Former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic Accepts Wildcard

Written by: Staff on 25th June 2010

Former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic Accepts Wildcard |

STANFORD, CA (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – The Bank of the West Classic player field got even more impressive on Thursday when 2008 French Open Champion and former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic accepted a wildcard to play in the 2010 event.

At just 22 years of age the young Serbian star has already put together an impressive resume recording a 248-100 career singles record, winning eight career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles, capturing her first Grand Slam singles title at the 2008 French Open, and ascending to the world No. 1 ranking in June 2008.

Off the court, Ivanovic’s striking good looks and warm personality have made her one of the world’s most glamorous and marketable athletes. She has been featured in numerous fashion and lifestyle publications including Vogue, Vanity Fair, ELLE, Cosmopolitan and Time Magazine. In addition she was featured in this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and in 2009 was ranked 11^th on FHM’s Sexiest Women in the World list.

This will mark Ivanovic’s first visit to the Bank of the West Classic.

With the addition of Ivanovic, the Bank of the West Classic will now feature three former World No. 1’s including Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport. Overall the tournament will host 12 of the top-30 players in the world including Olympic Gold medalist and world No. 5 Elena Dementieva, French Open finalist and world No. 7 Samantha Stosur and world No. 8 and three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Agnieszka Radwanska.

The player field also includes defending champion Marion Bartoli of France, Chinese standout Zheng Jie, young American star Melanie Oudin, Slovakian glamour girl Daniela Hantuchova and Japanese legend Kimiko Date Krumm.

Tickets for the 2010 Bank of the West Classic 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.

The 2010 Bank of the West Classic will feature a 30-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw. The official tournament draw, and first round match-ups, will be announced on Saturday, July 24.

In addition to individual session tickets, full-week packages start at just $575 and include tickets to all 13 sessions, a pass to the exclusive Grand Marnier 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.

The Bank of the West Classic is also offering several weekend packages starting at $240.

Entering its 40^th year the Bank of the West Classic is the longest running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world. 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 event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women’s event of the Olympus US Open Series. Qualifying will be held July 24-25 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 the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the Olympus US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 30-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.

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