Ex-Bank of the West champ, Belgian star enter San Jose

Johanna Konta plays in the 2016 U.S. Open one
month after winning the Bank of the West Classic
at Stanford. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Johanna Konta, who won the 2016 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, and Elise Mertens, an Australian Open semifinalist in January, have entered the inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at San Jose State this summer.
   The acceptance list for the July 30-Aug. 5 tournament, which replaces the Bank of the West Classic, was announced today.
   Konta, 27, of Great Britain, and Mertens, 22, of Belgium join former world No. 1s Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka in the 28-player singles field. Mertens, who will make her San Francisco Bay Area debut, is ranked 17th, and Konta is 22nd.
   Also entered are Americans Madison Keys, CoCo Vandeweghe, Danielle Collins, Alison Riske, CiCi Bellis and Sachia Vickery.
   Keys defeated Vandeweghe in the Bank of the West final last August and reached the U.S. Open final the following month.
   Bellis, a 19-year-old San Francisco native who grew up in nearby Atherton, has missed the last three months with an arm injury. It's uncertain when she will return.
   Williams won the Bank of the West Classic in 2011, 2012 and 2014, and Azarenka took the 2010 crown at Stanford. Each is fighting her way back up the rankings after having her first child. Sharapova also is trying to rebound after serving a 15-month doping suspension that ended in April last year.
   Three more wild cards (in addition to Azarenka), to be announced in the next two weeks, and four qualifiers will complete the field.
   To purchase tickets to the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, go to MubadalaSVC.com or call (866) 982-8497.

MUBADALA SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC
July 30-Aug. 5 at San Jose State

Acceptance list (with rankings)

Serena Williams, United States, 1 (special ranking)
Madison Keys, United States, 10
CoCo Vandeweghe, United States, 15
Elise Mertens, Belgium, 17
Johanna Konta, Great Britain, 22
Maria Sharapova, Russia, 23
Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova, Russia, 28
Zhang Shuai, China, 29
Mihaela Buzarnescu, Romania, 30
Maria Sakkari, Greece, 35
Timea Babos, Hungary, 36
Danielle Collins, United States, 42
Kristina Mladenovic, France, 56
Alison Riske, United States, 61
Polona Hercog, Slovenia, 64
CiCi Bellis, United States, 67
Wang Qiang, China, 68
Ajla Tomljanovic, Australia, 72
Sachia Vickery, United States, 82
Vera Lapko, Belarus, 84
Victoria Azarenka (wild card), 85