Overview
- Dart defeated fourth seed Lilli Tagger in the final, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, to claim her first WTA Tour singles title at the Guangzhou Open.
- She reached the title after coming through two qualifying rounds and five main-draw wins, including comeback victories over Paula Badosa and 16-year-old Xinran Sun.
- Dart rallied from a set down to beat Paula Badosa 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a quarter-final marked by Badosa taking medical timeouts and appearing to struggle in the heat.
- In the semi-final Dart saved multiple match points, won the second-set tiebreak decisively, and closed out a 5-7, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0 victory over Sun as the teenager received treatment in the decider.
- The title completes a career resurgence for the 30-year-old who was outside the top 200 last year, moves her back into the top 100 in live rankings, and should ease her path into next season’s bigger events.