STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – Cara Black and Liezel Huber, the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the world, will compete at the 2008 Bank of the West Classic, July 14-20 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University.
Black and Huber have combined to win three Grand Slam titles including Wimbledon in 2005 and both Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2007. The duo has been the dominant pair on Tour this year having won five Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles titles already this season.
The addition of Black and Huber strengthens the overall tournament field which already includes the highest ranked group of singles players since 2002.
For the first time since 2002 the Bank of the West Classic field boasts four players ranked in the top-10 including eight time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams (No. 6), defending Bank of the West Classic Champion Anna Chakvetadze (No. 8), Russian standout Elena Dementieva (No. 5), and 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli (No. 10).
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, Slovakian star and World No. 12 Daniela Hantuchova, former World No. 3 and seven-time Tour winner Nadia Petrova, 10-time Tour winner Patty Schnyder, three-time Tour winner and two-time defending Bank of the West Classic doubles champion Shahar Peer, six-time Tour winner Ai Sugiyama and Chinese star Li Na.
A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, the Bank of the West Classic 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.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, call the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or log on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.
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.