British qualifier Harriet Dart reached her maiden WTA Tour singles final at the Guangzhou Open after a dramatic three-set victory over Chinese wildcard Sun Xinran.
Dart, 30, recovered from failing to serve out the first set and saved multiple match points in the second before closing out a 5-7 7-6(7-1) 6-0 win in just under two and a half hours.
The world number five in Britain, who made her WTA Tour debut in 2015, was playing only her second tour-level singles semi-final, having previously reached the last four at the 2024 Transylvania Open.
"It's been a really long journey. I've wanted it so much, so badly - sometimes too much. To finally be here means the world," Dart said. "I found it tough out there. It was a rollercoaster. I was really battling with myself. I'm proud of the second set and was able to turn it quickly."
Dart will face fourth seed Lilli Tagger in Sunday's final. The 18-year-old French Open junior champion advanced with a 6-2 6-0 win over Spain's Kaitlin Quevedo in 53 minutes. Tagger, currently ranked 53rd, is chasing her second WTA title after winning the Prague Open in July.
A victory would return Dart to the top 100 in the WTA rankings; she has already climbed 14 places to 101st in the live standings. Her career-high ranking is 70th.
