Home Depot Center News

CARSON, CA (Tuesday, May 19, 2009) - Sony Ericsson WTA Tour superstars Maria Sharapova and defending champion and world number one ranked player Dinara Safina are among the first to announce their participation in Southern California's most prestigious summer tennis tradition, the 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife (formerly know as the East West Bank Classic) on the hard courts of The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson August 3-9, 2009.

Joining Sharapova and Safina, who on Sunday won her second straight Premier-level Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, in the 56-player field will be current No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 8 Ana Ivanovic, No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 36 Daniela Hantuchova. Ivanovic and Hantuchova have had successful runs in recent editions of the tournament, played for the 39th consecutive year in southern California, with Ivanovic winning the title in 2007 and Hantuchova being runner up in 2005.

\"The 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife will once again, showcase a world-class field of champions featuring the world's most popular players,\" said Scott Hanley, Vice President, AEG Sports, operators of the premier event. \"Beginning with our defending champion and the WTA's new number one player in the world Dinara Safina and the extremely popular and talented Maria Sharapova, we have already received commitments from four of the world's top twelve players. Southern California tennis fans can once again look forward to seeing the best players in the world competing for not only this prestigious tournament's championship, but important Olympus US Open Series points as well.\"

\"As part of the 'Ultimate Tennis Celebration,' our fans will also be treated to a week of exciting tennis promotions, offers and special events including our now traditional spectacular fireworks display on Saturday night, and popular tennis-related giveaways for children and adults,\" Hanley added.

About the Tournament
The LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife, in its 39th year, is one of the most historic events in women's tennis and is being held for the sixth consecutive year at The Home Depot Center. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier event offers prize money of $700,000 to the 56-player singles and 16-team doubles draws. The distinguished tournament champions list includes Dinara Safina, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, all of whom have also been ranked No. 1 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour during their careers.

The LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife is part of the prestigious Olympus US Open Series, which links nine summer hard-court tournaments to the famed US Open. This year's tournament marks the sixth year players competing in the US Open Series tournaments will be vying for bonus prize money at the US Open. Players competing in the \"summer season\" of tennis at the participating Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments will receive Olympus US Open Series points, which will ultimately earn the series winner the opportunity to double her US Open prize purse.

The LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife offers a variety of ticket packages on sale now. All event ticket packages, including all 13 sessions of play, including the outer grounds pass, start at just $250.00. In addition, weekend packages which include the final five sessions of the tournament played on Friday (two sessions), Saturday (two semi-final sessions) and the finals on Sunday start at only $150.00. Ticket discounts, great benefits, and the best seat locations are offered with each ticket plan.

Tennis fans purchasing these packages can save up to 48% off the regular price of individual tickets! Groups of 10 or more can also now order discounted tickets to single sessions. For more information on all ticket packages, VIP Hospitality Suites and sponsorship/exhibit opportunities, call 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425) or visit www.latennischamps.com . Individual tickets to single sessions will go on sale in June through www.ticketmaster.com.

About the Players
Former No. 1 ranked player Maria Sharapova, will highlight the list of elite players to compete at this year's LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife. Sharapova won the Australian Open in 2008 without losing a single set, making her the first and only Russian female to win the Australian Open. Sharapova became a three-time Grand Slam Champion with wins at 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open.

Dinara Safina, defending singles champion and current World No. 1 has won two Premier-level singles titles already in 2009 - Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and Mutua Madrilena Open in Madrid - and has reached the finals at three other events this year - the Medibank International in Sydney, the Australian Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. A silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Safina is the sister of former No.1 world men's player, Marat Safin, the world's first brother-sister world No.1 pair.

No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova enters the LA Women's Tennis Championships with 10 career titles including one Grand Slam singles title (2004 US Open) and two Grand Slam runner-up finishes at the 2006 French Open and the 2007 US Open.

No. 8 Ana Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 2008 French Open defeating Dinara Safina as se became the 17th player in Tour history to capture the World No.1 ranking, a ranking she held for nine weeks in 2008. Ivanovic was the runner up at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open and won the singles title at the 2007 LA Women's Tennis Championships.

Agnieszka Radwanska, ranked No. 12 in the world, became the first Polish player in history to claim a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title when she won the Nordea Nordic Light Open in 2007. In 2008, Radwanska went on to win three more singles titles at the Pattaya Women's Open, Istanbul Cup and the International Women's Open in Eastbourne as she finished the 2008 season in the Top 10 of the year-end Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings.

Daniela Hantuchova, currently No. 36, holds three career titles, and is a two-time champion at Indian Wells (2002, 2007). A 2007 Australian Open semifinalist, Hantuchova is one of four players ever to complete a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. Earlier this year, Hantuchova along with doubles partner Ai Sugiyama, made it to the finals of the Australian Open where they faced sisters Serena and Venus Williams.

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez (CSUDH) Hills in Carson, California. The Home Depot Center features a 13,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby, lacrosse and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field, The Home Depot Center Velodrome (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams - Major League Soccer's 2005 MLS and U.S. Open Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy; Club Deportivo (CD) Chivas USA; and Women's Professional Soccer's (WPS) Los Angeles Sol. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) USA Tennis High Performance Training Center as well as the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and the nationally recognized Athletes' Performance training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center. The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling, USA Track & Field and the USTA.

Contacts
Michael Roth
AEG
(213) 742-7155
mroth@lakings.com

Alison Groendal
The Home Depot Center
(310) 630-2032
agroendal@homedepotcenter.com