Harriet Dart has made a significant breakthrough at the Guangzhou Open this week.
Dart is the current world number 115 and British number five, and had to play in qualifying at the WTA 250 event in Guangzhou. This nearly led to a first round qualifying defeat for Dart, who was a set and a break down against world number 632, Shek Ying Cheuk last week.
Since coming back to win that qualifying match and reach the main draw, Dart has not looked back and has beaten Tatiana Prozorova, Janice Tjen and now former world number two Paula Badosa to reach the Guangzhou Open semi-finals.
Following Dart’s 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback win over Badosa, she has become just the fourth British player to reach a WTA Tour semi-final in 2026.
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Harriet Dart is one of four British women who have reached a WTA semi-final in 2026
The Guangzhou Open is the first WTA Tour semi-final Dart has reached in 2026, as she now joins Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal as the three other British players who have done so this year.
Boulter has reached the most semi-finals this year, having done so at three tournaments. Boulter lost at the semi-final stage of both the Queen’s Club Championships and the Japan Open in Osaka, but went all the way to winning her fourth WTA title in Ostrava back in February.
The Queen’s Club Championships had two British players in the semi-finals, with Raducanu joining Boulter. This was the last tournament played in 2026 by Raducanu, who suffered a stress fracture in her lower right leg en route to reaching the biggest final of her career since winning the US Open in 2021.
Despite being out of competition since June and only playing 10 tournaments all year, the Queen’s Club Championships was one of two finals Raducanu reached in 2026, having also done so at the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
It has been a similar season for Kartal, who spent six months on the sidelines due to a back injury before returning for the Asian swing. In just her second WTA tournament since returning to competition, Kartal reached the Wuhan Open final, where she led by a set and a break before eventually losing out to Maja Chwalinska.
Kartal is the player who has reached the biggest final this year, and is only the second British player ever to reach the final of a WTA 1000 tournament. However, Boulter remains as the only Briton to have won a WTA title in 2026, and Dart will be hoping to join her in Guangzhou.
| British players who have reached WTA semi-finals in 2026 | Semi-finals reached in 2026 | Results |
| Katie Boulter | 3 | Ostrava (WTA 250) – Won the title Queen’s (WTA 500) – Semi-final Osaka (WTA 250) – Semi-final |
| Emma Raducanu | 2 | Cluj-Napoca (WTA 250) – Final Queen’s (WTA 500) – Final |
| Sonay Kartal | 1 | Wuhan (WTA 1000) – Final |
| Harriet Dart | 1 | Guangzhou (WTA 250) – Semi-final* |
Harriet Dart reacts after beating Paula Badosa to reach the Guangzhou Open semi-finals
Dart was able to fight back to beat former world number two Badosa, but she had to battle to get there after trailing by a set and a break, with the 30-year-old speaking about how she managed to do so in her on-court interview after the match.
“Thank you. Well gosh it was an incredible battle, I thought Paula started really strong and I was always behind, I knew going in that it was going to be an incredibly tough match,” said Dart.
“I just really needed to hang in there in the tough moments, and maybe I’d get a chance, and luckily I was able to take my chances today and very excited to be in the semi-finals.”
Not only is this Dart’s first WTA Tour semi-final of the 2026 season, but it is only the second of her entire career, having only reached one other at the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca in 2024, which she also spoke about in her post-match interview.
“Tennis is so stressful that to be able to have the opportunity to compete again tomorrow is a great opportunity for me,” added Dart. “It has been a very long time since I’ve been in the business end of a tournament, so I’m just very excited to achieve that.”
Dart lost her other semi-final in Romania, and she will be hoping to have a more positive result in her semi-final match at the Guangzhou Open, where she will play 16-year-old and US Open junior champion Xinran Sun.
This will also be significant for Dart’s ranking, as if she beats Sun she will book her return to the top 100 and will therefore be able to get direct entry into the Australian Open next year.
