Harriet Dart cruised into the second round of the US Open with the help of a new addition to the coaching team – her mother Susie.
The 28-year-old began working with legendary coach Olga Morozova at Wimbledon but the Russian, 75, is reluctant to travel from her UK base and so Dart’s mum, a fine player in her own right, has taken up the reins since Cincinnati two weeks ago.
‘It’s been nice to have my mum, she knows my game really well,’ said Dart after thrashing France’s Chloe Paquet 6-1, 6-2.
‘She can hit with me a little bit and she’s played so she understands a lot of things. It’s nice to have her around, she hasn’t been with me very much since I was a junior.
‘She wouldn’t say she’s coach although she does have the badge. She says her role is throwing me balls but there’s much more to it than that. She’s been helping me a lot.
‘It’s a different dynamic, that’s for sure. We’ve only had one argument so far, so that’s good – it’s easier when it’s your mum because two minutes later you’re all fine.
‘We have a really good relationship.’
Dart was also enthusiastic about the impact of Morozova, the 1974 Wimbledon runner-up who has previous coached Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Laura Robson.
‘She is the most amazing human being,’ said Dart. ‘She just brings a completely different perspective and it is really nice to work with a female. And also someone who has been there and at the top level, not only as a player but also as a coach. I was really pleased that she was open to working with me.
‘She’s the most positive coach I’ve ever worked with. She believes in me a lot and it makes me believe in myself.’
That self-belief will carry Dart into the world’s top 70 for the first time with this victory, and she will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk on Wednesday. The No 19 seed will be a step up in class but Dart has beaten her before, in Eastbourne in 2022.
Win that one and team Dart may soon run into a problem: Susie’s day job is the head of year 2 at Arnold House boys’ school in London and term begins next week.
‘She’s due to go back Friday, but we’ll see,’ said Dart. ‘We’ll come to that when we need to.’
