and Marie-Eve Pelletier jumped on the Lasers right away by breaking Hanley’s serve in the first game of the set.

The Lasers fought back and broke Rettenmaier’s serve to even things up and force the tiebreak, but the Breakers came up big on the last point.

Springfield got off to a great start to the match when Raven Klaasen, the only Laser to lose a set Monday night, beat Lester Cook 5-2.

“It was huge,” Damm said. “He really played well – way better than the first night – and gave us a boost.”

The momentum was short lived, however, when the Lasers ran into a buzzsaw in the form of hard-hiting Anne Keothavong, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 Roster Player Draft.

In women’s singles Keothavong jumped out to a four games to one lead on the Lasers’ Lilia Osterloh, before Damm substituted Gullickson in only to see her go down 4-0 on serve to end the set.

“She was on fire,” Osterloh said of Keothavong. “I had a couple of chances, but she served some bombs when I had those break chances and that’s how it happens sometimes.”

Osterloh said that she thought the Lasers played well enough to win.

“It’s sad someone has to be on the losing end,” Osterloh said. “It came down to one point and it didn’t go our way, but next time we’ll get it back.”

The Springfield Lasers opened their season with a bang at the  Cooper Tennis Complex Monday night, beating the Philadelphia Freedoms 24-13.

World Team Tennis scoring can be confusing to the layperson, but each team of four competes in a set of men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles. Each set is first to five games and the game scores are cumulative.

Paul Hanley looked sharp in his Lasers debut

The night opened with men’s singles and it looked like we might have a tight match on our hands when Philadelphia’s Brendan Evans beat Raven Klaasen 5-4 in a tiebreak.

From there it was all Lasers. Starting with a 5-3 women’s singles win by new Laser Lilia Osterloh, Springfield won every set.

Paul Hanley was the most impressive player for the Lasers in his World Team Tennis debut. Fresh off of a semifinal appearance in mixed doubles at Wimbledon, Hanley won both mixed doubles and men’s doubles by a combined 10-3.

“I wasn’t sure how I was going to play today to be honest,” Hanley said. “Going from grass to a different surface, and it’s so humid here, in London it’s pretty cold. I was surprised how well I played and really happy with the team.”

One person who was not so surprised with Hanley’s performance was his mixed doubles partner Carly Gullickson.

“I think anyone would play great with Paul, he’s a great player,” Gullickson said. “He’s been around for so long and he has one of the most established doubles careers.”

In World Team Tennis, the strategy is to save your best match-up for last, that’s where coach Martin Damm put Hanley and Gullickson and they delivered with a 5-1 win.

Hanley said that he and Gullickson had great chemistry on the court despite the lack of practice together.

“We got pretty lucky, actually,” Hanley said. “Carly likes the backhand side and I prefer the deuce side so it worked really well.”

The Lasers have three more home matches this week and after losing three of their first five matches last year, Gullickson said that it is crucial the team start well this season.

“Last year we got off to a rough start,” Gullickson said. “We have a really good schedule, I’m super glad we’re here for the first 10 days.”

The Lasers play again Wednesday against the Newport Beach Breakers at 7:05.

The Springfield Lasers, the city’s World Team Tennis franchise, open their season at 7:05 p.m. Monday against the Philadelphia Freedoms at Cooper Tennis Complex. Last season the Lasers went 10-4 and won the Western Conference regular season title.

Monday’s match is the first of four home matches next week. If you make it out to see some fast-paced tennis next week, here’s a look at the players you will be cheering for.

Head coach John-Laffnie de Jager

De Jager is the Bill Belichick of World Team Tennis. The South African begins his fifth year at the helm for the Lasers and he has been selected WTT Coach of the Year in three of his four seasons, including last year. De Jager was no slouch as a player either. He is the captain of South Africa’s Davis Cup team and he was also a semifinalist in doubles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

You might not know: He speaks English, Afrikaans and Zulu.

Assistant coach Martin Damm

Damm might have the best tennis pedigree on the team. The Czech Republic native played for the Lasers last season and was named WTT Male MVP. In 2006, he won the US Open doubles title. A year later, he achieved his career high ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) ranking of No. 5 in the world in doubles. After playing for the Lasers the past two seasons, he will settle into a new role as coach of the Lasers.

