Harriet Dart reaches second WTA semi-final in Guangzhou
Harriet Dart reached the second WTA Tour semi-final of her career by fighting back to beat fifth seed Paula Badosa 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the Guangzhou Open in China, setting up a last-four clash with Chinese wildcard Sun Xinran on Saturday.
Britain's Harriet Dart, ranked 115th in the world, fought back from a set down against Spain's former world number two at Nansha International Tennis Centre. The 30-year-old's win in two hours and 15 minutes marks only her second appearance in a WTA Tour semi-final.
Key Takeaways
- Dart beat fifth seed Badosa 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach her second career WTA Tour semi-final.
- She came through qualifying and had already knocked out second seed Janice Tjen in the previous round.
- Dart next faces 16-year-old Chinese wildcard Sun Xinran in the Guangzhou Open last four on Saturday.
- Her first Tour semi-final came at the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, where she lost to Karolina Pliskova.
- A deep Guangzhou run puts Dart on the cusp of a return to the WTA top 100.
How did Harriet Dart beat Paula Badosa?
According to BBC Sport, Dart lost her opening service game in the first set but broke back to level at 3-3. Badosa, ranked 61st and 54 places above Dart, broke again for a 5-3 lead and closed out the opener 6-3.
The pair exchanged breaks at the start of the second set before Dart seized control to level the match. In the decider, Badosa—who took two medical timeouts and appeared to struggle with the heat—saved a match point at 5-3 and then broke Dart's serve. Running on empty in her next service game, Badosa was broken to love as Dart sealed the win.
"It was an incredible battle. I thought Paula started really strongly. I was always behind, and knew it was going to be an incredibly tough match," Dart said. "I really needed to hang in there during the tough moments and wait for a chance."
Why does this Guangzhou run matter for Harriet Dart?
Dart's first Tour semi-final was at the Transylvania Open, where she fell in straight sets to Pliskova. "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," she said after the Badosa win.
She reached a career-high ranking of 70th in 2024 but has spent most of the past two seasons outside the top 100. BBC analysis notes the run from Guangzhou qualifying to the last four puts her close to re-entering the top 100, boosting her chances of a direct Australian Open main-draw berth in January.
Working with former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has been a major factor. Dart has won 17 of 22 tour-level hard-court matches since Wimbledon and holds 21 victories from 32 WTA Tour matches this season—the highest winning percentage of her career. Coverage of sports and market-moving stories also appears in our Fintech & Crypto Alerts hub.
Who does Harriet Dart play in the Guangzhou Open semi-final?
Dart will face 16-year-old Chinese wildcard Sun Xinran in the semi-finals on Saturday. Sky Sports listed the Guangzhou last-four clash among its live tennis coverage slate.
"Tennis is so stressful, so to have the opportunity to compete again on Saturday is a great opportunity for me," Dart added after her quarter-final victory.