"I'll try not to get too emotional" - Harriet Dart defeats teenage sensation to secure maiden WTA title at Guangzhou Open

It has been a very up-and-down year for British tennis. However, for the women, the Asian swing has proved to be a hugely positive period. Harriet Dart broke new ground at the Guangzhou Open with a fantastic title run, defeating 18-year-old Lilli Tagger 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win a maiden WTA title.

After qualifying for the event, Dart battled through every match in three sets in a show of resilience and grit. She took down Tatiana Prozorova, the No.2 seed Janice Tjen and former World No.2 Paula Badosa to make a second WTA semi-final.

She had 16-year-old Xinran Sun the other side of the court, who was putting in some hugely impressive performances on home soil. She missed two match points to get the tie won in straight sets as Dart took control, showcasing her experience by winning the tiebreak 7-1 before a third set routing put her into the final.

Another young talent for the future, going by the name of Tagger, was her next task, who was already in her third WTA final. After winning in Prague earlier this year, she targeted more success, but Dart had other ideas in a tremendous comeback win.

Tagger flexed her muscles in the early stages. The No.4 seed broke in the opening game en route to winning eight of the opening nine points. She failed to extend her advantage in the third game as Dart tried to find her feet.

She got in a good mojo, holding serve to love before breaking back to level at 4-4. It was all for nothing, however. The Austrian instantly got the advantage back into her camp before surviving two break points ahead of converting a first set point.

Dart knew that any more mistakes could prove fatal and upped her level. It was a very routine second set with seven consecutive holds of serve not featuring a single break point. Only one was seen in this set, and it went the way of the 30-year-old in similar fashion to the prior set. A hold to love in the seventh game was backed up with a convincing break. She made it eight consecutive points on serve to force a decider.

Dart was on a roll. She made it 14 points in a row as Tagger floundered. A break to love followed by a hold to love put her 2-0 to the good, but finally Tagger restored parity at 2-2. Dart seized the initiative once more, but Tagger was wise to her.

More inroads were found against the serve, and this time round Tagger was not as clinical. Dart was one away from the title and almost got it when two championship points were missed against the serve. This did not prove to be the agonising fate that could have bestowed her, with a comfortable hold culminated by a third championship point being taken and the title being won in spectacular fashion.

Afterwards on court, she said, "I'll try not to get too emotional. A big thank you to my team this week. My boyfriend Stephen [Falck], my fitness coach Dario, but also the people at home. My coach Marion, really appreciate all your hard work, but also my family, my parents and my sister Phoebe.

"It's amazing to play in front of such a big crowd. It's been so much fun here and I really appreciate it and hope to be back next year."

After falling down the rankings, Dart has turned her form around brilliantly. She finished 2025 as the World No.176 and looked to be far off from the player she once was. With a career high of 70th in the world achieved back in September 2024, she is back on the march.

Dart will begin the week as the World No.83 after a hefty 32 positions were gained. This has not just been thanks to the Guangzhou Open title run but to her impressive streak of qualifying for big tournaments.

Since the Cincinnati Open, she has qualified for every WTA event she has participated in. That also includes the US Open, China Open, Japan Open and most recently the Guangzhou Open. Here in this part of China, she battled and fought hard, showing resilience of the highest calibre to secure the biggest win of her career.

Now the British No.3 with Emma Raducanu and Francesca Jones being bumped down, these ranking points will have a huge positive effect at the start of 2027. She will now gain automatic entry into the Australian Open with the chance of rising even further. For the time being, Dart will celebrate her title triumph while setting her sights on the Chennai Open. She does not need to go into qualifying for the event in India, set to take on Polina Kudermetova in her opening round match with her seven-match winning streak still very much in tact.