More than 84,000 people will descend on North County’s La Costa Resort and Spa from July 27 to Aug. 4 for the 2002 Acura Classic, where Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova, Kim Clijsters and other top female tennis players will compete for a $775,000 purse. Venus Williams, champion of the past two years, will defend her title at the tournament, one of 12 stops on the international Sanex Women’s Tennis Association tour.

Over the last 19 years, with varying formats and title sponsors, Acura Classic co-founders, Jane Stratton and Raquel Giscafré, have taken the competition from 1,500 spectators and $50,000 in prize money to more than 80,000 spectators and the highest prize money awarded for any tournament in its category. The purse and San Diego’s natural amenities have made it one of the nation’s most attractive tennis competitions, for both athletes and fans.

Friends and former tennis stars Stratton and Giscafré launched the tournament in 1984 with their Carlsbad-based company, Promotion Sports Inc. Known then as the Virginia Slims of San Diego, the first tournament was held in Balboa Park’s Morley Field; it later was played at the Mission Bay Hilton and San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club before moving to its La Costa venue 12 years ago.

“At the beginning, it didn’t attract any of the major stars because the prize money was low,” Giscafré says. “As the tournament evolved, the top players started participating — now it’s one of their favorite tournaments to come and play.”

“There are many factors why we get so many of the top players,” Stratton adds. “The weather and resort are nice, it’s convenient, and Raquel and I try to make the players very comfortable.” VIP treatment is another perk for the athletes, who Giscafré says are given similar care in other large cities, such as New York and Paris. “These are celebrities,” she says. “We try to treat them like that here. Since Jane and I have been players ourselves, we know how the players like to be treated when they go on tour. The players enjoy the setting and the fun things that are here in San Diego.”

Born in Argentina, Giscafré traveled at age 16 to Europe, where she reached the semi-finals and finals of the French Open and Wimbledon’s Junior Championships. From 1973 to 1977, she was ranked the No. 1 female player in Argentina and won the South American Cup four times in a row. Along with Billie Jean King, she is a founding member of the Women’s Tennis Association, the first independent women’s tour.

Growing up in Salt Lake City, Stratton was the first woman to receive an athletic scholarship at the University of Utah and rose to the No. 1 ranking in U.S. Girls 18 Doubles and No. 3. in U.S. Collegiate Singles. After college, she was a quarterfinalist in doubles competition at the U.S. Open in 1975 and Wimbledon in 1977 and 1979. In 1977, Stratton met Giscafré while playing doubles on the WTA tour, and the two decided to form a company to continue their accomplishments after they retired.

More than 50 underwriters are behind the 2002 Acura Classic, with Samsung, Appliances Direct, Time and Fortune magazines, Evian, Charriol, HNC Software, Yonex, Wells Fargo Bank and Adidas serving as major sponsors. In past years, Virginia Slims, Great American Bank, Mazda and Toshiba have been title sponsors.

This is Acura’s third year as title sponsor on a four-year contract. The winner of the purse also will take home a new Acura CL. The organizers say large-scale television coverage and a chance to visit San Diego are important incentives for the title sponsor.

“In the case of Acura, they get a lot of exposure through media, advertising and television coverage,” Stratton says. With its semifinals broadcast Aug. 3 on national cable channel Fox Sports Net, and finals airing Aug. 4 on ABC, the tournament is part of the Sanex WTA Tour’s international tennis package, which has potential viewership in more than 457 million homes. “The television coverage is huge, a worldwide telecast in every continent,” Giscafré adds.

As part of the sponsorship, 50 nationwide Acura dealers and their spouses will travel to San Diego to stay at the resort and watch the tournament.

“The event provides huge economic impact for the area because of all the people that come to San Diego — media, sponsors and fans,” Giscafré says. “The players appreciate that they play to a full house through the beginning of the tournament to the end. The crowds are always there. They don’t play to empty stands like in some tournaments. That’s a compliment to local tennis fans who appreciate great tennis players.”