Serena Williams has entered the 2008 Bank of the West Classic, tournament officials announced on Thursday.
The Stanford event is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world.
Counting Williams, four of the Top 10 women in the world have entered the singles field.
The Bank of the West Classic, which will be held July 14-20 at the Taube Tennis Stadium on the campus of Stanford University, now has commitments from Williams (No. 5), defending Bank of the West Classic Champion Anna Chakvetadze (No. 6), Marion Bartoli (No. 9) and Daniela Hantuchova (No. 10).
Williams, the former World No. 1, has already won three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tiles this year including the Tier 1 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami bringing her total career singles titles to 31. She has posted an impressive 23-2 singles record heading into this year’s French Open.
Williams has already advanced to the third round at Roland Garros following a 6-2, 7-5 win over Mathilde Johansson in her second round match.
The Bank of the West Classic’s impressive field also features former World No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam Champion Lindsay Davenport, 2007 Bank of the West Classic finalist Sania Mirza, and former World No. 3 and seven-time tour winner Nadia Petrova.
The Bank of the West Classic, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, 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.
For more information, please visit www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
