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SAN DIEGO, CA, July 27, 2006 – Promotion Sports, Inc. has announced that it is awarding American women with all eight of its designated Wild Cards into the 2006 Acura Classic, to be held July 29 - August 6 at the La Costa Resort & Spa. Three experienced WTA tour players, Serena Williams, Lisa Raymond and Megan Shaughnessy, will each receive Wild Card entries into the tournament’s Main Draw, along with a local rising star, 14-year-old Coco Vandeweghe. In addition, Qualifying Draw Wild Cards were given to four southern California residents, including the three winners of this year’s Acura Classic “Opportunity Tournaments,” Hilary Barte, Amanda Fink and Celia Durkin, along with Biffy Kaufmann.
Noted Promotion Sports’ Raquel Giscafré: “We’re thrilled to be able to grant our Wild Cards to such deserving players this year, and we’re especially pleased that they’re all Americans. As far as we’re concerned American women’s tennis is alive and well at the Acura Classic, and it’s our pleasure to be able to showcase the talents of both experienced players as well as our local up-and-comers.”
Three Experienced WTA Players…
Serena Williams: A seven-time Grand Slam champion, Williams, who has recently been plagued by a knee injury, returned to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour last week, reaching the semifinals of the Cincinnati event. She is currently ranked #108 on the WTA Tour. This will mark her second appearance in singles competition at the Acura Classic, having reached the quarterfinals in 2004.
Lisa Raymond: Raymond was a finalist at the 1995 Acura Classic, losing to Conchita Martinez. She will be making her 12th singles appearance at La Costa. Currently ranked #1 in the world in doubles, she took the San Diego doubles championship in 2000 with partner Rennae Stubbs. Her recent victory in doubles competition at the French Open earned her a career Doubles Grand Slam.
Megan Shaughnessy: Currently ranked #70, Shaughnessy has won four career singles titles, including one this year in Rabat, Morocco, along with 14 doubles titles. She will be making her seventh appearance at the Acura Classic.
And Five Up-and-Comers…
Coco Vandeweghe: 14-year-old Rancho Sante Fe resident Coco Vandeweghe is a tennis phenom-in-the-making, according to many tennis experts in the San Diego area. According to her coach Guy Fritz, her serve has been clocked at 110 mph, and he predicts it will reach 120 mph by next year. Sports runs in Coco’s family – her grandfather, Dr. Ernie Vandeweghe, played seven seasons with the New York Knicks, and her uncle Kiki Vandeweghe is the former general manager of the Denver Nuggets.
Amanda Fink: A 2005 graduate of Calabasas High School, Fink is the winner of the first Acura Classic Opportunity Tournament at the Riviera Tennis Club. She is currently ranked #1016 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and played #2 as a freshman at the University of Southern California this past year.
Hilary Barte: Winner of the second Opportunity Tournament held at the Rancho San Clemente Tennis & Fitness Club, Barte is a 17-year-old high school student who will begin her senior year at Harvard-Westlake School this fall. She has been named “Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year” by both the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News.
Celia Durkin: Winner of the final Opportunity Tournament held at the San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club, Durkin is a resident of West Los Angeles who attended Harvard University for one year before transferring to Stanford this year. She was a quarterfinalist in this season’s NCAA Division I Championship.
Biffy Kaufmann: Kaufmann is a Yale graduate and a resident of Point Loma. She was the #1 player in both singles and doubles at her alma mater and is currently ranked #640 on the WTA Tour. She was a semifinalist in the Acura Classic Opportunity Tournament at the San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club this year, an event at which she was the defending champion. Last year, in addition to playing in the Acura Classic Singles Qualifying, she played in the Acura Classic Main Draw Doubles with Lindsey Nelson.
For more information and to purchase tickets for the Acura Classic, fans can call the Tournament Box Office at 760-438-5683, or visit www.acuraclassic.com. Free parking for attendees will be available for opening weekend on Saturday and Sunday, July 29th and 30th.
Promotion Sports, Inc., which owns the Acura Classic and promotes a variety of professional tennis events, is a private corporation headquartered in Carlsbad, California. Founded in 1982 by Raquel Giscafré and Jane Stratton, former professional tennis players, the company is dedicated to promoting sports and women’s tennis worldwide.
The Acura Classic is sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
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