Harriet Dart has made it all the way through qualifying to her first WTA Tour final in Guangzhou.
Dart was in danger of losing her first round qualifying match to world number 632 Shek Ying Cheuk, having trailed by a set and a break, but she is still in the tournament a week later.
The world number 115 has continued to battle through the draw, with Dart reaching just her second WTA Tour semi-final after beating former world number two Paula Badosa in her previous match.
Dart has now saved three match points to beat US Open junior champion and rising Chinese teenage star Xinran Sun 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-0 to reach her first WTA Tour final in Guangzhou, and she was very emotional after the match.
Harriet Dart gets emotional in post-match interview after reaching Guangzhou Open final
As customary, Dart spoke in the on-court interview after the match, where she praised both the crowd and her opponent, as she backed Sun to have a ‘huge future’.
“I will say it’s an amazing atmosphere, so thank you guys for coming, even though you weren’t always there for me I understand,” said Dart. “She is a rising, amazing Chinese player, she has a huge future ahead of her.
“You know, I really found it tough out there, it was a real rollercoaster and naturally playing in this part of the competition more nerves, more feelings come out and I was really battling with myself today, but I’m just really proud of the second set and was able to turn it quickly.”
Dart was then asked more about herself and the achievement she has accomplished by reaching her first WTA Tour final at 30 years old. Dart then began to get emotional about this and took a step back from the microphone as she tried to gather herself.
“Yeah, it’s been a really long journey, it’s been hard,” admitted Dart. “I wanted it so much, sometimes too much but to finally be here, be in the final, means the world. Thank you to my team for sticking with me, I really appreciate you guys. I hope you guys will come back tomorrow and support me, Xièxiè [Thank you in Chinese].”
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Where will Harriet Dart be ranked after the Guangzhou Open?
Dart has a career-high singles ranking of world number 70, but this time last year she was ranked outside the top 200.
The British player had already made huge strides to make her way back up the rankings, with Dart coming through qualifying to reach the second round of the US Open and now collecting a series of wins during the Asian swing.
Dart has now put herself within touching distance of the top 100, as she is now at number 101 in the live rankings after reaching the final of the Guangzhou Open. This is significant for Dart, as it gives her a much greater chance of gaining direct entry into the Australian Open next year.
If Dart is able to conclude her dream week with a title in Guangzhou, then she will be propelled back into the top 100 and almost guaranteed to have direct entry into next year’s Australian Open.
Dart will now await her opponent in the final of the Guangzhou Open, which will be either one of two rising young stars in Kaitlin Quevedo or Lilli Tagger.
