Lindsay Davenport will play for the St. Louis Aces, who visit the Breakers on July 15.
The Breakers, who reached the WTT semifinals last season and are coached by UC Irvine men’s head man and former Anteaters standout Trevor Kronemann, also announced the rest of their roster.
They retained last year’s women’s lineup, drafting Julie Ditty in the second round of the WTT draft and using a fourth-round selection on Canadian Marie-Eve Pelletier.
Last season, Ditty and Pelletier won seven of 13 doubles sets.
The men’s lineup spots will be filled by Lester Cook and David Martin, both of whom were drafted in the third round.
The draft pick used to acquire Cook was obtained in a trade with Kansas City, which added financial consideration to received the Breakers’ first-round pick.
Ramon Delgado, the most popular player in the Newport Beach franchise’s history, will not return after six seasons with the team.
Sharapova, first a member of the Newport Beach franchise at age 16, played for the Breakers from 2003 through 2005, contributing to the team’s WTT championship in 2004. She also played for Newport Beach in 2007.
Sharapova, once ranked No. 1 in the world, has 21 WTA Tour singles titles, including Wimbledon (2004), the U.S. Open (2006) and the Australian Open (2008).
Off the court, the 6-foot-2 blond native of Serbia, was once recognized in People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.”
Cook, 25, a Marina del Rey resident, helped the Washington Kastles win the WTT title last season. He was a three-time All-American at Texas A&M.
Martin, 29, lives in Huntington Beach. The former Stanford standout is No. 95 in the Assn. of Tennis Professionals doubles rankings.
— From staff reports
