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The 2012 Wimbledon Championships' seeds have been announced and 11 of the top 32 seeds are scheduled to play at next month's Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, including three women seeded in the top 10.

Heading the list as the sixth seed at the All-England Club is defending Bank of the West Classic champion Serena Williams. Joining her in the top-10 seeds is 2012 French Open quarterfinalist Angelique Kerber (No. 8) and three-time Bank of the West Classic finalist Marion Bartoli, seeded ninth.

Additional Wimbledon seeds that will be competing at this year's Bank of the West Classic include 13th seed Dominika Cibulkova, 15th seed and 2011 Wimbledon semifinalist Sabine Lisicki, former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic (seeded 18th), 20th seed Nadia Petrova, up-and-coming young American Christina McHale (No. 28th), 29th seed Monica Niculescu, 30th seed Shuai Peng, and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded 32nd.

The players will learn of their first-round opponents when the 2012 Wimbledon main draw is announced Friday.

The 2012 Bank of the West Classic will be held from July 9-15. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.

In addition to showcasing the top women's talent, the tournament also will be hosting a series of exhibition matches. This three-night event will feature tennis legends Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Michael Chang.

Meanwhile, Bank of the West announced Thursday that it has renewed its commitment as the title sponsor through 2017, and will mark over 20 years that the bank has supported the world's longest-running women's professional tennis tournament. The Classic is in its 42nd year and is the first stop in the Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series, which begins after Wimbledon and concludes with the U.S. Open.

The tournament, which is owned and operated by IMG, has a 28 player singles draw and a 16 team doubles draw, with total prize money of $740,000.

"We are extremely pleased that Bank of the West has chosen to renew its title sponsorship of the event through 2017," said Bank of the West Classic Tournament Director Kim Hall Uliasz. "The bank is a tremendous supporter and we look forward to a collaboration where the Bank of the West Classic continues as the premier tournament for professional women's tennis."

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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