2011 Bank of the West Classic Hosts World’s Top Tennis Players

Written by: Staff on 15th June 2011

2011 Bank of the West Classic Hosts World's Top Tennis Players |

Stanford, California (www.bankofthewestclassic.com) – The official player field for this year’s Bank of the West Classic was announced Tuesday, confirming the tournament’s tradition of bringing world-class tennis to the Bay Area.

With four top-10 players committed, the 2011 acceptance list proves to be one of the most impressive yet and includes 11 overall players ranked within the top 30 in the world. Highlighting the 41^st edition of the Bank of the West Classic will be 13-time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams, three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova, defending champion Victoria Azarenka, 2011 French Open semi-finalist, Marion Bartoli, World No. 10 Samantha Stosur, and former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.

The 2011 Bank of the West Classic will be held from July 25^th – 31^st. Tickets 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.

Sharapova, a finalist at last year’s Bank of the West Classic, returns with hopes to reaching the final once again. This year the Russian superstar captured her 23^rd WTA singles title in Rome and looks to be returning to the form that helped her win three Grand Slam titles. As a three-time Grand Slam Champion and World No. 6, Sharapova is a fan favorite and will undoubtedly bring excitement to this year’s player field.

The commitment of 13-time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams further adds to the thrill of this year’s top player field. This will mark Williams’ third appearance at the Bank of the West Classic, after reaching the semi-finals of the tournament in 2009.

Hoping to defend her 2010 singles title, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka will arrive at the Bank of the West Classic having already won two singles titles this year at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and on the clay courts in Marbella, Spain. In 2010, the day after her 21^st birthday, Azarenka defeated Sharapova to clinch the Bank of the West Classic singles title and earned herself a memorable birthday present.

Also returning will be current World No. 9 Marion Bartoli and No. 10 Samantha Stosur. Bartoli, champion of the 2009 Bank of the West Classic, arrives with her sights set on another title run after reaching the semifinals of the French Open earlier this year, as well as the finals of both Indian Wells and Strasbourg. Stosur, who reached the finals at Rome earlier this year, advanced to semis at last year’s Bank of the West Classic.

The tournament also welcomes former World No. 1 Ava Ivanovic. The young Serbian star has a Grand Slam title under her belt having won the 2008 French Open and is a two-time Grand Slam finalist. With the addition of Ivanovic, the tournament will host three total former World No. 1 players.

In addition, the Bank of the West Classic will host two former top-10 ranked players, Daniela Hantuchova and Kimiko Date-Krumm. Formally ranked as high as No. 5 in the World, Hantuchova boasts four career WTA singles titles and arrives having won a title at Pattaya City earlier this year. As a former World No. 4, Japanese legend Date-Krumm returned to the WTA in 2008 after a 10-year hiatus, and has earned eight WTA singles titles in her career. Her retirement did not slow her down as she boasts eight top-20 wins in the last year alone.

The Bank of the West Classic will also welcome three additional top-20 players including No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 16 Julia Goerges, and No. 19 Yanina Wickmayer.

A truly global event, the 20 players on the 2011 Bank of the West Classic’s acceptance list hail from 17 different countries.

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.

2011 Bank of the West Classic Acceptance List (as of June 14) – please click here for PDF version

NAME – COUNTRY – RANK

Azarenka, Victoria – BLR – 5

Sharapova, Maria – RUS – 6

Bartoli, Marion – FRA – 9

Stosur, Samantha – AUS – 10

Radwanska, Agnieszka R. – POL – 13

Goerges, Julia – GER – 16

Ivanovic, Ana – SRB – 18

Wickmayer, Yanina – BEL – 19

Hantuchova, Daniela – SVK – 25