Emma Raducanu, Danielle Collins, Sloane Stephens and Peyton Stearns will headline the line-up at the WTA Tour 250 in Austin (Texas) from 27 February to 5 March 2023.
Raducanu came through three qualifying rounds to win the 2021 US Open title without dropping a set in any of her ten matches in New York. The British player became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title. She was the youngest player to win a Grand Slam tournament since Maria Sharapova triumphed at Wimbledon at the age of 17.
Raducanu climbed to world number 10th and reached the semifinal in Seoul and the quarter final in Stuttgart and Washington. Before her US Open triumph she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon on her debut at this tournament.
“We are thrilled that Emma, the youngest Grand Slam in the game today, will be coming to the ATX Open. We look forward to her joining Danielle, Sloane and Peyton for our inaugural tournament, and we are very excited to know that we will be welcoming them in Austin in less than one month”, said Christo Van Rensburg, Drop Shot Tournament Director.
Raducanu joins 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, who won seven titles in her career and reached two Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and at the US Open in 2018.
Collins finished runner-up in the 2022 Australian Open final and reached a career-high of world number 7.
Stearns helped the Longhorns win two NCAA team titles and won the NCAA singles title in 2022.
The Austin tournament will be the first tournament held in the USA during the WTA 50th anniversary season. Two session will be held on each of the first six days at the ATX tournament in Austin.
