When 18-year-old Emma Raducanu defeated 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez to win the singles final at the 2021 US Open, the young Brit completed possibly the greatest Grand Slam triumph in tennis history.

Now, that final match could be replayed in Auckland.

Raducanu, who turned 20 earlier this week, is the fourth big signing for the ASB Women’s Classic in January, joining world No 7 Coco Gauff, fellow American Sloane Stephens (37) and Fernandez (40) in the field, with the entry deadline early next month.

An unknown prior to Wimbledon in 2021, Raducanu won through to the round of 16 at the All England Club, having previously never won a main draw WTA Tour match.

If that run announced her to tennis fans, six weeks later Raducanu became a worldwide sensation, winning the US Open as a qualifier, without dropping a set.

Although she has since struggled to produce anywhere near the jaw-dropping level she displayed for three weeks in New York, Raducanu is among the most marketable players in tennis, being the third highest-paid female athlete this year after securing multiple endorsements.

“I’m really looking forward to coming to New Zealand. I’ve heard so many good things about the tournament. It is a great way to start off the Australian Open swing,” Raducanu said.

“I have heard the tournament in New Zealand is great for players and fans. New Zealand is known for its beautiful landscape and nature, so I hope I can get to explore some of the other beautiful parts whilst I’m there.”

Raducanu’s signing for the tournament, which returns to the WTA calendar for the first time since 2020 after a two-year hiatus due to New Zealand’s closed borders during the Covid pandemic, is a coup for new tournament director Nicolas Lamperin.

Raducanu is ranked 74th in the world, with her season blighted by injuries and struggles settling on a coaching team. Her latest coach Dimitry Tursunov parted company last month and follows Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Jeremy Bates and Torben Beltz, who have all worked with Raducanu in the past year. It prompted former world No 1 Andy Murray to warn Raducanu that she won’t improve if she continues to make changes to her coaching staff.

“She’s on a learning curve. It’s been a challenging year for her because it was a year of transition, her first full season playing on the tour, and it’s never easy after such a big achievement in a Grand Slam,” Lamperin said.

“But she’s growing and developing in a positive manner. She has the right people around her and we obviously know how much potential she has. I think it’s going to be easier for her from next year because she doesn’t have to carry all that weight on her shoulders anymore. She’s started to win more matches towards the end of the season which shows that she’s on the right track.”

The young Brit ended the season with a 17-win 19-loss record and is without a full-time coach. She cut short her season last month due to a wrist injury which ruled her out of Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup finals campaign in Glasgow. But Lamperin is confident she will be ready to start the new season in Auckland.

“She decided to end the season earlier as a precaution. She’s been fighting a few injuries and didn’t have that many objectives towards the end of the season. So it was probably the best decision to stop early and get ready for next season.” Lamperin said.

Raducanu said her goal for 2023 is to gain more experience.

“It was only my first full year in 2022 and to complete more of the year and remain injury-free as much as possible – that’s my biggest goal. A really good physical foundation will hold me in good stead for the future.”

The deal to secure Raducanu was done before Tennis Australia launched their mixed team’s event last month, the United Cup. The multi-million dollar tournament has attracted 19 of the top 50 women’s players, but Lamperin is adamant Raducanu would have chosen Auckland anyway.