Serena Williams Commits to Pilot Pen Tennis
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Eight-time Grand Slam champion and World No. 8 Serena Williams has entered Pilot Pen Tennis!
Williams, a former World No. 1 who was hampered by injuries in 2006, made a valiant comeback earlier this year and as an unseeded player (ranked No. 81) won the Australian Open.
She has continued her impressive return by winning the 28th title of her career at Miami, reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon and climbing back into the top ten of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour world rankings. Since Wimbledon, Williams has been sidelined with a thumb injury but plans to return to the Tour with her first-ever trip to the Pilot Pen.
"I am excited to be playing the Pilot Pen for the first time," said Williams. "I am ready to get back onto the courts and hope to return to the form I had earlier this year. My sister always loved New Haven and was incredibly successful there, and I hope to have the same kind of results."
For tickets, how to become a volunteer, or more information about the tournament, please call the Pilot Pen Tennis Box Office, 888/99-PILOT, 203/776-7331, or log on to
www.pilotpentennis.com.
About Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Schick The 2007 Pilot Pen presented by Schick (
www.pilotpentennis.com), a US Open Series event on the ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, will be held August 17-25 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale.
The Pilot Pen is the first ever combined men's and women's summer tournament leading into the US Open. Some of the biggest names in men's and women's tennis played in the 2006 Pilot Pen such as ATP players James Blake, Nikolay Davydenko (defending champion), Marcos Baghdatis, Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players Justine Henin (defending women's champion), Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo, Elena Dementieva and Daniela Hantuchova. The 2006 Pilot Pen drew 100,000 spectators and was televised nationally for 20 hours on ESPN2 and CBS Sports and in over 180 countries worldwide. For information on tickets, travel packages, sponsorships or on how to become a volunteer at the 2007 Pilot Pen, call the Pilot Pen Tennis office at (203) 776-7331 or (888) 99-PILOT.
About the US Open Series
The US Open Series, launched in 2004, is the cohesive, six-week summer tennis season of 10 North American tournaments linked to the US Open. The Series has produced record attendance, TV viewership and live broadcast hours for the sport. In total, the US Open Series events -- including the US Open -- generated a record 1.6 million attendees, 137 million TV viewers and 27.8 million website visits making it the strongest summertime property in sports. Ana Ivanovic and Andy Roddick are the defending US Open Series champions.