"Brady Bunch" US Fed Cup team advances to final

When the Americans travel to Belarus in November to try to win their first championship in 17 years, captain Kathy Rinaldi will be sending a group of players that is like family to her: the Tennis Bunch.

The United States beat the defending champion Czech Republic squad, 3-2, to reach the final of the Fed Cup for the first time since 2010. Both teams showed up without their top players, with the US including CoCo Vandeweghe, Lauren Davis, Shelby Rogers and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and the Czechs bringing in Krystina Pliskova, Marketa Vondrousova, Katerina Siniakova and Denisa Allertova.

Belarus stunned Switzerland to reach its first Fed Cup final in history, with Victoria Azarenka on the sidelines.

It seems that Team USA’s time on Tennis Watch duty in February, when the Americans beat Germany, 4-0, in the first round, fostered a tight-knit atmosphere under first-time captain Rinaldi.

“Obviously we’re building off what former U.S. captain] Mary Joe [Fernandez] started,” [Rinaldi said. “It’s been an unbelievable couple of ties for me. Coco said it well: ‘These girls are amazing.’ It’s been a lot of fun it’s super special. It’s something that I’ll never forget. Looking forward to the final.”

But before play on the court got under way, the competitors took to the golf course, with CoCo Vandeweghe nearly hitting a tennis ball from the fairway right into the hole.

It wasn’t the first time that Vandeweghe stood out from the bunch, she also stepped up to the plate to serve out the first pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays game.

Vandeweghe helped Team USA the most on court this weekend, winning both her singles matches and the critical deciding doubles rubber (with Bethanie Mattek-Sands).

Vandweghe took out teenager Marketa Vondrousova on Friday, before cruising past Katerina Siniakova on Saturday. Now, cue the music.

That’s the way Team USA became Fed Cup finalists.