STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – Eight-time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams has entered the 2008 Bank of the West Classic giving the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world commitments from four of the top-10 players in the world.
The Bank of the West Classic, which will be held July 14-20 at the Taube Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University, now has commitments from Williams (No. 5), defending Bank of the West Classic Champion Anna Chakvetadze (No. 6), Marion Bartoli (No. 9) and Daniela Hantuchova (No. 10).
Williams, the former World No. 1, has already won three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tiles this year including the Tier 1 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami bringing her total career singles titles to 31. She has posted an impressive 23-2 singles record heading into this year’s French Open. Williams has already advanced to the third round at Roland Garros following a 6-2, 7-5 win over Mathilde Johansson in her second round match.
The Bank of the West Classic’s impressive field also features former World No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam Champion Lindsay Davenport, 2007 Bank of the West Classic finalist Sania Mirza, and former World No. 3 and seven-time tour winner Nadia Petrova.
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 Olympus 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, Kim Clijsters and Anna Chakvetadze.
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.