STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – Defending Bank of the West Classic champion Anna Chakvetadze announced that she will return to Stanford in 2008 to defend her title. The 2008 Bank of the West Classic will be held July 14-20 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University.
Chakvetadze is currently ranked No. 8 in the world and has seven Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles to her credit. Last year was a breakout season for the young Russian star as she captured four singles titles, including the Bank of the West Classic, reached the semifinals of the US Open and quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and French Open.
Chakvetadze joins three-time Grand Slam Champion Lindsay Davenport and 2007 Bank of the West finalist Sania Mirza as tournament commitments.
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.