You might not know: Damm was one of Europe’s top junior players growing up. He won European championship titles in the 12, 14 and 16-year-old age groups.

Rik De Voest

Damm’s doubles partner last season, De Voest has played in WTT since 2005. That year he won the WTT Male Rookie of the Year award with the Lasers. He won a title two years later with the New York Buzz and was selected Championship Weekend MVP. De Voest was born in Italy, but moved to South Africa when he was one-year-old. He is also a member of South Africa’s Davis Cup Team.

You might not know: De Voest is a hopeless romantic, he proposed to his wife Carolyn on a hot air balloon.

Carly Gullickson

Gullickson is the Lasers’ top player on the women’s side. This is her third year with WTT and second in Springfield. In 2009, Gullickson won the mixed doubles title at the US Open. The Cincinnati native has been ranked as high as No. 52 in the world in doubles.

You might not know: Her dad is former major leaguer Bill Gullickson, who once held the record for most strikeouts in a game by a rookie (18).

Paul Hanley

The Melbourne, Australia native is making his WTT debut this year. He has been a semi-finalist in doubles at all of the Grand Slam tournaments and he made it to the finals of the Australian Open in mixed doubles.  In 2006, he cracked the top 5 in the ATP doubles rankings.

You might not know: Nickname: “Handles”… nuf said.

Lilia Osterloh

This is Osterloh’s fourth season with WTT and first in Springfield. In 2000, she made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open. A year later, she was ranked as high as No. 41 in singles. As a freshman at Stanford in 1997, the Columbus, Ohio native won the NCAA singles title.

You might not know: Osterloh is the Lasers’ biggest bookworm, her favorite authors are William Boyd, Sebastian Faulks and Ian McEwan.

Raven Klaasen

Klaasen made his WTT debut with the Lasers in 2009. He didn’t play in 2010, but now he is back for more. The South African has won two ITF (International Tennis Federation) doubles titles and one ITF singles title this year.

You might not know: If Klaasen wasn’t playing tennis he would probably be an accountant.

———–

The schedule

All Lasers matches are at the Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

Monday, July 4 – Philadelphia Freedoms, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, July 6 – Newport Beach Breakers, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, July 8 — Washington Kastles, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, July 9 — Kansas City Explorers, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, July 10 — At St. Louis Aces, 7:15 p.m.

Tuesday, July 12 — At Boston Lobsters, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, July 13 — Boston Lobsters, 7:05 p.m.

Thursday, July 14 — At Washington Kastles, , 7 p.m.

Friday, July 15 — At New York Sportimes (vs. John McEnroe and Martina Hingis), , 7 p.m.

Saturday, July 16 — Philadelphia Freedoms (vs. Melanie Oudin), 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, July 17 — At Kansas City Explorers, 6:35 p.m.

Tuesday, July 19 — Sacramento Capitals, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, July 20 — At Newport Beach Breakers, 7:15 p.m.

Thursday, July 21 — At Sacramento Capitals, 7:30 p.m.

Former Grand Slam champion and current St. Louis Aces marquee player Lindsay Davenport took a few minutes and took questions from the local media. Here is footage from the press conference, which preceded the St. Louis Aces-Springfield Lasers match at Cooper Tennis Complex.

FYI, Davenport is every inch of 6-foot-2. Also, notice the microphone she’s speaking into was a prop only.

The News-Leader was out in full force, getting some perspective on Davenport’s career here and covering St. Louis’ 22-21 supertiebreaker win here.

(Also, I’m sorry that I’m so loud. You’ll know which questions are mine…)

The Springfield Lasers begin their 2010 season Monday with a home match against the St. Louis Aces and former Grand Slam winner Lindsey Davenport. And before the Lasers season — which dominates the month of July — begins, it’s time to meet the team and learn a little about their chances to repeat as World TeamTennis Western Conference champions.

