Individual Tickets Now on Sale for 2010 Mercury Insurance Open at La Costa Resort and Spa

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Tournament officials announced today that individual tickets for the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, scheduled for July 31 to Aug. 8 at the La Costa Resort and Spa, are now on sale.

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.

"We encourage tennis fans to purchase their tickets early," said Raquel Giscafre, Mercury Insurance Open tournament director. "We anticipate a strong player field this year and we certainly don't want fans to miss the opportunity to see some great tennis."

Early entries in the Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center include Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova, Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The main stadium at this year's Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center will seat 5,000 fans. "With a small, intimate stadium at the La Costa Resort and Spa this year, the atmosphere is going to be fantastic and fans are guaranteed to be close to all the action on court," said Giscafre.

The Mercury Insurance Open Kid's Day, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 2, is free for children with the purchase of an adult ticket. Groups of 10 or more will receive a 50% discount on individual grandstand seating on Tuesday, Aug. 3.

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 Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, 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 U.S. Open Series. For additional information about the Mercury Insurance Open, log onto http://www.mercuryinsuranceopen.com/; join us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SDTennis); or follow frequent updates on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MercuryInsOpen).

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 U.S. 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 U.S. Open Series, among others. For more information, please visit www.octagontennis.com.

SOURCE Mercury Insurance