News

Carlsbad, Calif. — The Mercury Insurance Open, San Diego’s WTA Tour event, has been named Tournament of the Year by the San Diego District Tennis Association, a district within the Southern California Tennis Association, which is one of 17 sections in the United States Tennis Association.

The award was presented by SDDTA President Geoff Griffin during the District’s 2011 Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, which took place last Friday at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.

“We are honored to be named Tournament of the Year by our local district tennis association,” said Mercury Insurance Open Tournament Director Raquel Giscafre, who received the award on behalf of the tournament. “The Mercury Insurance Open thanks the SDDTA for not only recognizing our event with this award, but for all of their work in promoting tennis in San Diego.”

Giscafre added, “I would also like to thank Octagon for bringing women’s professional tennis back to San Diego and Mercury Insurance and Tri-City Medical Center for their sponsorship as well as the strong support from the San Diego tennis community. This award certainly would not be possible without their contributions.”

The 2011 Mercury Insurance Open will be played from July 30 through Aug. 7 at the La Costa Resort and Spa. Two-time defending US Open champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium has committed to this summer’s tournament. The Belgian is a former number one ranked player in the world. Individual tickets for the Mercury Insurance Open will go on sale May 16. For ticket information, call (760) 930-7032.

“The SDDTA Awards Committee was very happy in naming the Mercury Insurance Open as the San Diego Tournament of the Year. The San Diego tennis community was saddened when the event left San Diego County in 2007, but it’s back and better than ever,” Griffin said. “The SDDTA congratulates Mercury Insurance Open Tournament Director Raquel Giscafre and her staff.”

The Mercury Insurance Open, a Premier 700 Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) event offering $721,000 in prize money, will feature a 56-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw in 2011. The women’s professional tennis event returned to the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad in 2010 after a two-year hiatus. Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova won the singles title last summer when she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the final.

The tournament is part of the US Open Series. For additional information about the Mercury Insurance Open, log onto mercuryinsuranceopen.com, join us on Facebook (facebook.com/SDTennis), or follow frequent updates on Twitter (twitter.com/MercuryInsOpen).

About Mercury Insurance: Founded in 1962, Mercury Insurance (MCY) is a multiple-line insurance organization offering predominantly personal automobile and homeowners insurance through a network of independent agents and brokers in California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Virginia and Pennsylvania. For more information about Mercury Insurance, visit mercuryinsurance.com.

About Tri-City Medical Center: Founded in 1957 to serve the healthcare needs of coastal North San Diego County, Tri-City Medical Center is a full-service, acute care hospital with (500) physicians practicing in 60 specialties. The Medical Center is administered by the Tri-City Healthcare District, which includes most of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista. For more information about Tri-City Medical Center, please visit tricitymed.org.

About Octagon Tennis: Octagon has a rich and proud history in the sport of tennis, having managed the careers of 63 Grand Slam Champions and 11 Olympic gold medalists over three decades. In addition, Octagon owns or manages more professional tennis events than any other agency with WTA and ATP events including the Kremlin Cup, Brasil Open, the Movistar Open and the Western & Southern Financial Group Championships, which is also part of the Olympus US Open Series, among others. For more information, please visit octagontennis.com.