With a strong set of women heading to the nation’s capital for the Citi Open, another astounding field is set for the Bank of the West Classic held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The field is led by world number one Serena Williams as well as her close friend and world number five Dane Caroline Wozniacki.
The Top Players
The American world number one is the only former champion returning to Palo Alto winning three of the previous four years with the only exception being 2013 when Dominika Cibulkova won. This is her first tournament in her leadup to the US Open where she’s trying to complete a Calendar Slam.
Last year’s US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki will be seeded second in the field. She’s been playing much more freely ever since her friendship with Serena Williams has blossomed after her highly publicized breakup with Rory McIlroy. After struggling on the grass courts, Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro is looking to continue her fantastic year which includes two finals appearances in Miami and Rome. Two Germans, last year’s finalist Angelique Kerber and last year’s semifinalist Andrea Petkovic, are also in the field and should be a threat to capture the title as they always are.
The Power Servers
Three big servers are also in the field with Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, and Sabine Lisicki. Pliskova is one of the leading WTA women in the ace department while Keys boasts the raw power on her serve and groundstrokes which makes her the heir to Ms. Williams. Last year, “Boom Boom” Lisicki broke the WTA record for fastest serve here at the Bank of the West Classic which clocked in at 131 MPH. She also broke the WTA ace record earlier this year at the Aegon Classic with 27.
The Americans
The final semifinalist from last year who has not been mentioned yet will be in the field. Varvara Lepchenko was unseeded last year, just like this year, and made the semis before falling to Kerber. Grass-court specialist Alison Riske will also be taking the courts. She nearly upset Lucie Safarova in the opening round of Wimbledon.
Local girl CiCi Bellis will be making her way center stage in Stanford as well. The 16-year-old American is already ranked 168th in the world and has three ITF titles to her name. For her age, that ranking is astounding considering the limited schedule she is obligated to play because of age restrictions.
Just like in DC, the Bank of the West Classic should be a highly competitive tournament amongst some of the best women in the world before they meet in Toronto and Cincinnati. However just like any event Serena is in, it is either her or the field for this title.