DATE: July 14-20, 2008 (Qualifying begins July 12)
SITE: Taube Family Tennis Stadium (3,796)
Stanford University
Campus Drive and Sam McDonald Road
Stanford, CA 94305
www.BankoftheWestClassic.com
TOURNAMENT CHAIRMAN: Erik van Dillen
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR: Adam B. Barrett
TOURNAMENT REFEREE: Brad Taylor
HISTORY: The Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women’s-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the US Open Series. Owned and operated by IMG, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event 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 Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters. Bank of the West is now in its 17th year as title sponsor of the 38 year old event.
Founded in 1874 and headquartered in San Francisco, $62 billion-asset Bank of the West is the second-largest commercial bank based in California. Bank of the West offers a full range of business, trust, international and personal banking services. The bank currently operates more than 700 commercial and retail banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. In 2008, Bank of the West ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Retail Banks in the West” by J.D. Power and Associates. Bank of the West's holding company, BancWest Corporation, is owned by BNP Paribas, a leading global financial services institution ranked by Standard & Poor's as one of the world's four strongest banks. More information is available at www.bankofthewest.com.
FORMAT: A 28-player singles main draw, the top four seeds earn byes into the second round, and a 16-team doubles main draw are held, all featuring best 2-out-of-3 set matches. A 32-player singles qualifying draw will be held for four main draw entries and a four-team doubles qualifying draw will be held for one main draw entry.
2007 DEFENDING CHAMPIONS:
Singles: Anna Chakvetadze d. Sania Mirza 6-3, 6-2
Doubles: Sania Mirza/Shahar Peer d. Anna Chakvetadze/Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-6 (5)
PRIZE MONEY: $600,000
TELEVISION: The quarterfinals will be televised on Tennis Channel, July 18. The semifinals and final are broadcast on ESPN2, July 19 and July 20.
ATTENDANCE: 32,204 over 13 sessions in 2007
TICKETS: (866) WTA-TIXS/982-8497 or www.BankoftheWestClassic.com