STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – The 2008 Bank of the West Classic has received commitments from French standout Marion Bartoli and Slovakian star Daniela Hantuchova giving this year’s event commitments from three of the top-10 women’s tennis players in the world.
Bartoli, currently ranked ninth in the world, and Hantuchova, ranked 10th, join defending Bank of the West Classic Champion Anna Chakvetadze, the sixth-ranked player in the world, as 2008 entrants. The ever-strengthening field also includes former World No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam Champion Lindsay Davenport as well as 2007 Bank of the West Classic singles finalist Sania Mirza.
Bartoli was a finalist at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships and has won three career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles. Hantuchova, who has been ranked as high as No. 5 in the world, advanced to the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open. She has three career Tour singles titles to her credit including two victories at the Tier 1 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.
The Bank of the West Classic, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, features a 28-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. The event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women's event of the US Open Series.
The list of past champions of the event reads like a Who's Who of women's tennis including Lindsay Davenport, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
Single-session tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com. Tickets for the tournament's opening round start at just $23.
Full week packages, which include tickets to all 13 sessions, are also available and start at only $525. Those who purchase a box of four full week packages will also receive four passes to the exclusive VIP Plaza Club, four invitations to the Meet the Players Party and two VIP parking passes.
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $600,000. Held on Stanford University’s campus at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. The Bank of the West Classic is owned and operated by IMG.
ABOUT BANK OF THE WEST: With more than $62 billion in assets, Bank of the West is the second-largest bank based in California. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West is a full-service financial institution with nearly 4 million accounts in more than 700 branch and commercial offices across 19 Western and Midwestern states.