Emma Raducanu returns to ASB Classic with field led by Coco Gauff

Emma Raducanu is returning to the ASB Classic. Photo / Photosport

British star Emma Raducanu is returning to the ASB Classic after being forced to withdraw from this year’s event when she rolled her ankle on the indoor courts at Stanley Street.

The final entries for the women’s tournament were confirmed today with the field headed by world number three Coco Gauff, the defending champion at Auckland. She is one of three Grand Slam winners in the field along with Dane Caroline Wozniacki and Raducanu who will take wildcard spots with American Amanda Anisimova.

Raducanu won the US Open in 2021 as a 19-year-old qualifier in possibly the greatest Grand Slam triumph in tennis history.

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But not much has gone right since then with a struggle for form and with a run of injuries that have seen her slip to 103 in the world. At the ASB Classic in January, Raducanu was forced to retire from her second round match with Viktoria Kuzmova, leaving the court in tears.

“It’s difficult to take,” said Raducanu at the time after rain forced the match to be held indoors. “I’ve put a lot of physical work in the last few months and I’ve been feeling good and optimistic. So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle, is pretty disappointing. In the first week as well, I thought I was playing some pretty decent tennis.”

Raducanu headed into the 2023 event as number 78 in the world but has slipped out of the top 100 with a protected ranking of 103. However, as a Grand Slam winner she remains a drawcard.

Seven players in the field are inside the top 40 in the world with a total of 78 WTA career victories between the field.

Gauff, 19, went on from her Auckland success in January to claim her first Grand Slam title at the US Open as well as lead-up titles in Washington and Cincinnati.

“We are thrilled that Coco is returning to defend her title,” said ASB Classic Tournament Director, Nicolas Lamperin. “We all knew we were watching a young player of exceptional talent last year and she has gone on to prove that to the world this year.

“More than that, she touched the hearts of many off the court working with young kiwi players in South Auckland, and yet she is still a teenager and will continue to do great things on and off the court.

“We have two absolute superstar mothers in Caroline Wozniacki and Elina Svitolina. Their records speak for themselves and both have returned after birth of their children to already show they are still world class.”

Anisimova is a prodigious talent who quickly rose to No 21 in the world as a teenager. The American has faced challenges with the death of her father who was her coach and she took much of this year off citing mental health challenges.

After a spell at university, she returns to the ASB Classic where she reached the semifinal against Serena Williams in 2020 and the quarterfinals in 2019. Anisimova is a two-time champion on the WTA Tour, winning titles in Bogota in 2019 and Melbourne in 2022. She also reached the semifinals at the French Open in 2019.

There will be two New Zealand players given the chance to compete, with a qualifying tournament at the ASB Arena after Christmas, with qualifying to start on December 30 and the tournament-proper on January 1 to 7.

The full field is (Seeding, World Ranking):

1. Coco Gauff (USA) World No 3, 2. Elina Svitolina (UKR) No 25, 3. Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) No 31, 4. Emma Navarro (USA) No 32, 5. Marie Bouzkova (CZE) No 34, 6. Xinyu Wang (CHN) No 36, 7. Petra Martic (CRO) No 40, 8. Varvara Gracheva (FRA) No 43, 9. Anna Blinkova No 50, 10. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova No 57, 11. Magdalena Frech (POL) No 63, No 12. Rebecca Masarova (ESP) No 64, 13. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) No 68, 14. Xiyu Wang (CHN) 71; 15. Elina Avanesyan No 74, 16. Yue Yuan (CHN) No 77, 17. Emina Bektas (USA) No 87, 18 Kayla Kay (USA) No 89, 19 Jaqueline Cristian (ROU) 91, 20. Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE) No 93, 21. Diane Parry (FRA) 94, 22. Claire Liu (USA) 99.

Wildcards: Emma Raducanu (GBR), Amanda Anisimova (USA), Caroline Wozniacki (DEN).