Harriet Dart reached her first WTA Tour singles final after a dramatic three-set comeback against Chinese teenager Sun Xinran at the Guangzhou Open. Dart, 30, had waited 11 years to reach this stage and almost squandered her chance in the opening set against the 16-year-old. A double fault on break point in her first game left her chasing, but she forced a decider by winning the second-set tie-break 7-1.
Sun, the reigning US Open junior champion, retired trailing after a medical timeout for her left leg. Dart controlled the final set, taking 28 of 41 points. She advances to the final where she faces fourth seed Lilli Tagger or Kaitlin Quevedo.
A win would return her inside the top 100 in the live rankings. Dart said the journey had been "really hard" and thanked her team for sticking with her. She plays the final from 8.30am live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing