STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) - Three-time Grand Slam Champion Lindsay Davenport and 2007 Bank of the West finalist Sania Mirza have commited to play the 2008 Bank of the West Classic to be held July 14-20 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University.
Davenport, the former World No. 1 and California native, will be making her 13th appearance at the Bank of the West Classic.
"I am very excited to be returning to the Bank of the West Classic in 2008," said Davenport. "Being a California native, Stanford has always been one of my favorite stops on Tour with this being my 13th trip to the tournament. The fan support is always great and the tournament itself has a tremendous history."
Davenport, a three-time Bank of the West Classic Champion (1998, 1999, 2004), has won 55 career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles including four of eight events since her return to the Tour in November 2007.
Davenport decided to take a break from the Tour in September 2006 to prepare for the birth of her first child. She gave birth to her son, Jagger, on June 10.
For the fourth consecutive year, Sania Mirza, the most successful women's tennis player from India and the only Indian woman to win a Sony Ericsson WTA tour title, will play the Bank of the West Classic.
Always a fan favorite, Mirza, born in Mumbai, India, reached the singles final at last year's Bank of the West Classic where she fell to rising Russian star Anna Chakvetadze. Mirza did not go home empty handed however as she teamed the Israeli Shahar Peer to win the doubles crown. She went on to reach a career-high singles ranking of 27 in 2007.
Mirza, who was named the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Newcomer of the Year in 2005, reached a career-high ranking of 27 in 2007 and ended the year ranked No. 31.
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 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.