Serena enters Bank of the West @ Stanford

Eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has entered the 2008 Bank of the West Classic, giving the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world commitments from four of the top 10 players in the world.

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, already has won three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles this year including Tier 1 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and Tier 1 Family Circle Cup in Charleston, bringing her total career singles titles to 31. She posted an impressive 23-2 singles record heading into this year's French Open.

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 U.S. Open Series. Single-session tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to http://www.bankofthewestclassic.com/.