San Jose gets Venus, loses Sharapova
For the first time since 2014, both Williams sisters will play in the Silicon Valley Classic, formerly known as the Bank of the West Classic. Venus Williams was added to the field Tuesday, joining Serena Williams, who announced in May her commitment to play in the tournament.
Another big name won’t play: It was announced Tuesday that Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the July 30-Aug. 5 event to be held at San Jose State.
The field also includes twotime Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka, defending tournament champion Madison Keys, 2017 runnner-up Coco Vandeweghe, 2016 champion Johanna Konta and Athertonraised CiCi Bellis.
Serena is coming off an impressive run at Wimbledon, where she reached the final before losing to Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-3. Venus lost in the third round.
Sharapova had a difficult time at Wimbledon, losing in the first round to 132nd-ranked qualifier Vitalia Diatchenko 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, after being up a set and up 5-2.
In 2014, when the tournament was still held at Stanford, Serena won the tournament, beating Kerber. Venus lost in the quarterfinals. This will be the first year the tournament will be played under its new name and take place at San Jose State. It is the first stop on the summertime U.S. Open Series, leading up to the U.S. Open in New York, Aug. 27-Sept. 9.
— Bruce Jenkins
The U.S. Open women’s and men’s singles champions each will get $3.8 million and the Grand Slam tournament’s total prize money will rise to $53 million. The U.S. Tennis Association says that other increases include $700,000 for the winning teams in men’s and women’s doubles.
ELSEWHERE Humboldt State axes football
Less than three months after celebrating a high-water mark for the program, Humboldt State on Tuesday announced that 2018 — its 90th season — will be the last for its team.
The cost of fielding the team led to the decision. Program boosters began a fundraising drive with a goal of collecting $500,000 — roughly half the cost of one season. But even after a deadline extension, the group total was $329,000.
In April’s NFL draft, Dublin native and Humboldt alum Alex Cappa — a guard — was taken by Tampa Bay in the third round, the first Lumberjack drafted since 1991. NFL: The Los Angeles Rams agreed to a five-year extension with receiver Brandin Cooks. Golf: Redwood City’s Lucy Li nearly matched the lowest 36hole score in U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship history, carding a 2-under par 69 Tuesday at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach. She has a six-stroke lead among players who have completed two rounds. Li, 15, became the youngest-ever U.S. Women’s Open qualifier in 2014 at age 11. Concord’s Yealimi Noh, 16, shot a 5-under 66 in round one, but completed just six holes Tuesday as play was interrupted by a 4½-hour fog delay. The remainder of the second round will be finished Wednesday before match play begins for the top 64 finishers.
Obituaries: Gabe Rivera, the overpowering “Señor Sack” lineman for Texas Tech who was paralyzed in a car accident while a Pittsburgh Steelers rookie, has died. He was 57.
Tom Stephens, an original member of the Patriots and a two-way player, has died at 82. Stephens signed with the Boston Patriots for their inaugural season in 1960 and played five seasons, appearing in 49 games as a tight end and defensive back.