The numbers

• Last season: 13-3 overall, 8-0 at home. Western Conference champions.
• Returning players: Two of four
• Coach J. L. de Jager returns for his fourth season and was 2009 WTT Coach of the Year

The schedule

• July 5 — Home vs. St. Louis Aces, 7:05 p.m. (with Lindsay Davenport)
• July 6 — At St. Louis Aces, 7:15 p.m. (with Lindsay Davenport)
• July 7 — Home vs. Kansas City Explorers, 7:05 p.m.
• July 9 — At Sacramento Capitals, 7:30 p.m.
• July 11 — Home vs. Newport Beach Breakers, 7:05 p.m.
• July 12 — At New York Sportimes, 7 p.m.
• July 13 — At Boston Lobsters, 7 p.m. (with John Isner)
• July 15 — At Kansas City Explorers, 7:35 p.m. (with the Bryan Brothers)
• July 16 — Home vs. Sacramento Capitals, 7:05 p.m.
• July 17 — Home vs. New York Buzz, 7:05 p.m. (with Martina Hingis)
• July 19 — Home vs. Newport Beach Breakers, 7:05 p.m.
• July 20 — Home vs. Sacramento Capitals, 7:05 p.m.
• July 21 — At Newport Beach Breakers, 7:15 p.m.
• July 22 — At Sacramento Capitals, 7:30 p.m.
• For ticket information, visit SpringfieldLasers.com.

The players

CARLY GULLICKSON

Carly Gullickson could be this year's breakout Laser.

DOB: 11/28/86 (23 years old)
Birthplace: Cincinnati, OH
Height: 5-foot-10
WTA singles ranking: 259
WTA doubles ranking: 91
Singles titles: 0
Doubles titles: 2
Career WTA earnings: $509,238

A 23-year-old Ohio native, Gullickson takes Vania King’s spot on the Lasers roster and will be thrust into the doubles, mixed doubles and possibly some singles action. Gullickson and Philadelphia’s Travis Parrott won the 2009 US Open mixed doubles title, beating WTT veterans Cara Black and Leander Paes. Her career-high doubles world ranking was No. 52 in 2006. Her father, Bill, was a journeyman Major League Baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons. And fellas, she was ranked as the No. 8 best looking female at Wimbledon 2009, according to StyleCrave.com.

CHANI SCHEEPERS

Chani Scheepers

DOB: 3/13/84 (26 years old)
Birthplace: Harrismith, South Africa
Height: 5-foot-7
WTA singles ranking: 88
WTA doubles ranking: 154
ITF singles titles: 12
ITF doubles titles: 20
Career WTA earnings: $408,943

Scheepers enters her third season as a Springfield Laser. She was rated as WTT’s top female doubles player in 2009, but finished the season playing singles when Liezel Huber arrived. Scheepers advanced to the fourth round of the French Open, her career-best finish. She wrote about the experience for WTT.com, which you can read here.

Martin Damm

MARTIN DAMM

DOB: 1/08/72 (37 years old)
Birthplace: Liberec, Czech Republic
Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Height: 6-foot-2
WTA doubles ranking: 35
WTA doubles titles: 40
Career WTA earnings: $5,698,387

A world-respected doubles player, Damm was an instant fan favorite in his Lasers and WTT debut last season. Damm won the 2006 US Open men’s doubles championship with former partner Leander Paes. He will likely play both mixed and men’s doubles for the Lasers.

RIK DE VOEST

Rik de Voest

DOB: 5/06/80 (30 years old)
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Residence: Pretoria, South Africa
Height: 5-foot-11
WTA singles ranking: 257
WTA doubles ranking: 90
WTA doubles titles: 2
Career WTA earnings: $955,794

The third player on the team with South African heritage, de Voest is back with Springfield. In 2005 with the Lasers, de Voest was named WTT Rookie of the Year. He plays on the South African Davis Cup team for Lasers coach J.L. de Jager. He reached a career-high 110 world singles ranking in 2006, but has never won a ATP event. He will likely play all men’s singles and doubles matches, but not mixed doubles.

After being originally named to the roster, Liezel Huber will not be on this year’s Lasers team, the News-Leader reported Monday.