Russian Anna Blinkova has been confirmed in next month's ASB Classic at Auckland, testing the stance of organisers and sponsors over her nation's invasion of Ukraine.
As the 22 entrants were confirmed on Thursday by tournament director Nicholas Lamperin, world No.80 Blinkova's name was included among those to travel to Auckland in the new year.
Blinkova, 24, reached a career-high ranking of No.54 in February 2020 and won her first WTA Tour title at the Transylvania Open in October as a qualifier.
Despite the risk of potential repercussions from allowing a Russian player to compete, Lamperin says the ASB Classic will welcome Blinkova, who meets the criteria to enter.
And even in the face of potentially losing sponsorship, Lamperin is confident naming rights holder ASB are committed to the tournament.
"Our position has always been the same," Lamperin told Newshub. "We have to follow the rules of the tour.
"If the players can get in through their ranking, we need to allow them to play.
"We were aware of the risk, that has always been discussed, but it has never been our intention to do so.
"ASB have always made it clear they will support the tournament. So it was never in question."
With countrywoman Veronika Kudermetova, she also reached the 2020 US Open doubles semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners Laura Siegemund of Germany and Russian Vera Zvonareva.
Aside from Blinkova, the trio of Emma Raducanu, Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin also make up arguably one of the most exciting fields in the tournament's history.
"We are celebrating the centenary of tennis at the ASB Tennis Arena," said Lamperin. "I trust that the quality of this field is a fitting legacy to the great players who have graced these courts over the past 100 years.
"Added to them are a number of players who have travelled to Auckland on several occasions, and some extraordinary young talent who are the future of our sport."
A further four players will be granted wildcard entries to the tournament, along with six qualifiers to be added to the main draw.
In October, Newshub reported principal sponsor ASB Bank was considering withdrawing its branding of the tournament, if Russian or Belarus players were allowed to compete, as a protest against the Ukrainian conflict.
In a joint statement, ASB, Tennis Auckland and Tennis NZ insisted the event would continue with the sponsor's full financial backing - but stopped short of clarifying the naming issue.
"Media reports this week have speculated abut the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players in the January 2023 event," they said. "To be clear, the 2023 tournament will go ahead as planned with ASB's full financial support.
"Under WTA and ATP regulations, tournament organisers must allow Russian and Belarusian players to enter the tournament, if they are sufficiently well ranked.
"We all understand that Tennis Auckland and Tennis New Zealand are in a difficult position, and there is no suggestion that ASB would withdraw its significant financial support for the tournament, should Russian or Belarusian player compete."
If the tournament was to ban players, the game's international bodies would likely strip the event of ranking points, as they did when Wimbledon took a stand in June/July.
Both the WTA and ATP have now fined the Lawn Tennis Association more than NZ$1 million each for barring Russian or Belarus players from grasscourt tournaments in the build-up to the England Grand Slam.
The ASB Classic will return, after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
