Organizers of the 2010 Odlum Brown VanOpen presented by Invesco Trimark are excited to release the women’s players list for the $75,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament at West Vancouver’s Hollyburn Country Club from July 31st to August 8th.

Three women currently in the Top 100 on the Sony Ericsson WTA World Rankings – Australia’s Alicia Molik, a former world #8, Yung-Jan Chan and Kai-Chen Chang of Chinese Taipei – are scheduled to compete in this year’s event. In addition, seven other world top-150 players are on the list released by the International Tennis Federation and the United States Tennis Association.

Among them, 2000 Wimbledon and Olympic semi-finalist Jelena Dokic of Australia who rose as high as world #4 will be making her first trip to the Odlum Brown VanOpen. Dokic appears to be on form having won a $50,000 event in France on July 18th. Virginie Razzano of France, who once held a world #16 ranking and advanced to the Round of 16 at both the 2009 French Open and Wimbledon, has also committed to play at Hollyburn.

In addition, this year’s tournament will feature defending champion and 2008 finalist Stephanie Dubios of Laval, Quebec who returns along with last year’s runner-up Sania Mirza, India’s top player and a popular addition to the field in her first appearance in West Vancouver a year ago.

“Having a field with players that have been ranked in the world's top 10 along with our 2009 finalists and numerous players with Grand Slam event experience is going to make this the most competitive draw we have seen in event history,” says Tournament Director Ryan Clark.

The 2010 Odlum Brown VanOpen will include a very strong Canadian contingent with Dubois’ national team teammates Sharon Fichman (Toronto) and Valerie Tetrault (Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec) joining Heidi El-Tabakh (Toronto) and Vancouver’s own Rebecca Marino in the women’s main draw.

And reigning US Open Mixed Doubles champion Carly Gullickson has confirmed her entry into this year’s tournament. In all, 13 different countries are represented on the women’s players list adding to the tradition of great international players appearing at Hollyburn.

“We are very excited about having such a high level of talent for the women’s event,” says Tournament Chair and Underwriter Floyd Hill. “With these world class players, the Odlum Brown VanOpen is continuing to evolve into a world class event. Since 2002, when Maria Sharapova was our champion, we have been committed to improve the event each year and we’re seeing proof of that again in 2010.”

The Odlum Brown VanOpen will strengthen its women’s field with the addition of four wild card entries to be named shortly.

To apply for media accreditation to this year’s event, please click here

For full tournament information, please visit www.vanopen.com

Jeff Paterson
Communication Manager
Tennis BC & Odlum Brown VanOpen
(604) 788-6638
media@tennisbc.org