Harriet Dart and Diana Shnaider were this week’s big winners as they lifted the titles in Guangzhou and Tokyo, respectively.

Dart, who came through qualifying, lifted the first WTA Tour title of her career as she came from a set down to beat Austrian teenager Lilli Tagger in the Guangzhou Open final on Sunday.

The 30-year-old spurned two match points at 5-3 up in the decider but eventually closed out the win in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph against the 18-year-old at the WTA 250 event.

In her semi-final victory over 16-year-old Sun Xinran, the tears flowed from the Brit but in her ceremony speech, Dart kept her calm and paid tribute to Tagger and her team.

She said on court, “I will try and not get too emotional. Firstly, Lilli, you are so young, and you have a huge career ahead of you. Congratulations on an amazing week and year. I have no doubt you will win so many more titles, so well done to you and your team for all of your hard work.”

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Dart added, “A big thank you to my team with me this week. My boyfriend Steven, my fitness coach Dario but also the people at home, my coach Marion [Bartolli], really appreciate all your hard work. But also my family, my parents, and my sister Phoebe. I love you guys and thank you for always being there for me and supporting me every step of the way.”

Dart started this week ranked 115th in the world but she has shot up 32 places to 83rd in the live rankings – 13 spots off her career best. Conversely, the young Austrian, who was seeking her second WTA Tour title, is 53rd in the rankings.

The other big rankings risers in the top 100 include 20-year-old Kaitlin Quevedo, who lost in the semi-finals in Guangzhou but jumped up 16 spots to 70th in a personal best milestone.

Moreover, Kamilla Rakhimova catapulted herself up 22 places to a career-high of 44 but Janice Tjen has fallen 28 positions to 75 as her points from last year’s Chennai Open title have dropped off.

Further up the rankings, Shnaider’s WTA 500 win at the Pan Pacific Open sees her equal her best-ever ranking of 11 after beating Leylah Fernandez in three sets in the final on Sunday.

The Russian, who climbs two spots for her efforts this week at the WTA 500 tournament, beat the Canadian 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory and is now just under 700 points behind 10th-ranked Marta Kostyuk.

For Fernandez, this was a missed opportunity to leapfrog many of her rivals into 16th but as a result of finishing the runner-up in Tokyo, she is on 2,201 points in 19th.

Incidentally, Alex Eala stays in 18th but if she had beaten Shnaider in her quarter-final, where she was two points from victory, the 21-year-old would have jumped to a career-high of 16.

The Filipina will hope to end the year with her best-ever ranking when she begins her Hong Kong Open campaign this week, where 250 WTA points are up for grabs.

There has been no change at all in the rankings in regards to the top 10 as they prepare for the WTA Finals, which gets underway on 8 November in Indian Wells.

Former world No 9 Victoria Mboko, who is still out with a knee injury, has dropped six spots to 21st in the big casualty in the top of the rankings.

WTA Top 20:

1. Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan – 9,501
2. Aryna Sabalenka, Belarus – 7,550
3. Mirra Andreeva, Russia – 6,306
4. Jessica Pegula, United States – 6,225
5. Coco Gauff, United States – 5,973
6. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine – 5,229
7. Karolina Muchova, Czechia – 4,725
8. Iga Swiatek, Poland – 4,389 
9. Linda Noskova, Czechia – 4,353 
10. Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine – 3,920
11. Diana Shnaider, Russia – 3,238 (+2)
12. Maja Chwalinksa, Poland – 3,016 (-1)
13. Iva Jovic, United States – 2,941 (-1)
14. Elise Mertens, Belgium – 2,540 
15. Sorana Cirstea, Romania – 2,386 (+1)
16. Amanda Anisimova, United States – 2,363 (+1)
17. Naomi Osaka, Japan – 2,315 (+1)
18. Alex Eala, Philippines – 2,289 (+1)
19. Leylah Fernandez, Canada – 2,201 (+4)
20. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland – 2,168