(June 4, 2010) Former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport is making a comeback of sorts in San Diego next month.

Davenport, one of only six women in history to hold the World No. 1 rank in singles and doubles, has accepted a wild card to play in the doubles competition of the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open, scheduled for July 31 to August 8 at the La Costa Resort and Spa.

Davenport will play doubles with fellow American Liezel Huber at the Mercury Insurance Open, which will feature a 16-team doubles draw. Huber and Davenport represented the United States when they teamed to reach the doubles quarterfinals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

This will be Davenport’s 10th career appearance at the La Costa Resort and Spa. She won singles titles here in 1998 and 2004. She also won the doubles title in 1998 with Natasha Zvereva and in 1999 with Corina Morariu. Davenport has not played in a tournament since 2008 when she reached the third round in singles and doubles at the US Open.

In addition to winning 37 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour career doubles titles, Davenport has captured 55 career singles titles including the US Open (1998), Wimbledon (1999) and the Australian Open (2000). She ended the year as the No. 1 singles player in the world in 2001,
2004 and 2005.

"Lindsay has always had a special place in this tournament. Besides being a former two-time singles champion, she also played her first tour event here in 1991 as a 15 year old in qualifying," said Raquel Giscafre, Mercury Insurance Open tournament director. “She has been a very popular player at this event and I know fans will be excited about her return to the La Costa Resort and Spa."

The 32-player singles draw at the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open includes Russians Nadia Petrova, Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova as well as Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia among the early player entries.

Reserved Grandstand and Box Seat tickets, which range from $10-$125, are now available online at mercuryinsuranceopen.com or through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com.

Tournament Ticket Packages are also on sale now and begin at $70.

Special ticket discounts are also available for members of the United States Tennis Association and the La Costa Resort and Spa. For additional ticket information or to purchase tickets by phone, call (760) 930-7032.

The Mercury Insurance Open, a Premier 700 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event offering $700,000 in prize money, marks the return of women’s professional tennis to Carlsbad after a two-year hiatus. The event will be televised on the Tennis Channel and ESPN 2 and will comprise one of the 10 events of the Olympus US Open Series.