The British number one beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-5 3-6 6-3 in an epic semi-final to take her place in the WTA Tour's showpiece in Cluj on Saturday.
She now has a shot at winning her first tournament since her US Open success in 2021 and announcing herself as a real force on the tour.
It completed an impressive day for home tennis as Katie Boulter made it into the final of the Ostrava Open, meaning that two British women will compete in different WTA Tour finals on the same day for the first time.
What sort of physical or mental condition top seed Raducanu will be in for the final against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea remains to be seen after she made it through one of the toughest matches of her career.
It was a war of attrition for Raducanu against the eccentric Ukrainian, who, adorned in face tattoos, adopted some frustrating tactics, including heavy use of ‘moon balling’ and slices.
The teary Briton was left physically shattered after a near three-hour battle.
"What an incredible match," she said during her on-court interview.
"I think all props to my opponent today. She played incredible and it makes it so tricky to put any ball past her. You think it’s past her, and then the ball is on your baseline or on your sideline so it’s so difficult.
"I’m just most proud of how I competed, how I came back in the third set, how I managed the match.
"I honestly don’t know if I could have done it without everyone’s support."
Raducanu showed her fighting spirit after trailing 2-1 in the decider to took back control of the match, winning 16 straight points to move on the brink of victory.
She missed three match points on Oliynykova’s serve, but finally finished the job to wrap it up.Earlier, British number four Boulter beat American Katie Volynets 6-1 6-3 to secure a place in the Ostrava Open final.
Boulter broke in the opening game and then the fifth to establish a 4-1 lead before taking the set as Volynets’ serve faltered again.
World number 96 Volynets regrouped for the start of the second set, forcing an early break in the first game, but Boulter responded immediately to level at 1-1.
The Brit then went on the offensive with some power hitting across the court.Another break in game eight left her serving for the match, which she closed out after recovering from 0-40 down to hold her nerve and progress to a fifth career WTA final, where she will take on German Tamara Korpatsch.
