Tennis: Radwanska to play ASB Classic

World number four Agnieszka Radwanska has been confirmed to play next year's ASB Classic in Auckland.

The 23-year-old has won 10 career titles and made the final at Wimbledon this year before going down to Serena Williams in three sets.

She won three singles titles this year, the last being the Brussels Open in May. She also defeated Maria Sharapova to win the Sony Ericsson Open in March and took out the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.

Radwanska reached as high as number two in the WTA rankings following her performance at Wimbledon. It will he the Polish player's first appearance in Auckland.

The previously highest ranked women to play in the ASB Classic were 2009 winner Elena Dementieva (also ranked no.4 in the world) and Nadia Petrova in 2006 at no.7.

ASB Classic Tournament Director Karl Budge says he is thrilled to secure a player of Radwanska's quality who is in the best form of her career.

"Agnieszka started the year at no.8 in the world and by June she'd won three more titles in Dubai, Miami and Brussels, reached the final of Wimbledon and jumped to no.2 in the world. That's a pretty impressive six months."

Radwanska has earned more than $US3.4m ($NZ4.2m) on the WTA Tour this year. She also made the quarterfinals at this year's Australian Open before losing to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka.

20-year-old Brit Heather Watson will also play in the tournament. Yesterday Watson became the first British woman in 24 years to win a WTA title by beating Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan in the Japan Open final.

- nzherald.co.nz