Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden are one match away from a British triumph at the Lexus Nottingham Open, as they battled into the women’s doubles final.
The British pair beat Indonesian third seeds Janice Tjen and Aldila Sutjiadi 4-6 6-4 10-6 in a tightly matched contest.
Dart and Lumsden have reached back-to-back finals on the British grass, having made it to the Lexus Birmingham Open final last week.
After dropping the first set, they remained positive and produced a gritty comeback, eventually winning 10-4 in the third-set match tie-break.
“We were a bit slow to start but we started to get into it,” said Dart. “They also started pretty well and with sudden-death deuce in doubles, things can turn around very fast.
“A tie-break is always a bit of a flip of a coin, but I was really proud of how we came together as a team, kept our energy, and tried to play the way we want to, regardless of the result.”
Lumsden added: “We both fought really hard to win that match and we’re really happy to win a tie-break because it’s always tough to play a match tie-break. [We’re] really happy to be in another final together.
“We had the home support and it’s great to get more energy from the crowd as well and use that energy with us.”
It has been a successful couple of weeks for the British pair, who shocked top seeds Storm Hunter and Caty McNally 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinals at Nottingham.
Full of confidence from their run to the Birmingham WTA 125 final, this week marked an increase in level, as the Lexus Nottingham Open is a WTA 250 tournament.
But the duo rose to the occasion, and there is only one match standing between them and the trophy.
“We’ve realised that we can compete with some of the best players in the world and I think that gives us confidence, especially here where we’ve played some very good pairings,” said Dart.
Dart and Lumsden received some good news earlier in the week, having been awarded Wimbledon wildcards for the women’s doubles main draw.
It won’t be their first outing as a doubles pair on the famous SW19 grass, as they partnered one another at last year’s Championships.
Despite winning the first set, Wimbledon 2025 ended in a closely fought first round defeat for the Brits, who lost 3-6 7-6 6-4 to Clara Tauson and McCartney Kessler.
They will hope to avenge that loss this year and have enjoyed plenty of match practice on the grass.
“It’s not just about this week but the weeks we’ve had together,” said Dart. “I think we’ve grown as a pair over time and got very comfortable with how we should play.
“Because we’re great friends off the court, you always hope that you can play well together but it doesn’t necessarily always match up, depending on styles and whatnot.
“But especially in the last year as we’ve played more and more together, we’ve become very clear about how we want to play and what strategies work for us.”
In the singles draws at Nottingham, former world number one and Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova beat Talia Gibson 7-5 6-4 to set up a semi-final match-up against fellow Czech Marie Bouzkova.
Fourth-seeded Bouzkova beat British teenager Hannah Klugman in the last 16 and followed that up with a 6-3 6-3 win over another Czech player, Tereza Valentova.
On the men’s side, Otto Virtanen and Christopher O’Connell reached the final of the ATP 125 Challenger competition.
For the latest updates on the British summer grass court season, visit the LTA website, lta.org.uk
