Call it the Comeback Open.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has received a wild card for the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, tournament officials announced Thursday.
Kvitova, a 27-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic, will join five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova and two-time major winner Victoria Azarenka in the tournament, Monday through Aug. 6 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Sharapova (doping suspension) returned to the tour in April, Kvitova (knife attack) in May and Azarenka (childbirth) in June.
Azarenka defeated Sharapova 6-4, 6-1 to win the 2010 Bank of the West Classic. Kvitova will play in the tournament for the first time.
Sharapova and Azarenka are former world No. 1s. Kvitova has been as high as No. 2.
On Wednesday, Bank of the West officials announced that Claire Liu, 17, of Thousand Oaks in the Los Angeles area received a wild card. Liu, the No. 1 junior in the world, won the Wimbledon girls title two weeks ago.
Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers Northern California professional, collegiate and junior tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @norcaltenczar.
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