"It's nice that's she's excited about coming back and wanting to talk about it and nice to have a Grand Slam champion and former world number one coming back to Auckland." Budge said.
The tournament now has two of the most recognisable faces in tennis with Wozniacki and seven times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams also confirmed.
The duo have spent a combined 88 weeks at world number one. Wozniacki is a superstar of the sport having amassed more than $31 million USD in prize money and capturing 29 WTA titles. She has featured on the cover of dozens of international publications such as Elle, Sports Illustrated and Cosmopolitan.
One senses Wozniacki's return was never really in doubt. She has formed a close friendship with Budge over the years, dating back to his time working for the WTA Tour.
But more than that, the 28 year old is a real competitor who is desperate to claim the title in Auckland having lost two finals, this year to German Julia Goerges and in 2015 to Venus Williams.
"She definitely wants to lift this trophy and when we look back at the superstars we have had here Caroline has been the most consistent performer. When you are weighing up who to go after , having someone who you know is going to be hitting balls in anger on Thursday or Friday is an attractive proposition for us," Budge said.
It's testament to the pulling power of the Auckland tournament which relies more on the good old fashioned Kiwi hospitality, proximity to the tournament hotel and attractions to lure players, plus the desire of those involved to ensure no stone is left unturned in making sure the players needs are looked after.
"It's a great statement as to how the ASB Classic is viewed among the players. It's like test driving a car and once we have them in the car they tend to purchase it and we have had that with Caroline and is a great position to have one of the top two or three female athletes in sport deciding she wants to come back to the ASB Classic every year," Budge said.
The rival Brisbane International is a WTA Premier series tournament carries four times the prize money of Auckland and considerably more ranking points while the Shenzhen tournament in China also in the same week has double the prize money.
Wozniacki captured her maiden Grand Slam title in January's Australian Open final against world number Simona Halep, in a match that has gone down as one of the best in the Open era. She went on to reach the semi finals at the WTA Premier tournament in Doha in February and won the traditional Wimbledon warm up at Eastbourne.
Budge is targeting more big name players with last year's French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko another possibility while he is also chasing the signature of former world number one Victoria Azarenka who signed last year as a wildcard but pulled out due to child custody issues.
Defending champion Goerges is currently ranked 10 and under tour rules allowing only one top ten ranked player into the Auckland field, won't be able to return unless she slips out of the top ten. The German has a lot of ranking points to defend between now and the end of the season and that scenario is likely.
Budge believes the field to be finalised late next month will be stronger than Shenzhen which has double the ranking points and prize money.
