Bank of the West Tennis Classic Championship
The Bank of the West tennis Classis is a tennis tournament which is played over a week. It is a tennis championship organized by the WTA for women tennis players. The venue for this erstwhile tennis tournament is the campus of Stanford University, California.
It is generally held in July but does not have a fixed date as such. The last edition of the Bank of the West Tennis Classic was held in 2008 from July 14 to July 20. It is the oldest women’s only tennis tournament and played on the outdoor hard courts. It is the first tournament in the Annual US Open Series.
The Bank of the West Tennis Classic is the only tournament that features female tennis players only. The championship is played on hard-court and does not feature the men’s leg of the sport. This tournament constitutes the initiation of the US Open series which is one of the annual Grand Slams. It was first started in 1971.
One of the greatest women’s tennis players, Martina Navratilova, is the only player to have won five of these titles in the years 1979-80, 1988, 1991 and finally 1993. The defending champion is Aleksandra Wozniak from Canada who defeated Marion Bartoli in the finals.
The Beijing Tennis Open
The Beijing Tennis Open or the China Open as it is now popularly known is a professional tennis tournament that is played annually in September. It is played in the Olympic Green Centre in Beijing, China. It was initiated in the year 1993 and continued to operate till 1998.
But then in 1998, it was removed from the ATP tourney for reasons undisclosed and reinstated in 2004 when popular demand made the organizers decide to bring it back. It was one of the maiden tennis tournaments which were played in Asia.
Along with the Qatar Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Beijing Tennis Open was one of the few championships which the ATP had decided to start as part of the Asia tournament itinerary. After its reinstallation, the Beijing Tennis Open has been made a part of both the ATP and the WTA.
This tournament is famous for being the only championship outside the USA to use the services of the Hawk-Eye technology to find outline call errors. Michael Chang is the only player who has won consecutive three titles in both the singles and the doubles format of the game. This tournament is one of the most important Asian tennis tournaments. It is highly recognized and awaited due to its competitive nature.
