Harriet Dart defeats Lilli Tagger to win first WTA singles title at Guangzhou Open
• 3 minute read
Harriet Dart ended a long wait for her first WTA singles title after defeating Austrian teenager Lilli Tagger in the final of the Guangzhou Open.
As she had done in each of her previous three matches, Dart was forced to come back from a set down before eventually coming through 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to become a WTA singles champion for the first time.
The victory sees Dart become the sixth British player since 2000 to win a WTA Tour singles title, joining compatriots Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal. She is already a two-time WTA doubles champion, having lifted titles at the WTA 250 events in Nottingham and Prague this summer alongside Maia Lumsden.
In claiming the title, Dart is also set to return to the world's top 100 for the first time since November 2024.
"I'll try not to get too emotional," she said in her on-court interview. "A big thank you to my team this week. 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 coming through qualifying, Dart had to battle past Tatiana Prozorova, second seed Janice Tjen, former world No.2 Paula Badosa and 16-year-old wild card Sun Xinran to book her place in a maiden WTA Tour final where she went on to seal the crown.
Before this week, her best Tour-level result had been a semi-final run at the Transylvania Open in 2024, where she lost to eventual champion Karolina Pliskova.
Harriet Dart's road to the Guangzhou Open title
- Qualifying - first round: bt. Cheuk Ying Shek (HKG) 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-1
- Qualifying - second round: bt. Mei Yamaguchi (JPN) 6-2, 6-1
- First round: bt. Tatiana Prozorova 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
- Second round: bt. Janice Tjen (IDN) (seeded 2) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
- Quarter-final: bt. Paula Badosa (ESP) (seeded 5) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Semi-final: bt. Sun Xinran (CHN) 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-0
- Final: bt. Lilli Tagger (AUT) (seeded 4) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Tagger made a blistering start to the final, breaking the Brit in her opening service game to race into a 2-0 lead.
Dart briefly recovered the break in the eighth game with a thunderous forehand winner, but the Austrian teenager responded immediately before serving out the opening set.
One of the standout features of Dart's run this week has been her ability to fight back from difficult positions, and she demonstrated that resilience once again in today’s final.
With neither player giving much away on serve in the second set, Dart struck at the crucial moment to break for 5-3 before confidently serving out the set to love and force a decider for the sixth time during her campaign.
The British No.5 twice held a break advantage in the final set, only for Tagger to respond on each occasion. However, Dart refused to be denied, breaking for a third and final time at 3-3 before consolidating her advantage with a gutsy service hold.
The 30-year-old was unable to convert two championship points on Tagger's serve in the ninth game but made it third time lucky one game later as she sent a powerful serve down the T to seal the biggest title of her career.
