Harriet Dart easily advanced to 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 75-year-old Russian is reluctant to travel from her UK base so Dart’s mother, a fine player in her own right, took over the reins from Cincinnati two weeks ago.
“It’s been nice having my mum, she knows my game really well,” Dart said after defeating France’s Chloe Paquet 6-1, 6-2.
‘She can hit me a little bit and she’s played a lot, so she understands a lot of things. It’s good to have her around, she hasn’t been around me much since I was a junior.
“She doesn’t say she’s a coach, even though she has the badge. She says her job is to throw balls to me, but there’s a lot more to it than that. She’s been helping me a lot.
Harriet Dart pumps her fist after winning a point against Chloe Paquet at the US Open
“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 mother because two minutes later you’re all fine.”
“We have a very good relationship.”
Dart also raved about the impact of Morozova, the 1974 Wimbledon runner-up who previously coached Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Laura Robson.
“She’s an amazing person,” Dart said. “She brings a completely different perspective and it’s so nice to work with a woman. Plus, she’s someone who’s been there and at the highest level, not only as a player but as a coach. I was really happy that she was willing to work with me.”
Dart has welcomed her mother Susie into her inner circle as her coach at this year’s US Open.
“She’s the most positive coach I’ve ever worked with. She believes in me so much and that makes me believe in myself.”
That self-belief will propel Dart into the world’s top 70 for the first time with this win, and she will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk on Wednesday. The 19th seed will be a step up in the category, but Dart has beaten her before, at Eastbourne in 2022.
If they win that match, Team Dart could soon find themselves with a problem: Susie’s day job is head of year two at Arnold House boys’ school in London, and term starts next week.
“He’s scheduled to return on Friday, but we’ll see,” Dart said. “We’ll talk about that when we need to.”
