Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport Commit Early to the 2004 Bank of the West Classic
July 12-18, at Stanford University
Individual Ticket Sales Start Monday, April 19
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| Lindsay Davenport hits a backhand against Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium during day nine of the Australian Open Grand Slam at Melbourne Park January 27, 2004 in Melbourne, Australia© Nick Laham/Getty Images |
STANFORD, Calif. – Individual ticket sales start Monday, April 19 for the 2004 Bank of the West Classic, July 12-18, at Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the Stanford University campus. The Bank of the West Classic is a WTA Tour Tier II event, featuring a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. Total prize money for the event is $585,000.
Venus Williams, the 2000 and 2002 Bank of the West champion, along with 2003 and 2001 champion Kim Clijsters, and 1998 and 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport, headline the list of early commitments.
“We are excited to be able to announce that Kim, Venus and Lindsay, all past champions of the Bank of the West Classic, are coming back this year to compete,” said Tournament Director Gus Sampras. “We are expecting a great week of tennis and with these top players entered in the tournament, there is no saying who will become this year’s champion.”
Individual tickets range in price from $10-$80 per session and are available through City Box Office at 415-392-4400, or through Tickets.com at 415-478-2277, 650-478-2277, 408-998-2277, or 510-762-2277. Box seat and weekend packages range from $195-$2,700, including individual session skyboxes available for $2,000 per session Monday through Thursday, and are available by calling 415-227-8099. Qualifying matches, held July 10-11, are free to the public.
Day Sessions will begin Monday, July 12, through Thursday, July 15 at 10 a.m. and Friday, July 16 through Saturday, July 17 at 11 a.m. Evening sessions will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 p.m. on Saturday. The final session on Sunday, July 18 begins at 1 p.m.
Clijsters, ranked No. 2, has won 21 career WTA Tour singles titles, including the 2003 and 2001 Bank of the West Classic. Already this year, the 20-year-old Belgian has reached the finals at the Australian Open and won titles in Paris, where she became the 20th woman in Open Era to win 20 Tour singles titles, and Antwerp, which marks her first title in her native country of Belgium.
Davenport, ranked No. 4, holds 39 career WTA Tour singles titles, including three Grand Slam crowns (1998 U.S. Open, 1999 Wimbledon and 2000 Australian Open) and an Olympic gold medal. So far this year she has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and captured the title in Tokyo. The 27-year-old Southern California native also holds 35 career WTA Tour doubles titles. Davenport won the Bank of the West Classic in 1998 and 1999.
Venus Williams, ranked No. 16, owns 28 career WTA Tour singles titles, including four Grand Slam titles (2000 and 2001 U.S. Open, 2000 and 2001 Wimbledon) and an Olympic gold medal. Last year she advanced to the finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and captured the title at Antwerp. In addition to her success as a singles player, Williams has won nine career WTA Tour doubles titles, including four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal, with her sister Serena Williams. Venus Williams won the 2000 and 2002 Bank of the West Classic.
Now celebrating its 34th year, the Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world. The Taube Family Tennis Stadium has hosted the event since 1997. Before then, the tournament was held at the Oakland Coliseum Arena and the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. Last year, more than 45,000 fans embraced this summer classic.
For Bank of the West, 2004 marks its 13th year as title sponsor. With headquarters in San Francisco, Bank of the West has nearly 300 branches in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West is the third largest commercial bank headquartered in California, with $26 billion in assets.
The WTA Tour is the world's premier professional sport for women with more than 1,100 players representing 76 nations competing for more than $58 million in prize money at the Tour's 59 events in 31 countries, as well as the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. More than four million people attended women's tennis events in 2003 with millions more watching events on television networks around the world. The WTA Tour season concludes with the WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, November 10-15, 2004. Further information on the Tour can be found on the Internet at www.wtatour.com.
For more information about the Bank of the West Classic, please visit the tournament website at www.mubadalasvc.com.
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Lara Potter
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818-344-6195, ext. 122
larap@bzapr.com
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