Winners to be awarded wild card into qualifying draw at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad

Carlsbad, Calif. (June 21, 2010) ­– Tournament officials announced today that Opportunity Tournaments will take place in three Southern California locations. The winner of each Opportunity Tournament will be awarded a wild card into the qualifying draw of the Mercury Insurance Open presented by Tri-City Medical Center, which begins on Saturday, July 31 at the La Costa Resort and Spa.

“These Opportunity events provide valuable match experience for local players,” said Raquel Giscafre, Mercury Insurance Open Tournament Director. “The winner of each event will have a chance to play in our qualifying draw, which always features a tough international field.”

The first Opportunity Tournament will be held at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, June 29 to July 3. The second event will be played at the Rancho San Clemente Tennis & Fitness Club in San Clemente, July 7-10 and the third tournament will take place at the San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club in San Diego, July 14-18.

The Opportunity Tournaments are open to all interested female tennis players. Draw size for each event will be limited to 32 players. Acceptances will be made according to Sony Ericsson WTA TOUR ranking, college record, and/or junior record.

Entry deadlines are Tuesday, June 22 for the Riviera Tennis Club event; Friday, July 2 for the Rancho San Clemente Tennis & Fitness Club tournament and Friday, July 9 for the San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club event. Each Opportunity Tournament requires a $40 entry fee. For entry forms, players can go to mercuryinsuranceopen.com and click on opportunities, or contact the tennis centers directly for more information.

Former Opportunity Tournament winners include Mexico’s Angelica Gavaldon, a two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist and Alexandra Stevenson, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 1999.

The 2010 Mercury Insurance Open will take place July 31 to Aug. 8. Among the early entries are 2010 French Open finalist Samantha Stosur, Russians Dinara Safina, Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova as well as Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

Former two-time tournament champion Lindsay Davenport has accepted a wild card into the doubles competition, where she will partner fellow American Liezel Huber.

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 and begin at $70. 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 Tennis Channel and ESPN 2, and will comprise one of the 10 events of the Olympus US Open Series.

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 www.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 www.tricitymed.org.

About the USTA: Now in its seventh season, the Olympus U.S. Open Series has established itself as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking 10 summer tournaments to the U.S. Open. Fans can follow the action with nearly 200 hours of live television coverage, culminating each week with back-to-back men’s and women’s finals every Sunday afternoon. Players battle for more than $37 million and a chance for bonus prize money at the U.S. Open. In 2008, Olympus became the first title sponsor of the Series. The Olympus U.S. Open Series is also supported by sponsors American Express, Evian and Grand Marnier.

Sam Querrey won the 2009 Olympus U.S. Open Series men’s title and Elena Dementieva won the women’s title. In 2007, Roger Federer collected the biggest paycheck in tennis history -- $2.4 million -- for winning the U.S. Open and the Olympus US Open Series. In 2005, Kim Clijsters captured both the U.S. Open and the Olympus U.S. Open Series, winning $2.2 million -- the largest purse in women’s sports history.

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 www.octagontennis.com.