Overview

The team traces its origin to WTT's inaugural season of 1974. The original team, actually called the Philadelphia Freedoms, starred tennis legend and social pioneer Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...

, who had beaten Bobby Riggs

Bobby Riggs

Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...

 in the "Battle of the Sexes" the previous year.

Other members of the team were: Fred Stolle

Fred Stolle

Frederick "Fred" Sydney Stolle is an Australian tennis player. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Stolle....

 (Australia), Brian Fairlie

Brian Fairlie

Brian Fairlie, born 13 June 1948 in Christchurch, is a retired tennis player from New Zealand. During his career from 1968 to 1979 he won four titles in doubles, all with the Egyptian player Ismail El Shafei, and two singles titles...

 (New Zealand), Buster Mottram

Buster Mottram

Christopher Mottram is a former English tennis player, who achieved a highest lifetime ranking of fifteenth in the world.Mottram represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup eight times...

 (U.K.), Julie Anthony (US), Tory Ann Fretz (US), Betsy Nagelsen

Betsy Nagelsen

Betsy Nagelsen McCormack is a retired professional tennis player from the United States. Nagelsen won the doubles championship at the 1978 and 1980 Australian Opens . She reached the singles final of the 1978 Australian Open, losing to Christine O'Neil...

 (US) and Kathy Kuykendall (US).

Julie Anthony later married the owner of the team, Dick Butera, and they settled in Aspen, Colorado, where she practices as a sports psychologist. Nagelsen married the late Mark McCormack, the Founder and Chairman of International Management Group. McCormack who represented Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan amongst others, was often referred to as one of the most powerful men in sports. Mottram was a controversial figure who spoke publicly about his extreme right wing views and made unsuccessful attempts to become a Conservative candidate for the British Parliament. Stolle was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985. Fretz was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

Pop singer Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

 was a friend of Billie Jean King's, and was invited to participate in a promotional match during one of the team's games. In return, he was later inspired to write a song about King, also called "Philadelphia Freedom

Philadelphia Freedom (song)

"Philadelphia Freedom" is a song released by Elton John as a single in 1975. The song was one of John's numerous number-one U.S. hit singles during the early and mid-1970s, which saw his recordings dominating the charts. In Canada, it was his eighth single to hit the top of the RPM national...

." In 1974, the Freedoms had the league's best regular-season record, but were upset by the Denver Racquets in the championship game. The following year, the Freedoms merged with the Boston Lobsters

Boston Lobsters

The Boston Lobsters are New England's World TeamTennis pro league tennis team based in Middleton, Massachusetts.The Boston Lobsters pro tennis team originally joined the WTT league in 1974 and competed until 1978...

 (ironically also a 2006 member of WTT as well).

The current team joined WTT in 2001. Before the beginning of the 2008 season, the Philadelphia Freedoms announced they would be leaving their previous home at Cabrini College

Cabrini College

Cabrini College is a coeducational Roman Catholic residential college in the Philadelphia metropolitan area of Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957. It was one of the first colleges in the United States to make community service a...

. Their home matches would be played at the tennis stadium outside the King of Prussia Mall

King of Prussia Mall

The King of Prussia Mall is the largest shopping mall on the East Coast of the United States, and largest shopping mall in the United States of America in terms of leasable retail space....

 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...

 (located near Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

) from 2008 to 2009. For 2010, the Freedoms announced they would move to The Pavilion

The Pavilion

The Pavilion is a 6,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States, about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia. It was built in 1985, and is home to the Villanova University Wildcats basketball teams. It is recognizable from the outside for its hyperbolic paraboloid roofline,...

 on the campus of Villanova University

Villanova University

Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

.

Current squad

Pascal Collard, Head Coach Josh Cohen, Assistant Coach Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors is an American former world no. 1 tennis player....

 Melanie Oudin

Melanie Oudin

Melanie Oudin is an American tennis player and former World Junior No. 2. Her career high rank is World No. 31, which she achieved on April 19, 2010...

 Beatrice Capra

Beatrice Capra

Beatrice "Trice" Capra is an amateur American tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 201, which she reached on September 20, 2010...

 Brendan Evans

Brendan Evans

Brendan Evans is an American professional tennis player. On the junior circuit, Evans reached a career-high combined ranking of No. 2 in 2004, when he won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open doubles titles alongside Scott Oudesma. Evans competes today on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP...

 Nathan Healey

Nathan Healey

Nathan Healey is an Australian tennis player.Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles....

 Lisa Raymond

Lisa Raymond

Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...

As of April 16, 2011.