Briton Dart reaches first WTA Tour singles final
Harriet Dart reached her first WTA Tour singles final after recovering from a difficult start to beat Chinese wildcard Sun Xinran at the Guangzhou Open. The result marks a milestone in the 30-year-old Briton’s career and puts her one win away from returning to the world’s top 100.
Dart lost the first set 7-5 but saved multiple match points in the second before taking the tie-break 7-1; she then won the final set 6-0. The match lasted just under two and a half hours. Already up 14 places to 101st in the live rankings, Dart will face either fourth seed Lilli Tagger or Kaitlin Quevedo in Sunday’s final.
In short
- Dart reaches her first WTA Tour singles final.
- She fought back to beat Sun Xinran in three sets.
- A win in Sunday’s final would return her to the top 100.
Explained simply
The WTA Tour is the main international circuit for women’s professional tennis, with tournaments contributing points towards players’ world rankings. The Guangzhou Open is one event on that circuit, and its singles final is decided over a best-of-three-sets match.
Harriet Dart is a British professional who has competed on the tour for several years. A place in a final can bring ranking points and prize money, while a win would add a tournament title to her career record.
Players are ranked by points earned across eligible tournaments, so a high enough position can affect entry to events and seedings. Dart’s ranking is close to the top 100, a notable threshold for players seeking direct entry to more tournaments.
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