Britain's Harriet Dart reached the second WTA Tour semi-final of her career after fighting back from a set down to beat fifth seed Paula Badosa at the Guangzhou Open in China. The 30-year-old triumphed 3-6 6-2 6-4 against Spain's Badosa, who is ranked 54 places above her, in two hours and 15 minutes at Nansha International Tennis Centre.
Dart's first tour-event semi-final came at the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, where she lost in straight sets to Karolina Pliskova. She will now face 16-year-old Chinese wildcard Sun Xinran in the last four on Saturday. "It's been a very long time since I've been in the business end of the tournament so I am really excited for that," Dart said. "Tennis is so stressful, so to have the opportunity to compete again on Saturday is a great opportunity for me."
Dart came through qualifying and beat second seed Janice Tjen in the previous round. Badosa, a former world number two now ranked 61st, required two medical timeouts as she appeared to struggle with the heat. She saved a match point at 5-3 in the deciding set, but Dart broke back and won her next service game to love. "It was an incredible battle," Dart added. "I really needed to hang in there during the tough moments and wait for a chance."
Dart reached a career-high ranking of 70th in the world in 2024, but has spent most of the past two seasons outside the top 100. The Guangzhou run puts her on the cusp of the top 100 again, which could earn her a direct entry into the Australian Open main draw in January. Her resurgence has been helped by working with former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, and she has won 21 of 32 matches on the WTA Tour this season, her best winning percentage of her career.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing