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-- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-- SERENA WILLIAMS WITHDRAWS FROM THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC STANFORD, Calif. (Sunday, 20 July 2003) – World No. 1 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Bank of the West Classic because of pain in her left knee. Williams was due to make her debut at the Bank of the West Classic, her first tournament since defending her title at Wimbledon two weeks ago. “Obviously, I’m very disappointed that I can’t play at Stanford, especially because it would have been my first time playing there,” Williams said. “I heard that it’s a great tournament, and I was looking forward to it, but I really can’t play with my knee in pain right now.” As per WTA Tour rules, Williams’ withdrawal prior to the release of the schedule of play results in the following changes to the singles draw (updated draw attached) · No. 3 seed Jennifer Capriati (USA) fills Williams’ spot in the draw (line 1). · No. 5 seed Jelena Dokic (YUG) fills Capriati’s former spot in the draw (line 9) and will now have a first-round bye. · Lisa Raymond (USA) will move into Dokic’s former spot in the draw (line 8) and will play Yoon Jeong Cho (KOR) in the first round. · A lucky loser or qualifier, who will be determined after qualifying rounds are completed, will fill Raymond’s former spot (line 29). ### The WTA Tour is the world's premier professional sport for women with more than 1,000 players representing 76 nations competing for more than $52 million in prize money at the Tour's 58 events in 30 countries. More than 4 million people attended women's tennis events in 2002 with millions more watching events on television networks around the world. The WTA Tour's season concludes with the WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, 5-10 November 2003. Further information on the Tour can be found on the Internet at www.wtatour.com. Contact: Darrell Fry, WTA Tour, +1.727.895.5000
Gina Capulong, WTA Tour,
+1.650.498.0428 Visit the Jelena Dokic page here
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