The Olympic womens tennis champion and world number 5, Russia's Elena Dementieva is a confirmed entry for January's ASB Classic in Auckland.
It is the first time the ASB Classic has had an entry from a current top 5 ranked player.
Dementieva is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up and has made the quarter-finals of Grand Slam events nine times.
The 27-year-old Russian has a total of ten WTA singles titles to her credit.
ASB Classic Tournament Director, Brenda Perry believes Dementieva will be a real highlight with her exciting brand of tennis.
Perry says it is particularly significant given that as a top-10 player, the rules under the new 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour structure allow her to play only one such International level event in first half of 2009 from January up until Wimbledon.
