Azarenka to Defend Bank of the West Classic Title
STANFORD, CA (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) - The 2011 Bank of the West Classic player field got even stronger on Monday when current world No. 5 and defending champion Victoria Azarenka officially entered the 2011 event.
The 21-year-old Belarusian has been playing some of the best tennis of her career in 2011 winning titles at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and the clay court event in Marbella. In addition, she reached the final at Madrid and advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros before falling to eventual champion Li Na.
Last year, as the Bank of the West Classic’s No. 8 seed, Azarenka knocked off No. 4 seed Marion Bartoli, No. 1 seed Samantha Stosur and No. 5 seed Maria Sharapova en route to the title.
This year the Bank of the West Classic will also welcome back former top-10 players Daniela Hantuchova and Kimiko Date-Krumm.
Hantuchova has four career WTA singles titles to her credit including a win this season at Pattaya City. She reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros which included a straight set win over World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. The Slovakian star has been ranked as high as No. 5 in the world.
A former world No. 4, Date-Krumm has won eight career WTA singles titles. The Japan legend returned to the tour in 2008 after a 10 year retirement, and in 2009 won her eighth singles title at the age of 38 becoming the second oldest player in the Open Era to capture a WTA singles title. She remains one of the most dangerous players on tour having recorded eight top-20 wins last year.
The addition of Azarenka, Hantuchova and Date-Krumm adds the already strong player field which includes three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova, 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, French Open semifinalist Marion Bartoli and current world No. 10 Samantha Stosur.
Overall the tournament now has commitments from four of the current top-10 ranked players in the world including Azarenka (No. 5), Sharapova (No. 6), Bartoli (No. 9) and Stosur (No. 10).
Tickets for the event, which will be held July 25-31 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University, can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.
Single-session tickets for the tournament's opening round start at just $26.
Planning on spending the entire day at the Bank of the West Classic? Take advantage of the “Daily Double” and get tickets to both the day and evening sessions for as little as $45.
This year fans may also pre-purchase parking passes for the event for just $10.
Full-week packages start at just $575 and include tickets to all 13 sessions, a pass to the exclusive Plaza Club and an invitation to the Meet the Players Party. Those who purchase a pair of seats will also receive a weeklong VIP parking pass and a Bank of the West Classic Tournament program.
Weekend packages start at only $240.
The Bank of the West Classic, a WTA Premier event, is now in its 41st year and 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 and Kim Clijsters.
The Bank of the West Classic offers several different seat options with prices to fit everyone’s budget so reserve your seats today. Qualifying will be held July 23-24 and is free to the public.
Log on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com for more information.
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is of the oldest women-only professional tennis tournaments in the world and is the first stop of the Olympus US Open Series. A WTA Premier event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $700,000. 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: Based in San Francisco, $61 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com) offers a full range of business, corporate, personal, trust and international banking services. For the third year in a row, Bank of the West has been ranked "highest in customer satisfaction in retail banking" in California by J.D. Power and Associates. The Bank operates more than 700 branch locations and commercial banking offices in 19 Western and Midwestern states. Bank of the West's holding company, BancWest Corporation, is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, among the six strongest banks in the world, according to Standard & Poor's.
