STANFORD (California), July 19: World number one Serena Williams, coming off her second consecutive Wimbledon title, has made a change in her hardcourt schedule to try and keep a WTA title in the family.

The six-time Grand Slam champion will be the top seed here in next week’s WTA Bank of the West Classic. It’s the first time Serena has played in this event, one which her injured sister Venus won last year.

“Venus plays here every year but she wasn’t able to play here this year,” Williams said on Friday. “We switched off a little bit this year. We never play the same tournaments.

“I needed to pick up an extra tournament and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity. I never played here before.”

The $635,000 hardcourt event is the first tuneup for Serena on her path to the US Open, where she will defend another Slam crown taken during the “Serena Slam” she completed at this year’s Australian Open.—AFP