Harriet Dart wins first WTA title after comeback against Lilli Tagger in Guangzhou

Harriet Dart claimed her first WTA Tour singles title on Sunday, defeating Austria's Lilli Tagger 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Guangzhou Open final. BBC Sport reported that the 30-year-old British player completed her run from qualifying with another comeback, having lost the opening set in four of her seven matches during the tournament.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af9qoVYRnag

Tagger, 18, twice erased Dart's advantage in the deciding set. Dart broke again to lead 4-3, then held serve before missing two championship points in the next game. She eventually finished the match with a service winner on her third opportunity to secure the trophy, dropping to the court in celebration.

Dart entered the WTA 250 event ranked 115th, while Tagger was 53rd. The Austrian had beaten Venus Williams on her way to the final. Dart's victory means a return to the top 100 and, according to the BBC's match report, direct entry into January's Australian Open main draw rather than a place in qualifying.

In a separate interview with BBC Sport after the win, Dart credited part-time coach Marion Bartoli with strengthening her self-belief. The former Wimbledon champion began working with her at the start of the season, when Dart was outside the top 160. Dart said the confidence shown in her by a Grand Slam winner had helped change her own outlook.

Their partnership is organised around training blocks in Dubai, where they live near each other, rather than travelling together throughout the tour. Bartoli watched the Guangzhou tournament from home and supplied notes, while Dart was accompanied by fitness trainer Dario Gonfiantini and her boyfriend Stephen Falck. They have also worked together at this year's Grand Slam events.

The trophy follows a sustained improvement on hard courts. BBC Sport reported that Dart had won 19 of 24 tour-level matches since Wimbledon, taking her season record to 23 wins from 34 matches. The broadcaster projected that she would rise to 83rd when Monday's rankings were published, with her career-best position remaining 70th, reached in 2024.