Individual tickets have gone on sale for the Bank of the West Classic, to be played July 24-30 at Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the Stanford University campus.
The $535,000 Bank of the West Classic is a WTA Tour event featuring a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw.
Lindsay Davenport is the two-time defending champion.
Davenport will be joined in the strong field by former Bank of the West champion Monica Seles, sisters Serena and Venus Williams – who rarely play singles in the same tournament, other than the Grand Slams – and Mary Pierce.
“Once again, this tournament is proving to be a hot ticket,” said tournament director Peter Tatum. “Our season ticket renewals have been outstanding, and we anticipate an equally strong response in our individual session sales because the fans in the Bay Area have demonstrated their love for women’s tennis.”
Individual session tickets and weekend packages can be purchased through City Box Office by calling (415) 392-4400. Individual session prices are based on the tournament round.
Individual seats for the first two rounds (Monday through Thursday) are available for $10-$20.
Quarterfinal seats (Friday) are available for $12-$40. Semifinal seats (Saturday) are available for $18-$50. Final session seats are available for $20-$60. Box seat packages are available by calling (415) 296-7676. For more information about tickets or the toumament, visit the event Web site at bankofthewest.bayinsider.com.
Weekday matches begin at 11 a.m., Monday, July 24, and noon, Tuesday, July 25 through Friday, July 28. Weeknight sessions begin at 7:30 p.m. The Saturday, July 29 semifinal sessions start at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. with one singles and one doubles semifinal being played in each session. The finals on Sunday, July 30 begin at 10:30 p.m.
Celebrating its 30th year, the Bank of the West Classic is the oldest women-only professional tennis toumament 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.
Previous winners of the historic tournament include Davenport, Seles, Martina Hingis, Arancha Sanchez-Vicario, Martina Navratalova, Zina Garrison, Chris Evert, Hana Mandlikova and Billie Jean King.
The WTA Tour has more than 1,000 players representing 76 nations who will compete for more than $47 million in prize money in 2000. This year, the tour will hold 58 events in 28 countries across five continents.
