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Dart reached a career high of 70th in the world in 2024, having made the Wimbledon third round and US Open second round, but has languished outside the top 100 for most of the past two seasons.
During this period there have been clear vulnerabilities with her game, with opponents learning they could take advantage of a slow second serve that tended to produce double faults.
There have also been questions about her on-court mentality and whether she could handle the pressure moments.
In Guangzhou, she answered those doubts with a series of gutsy wins where she needed to fight back from behind.
"She's always had a fantastic work ethic and has always set the bar high with her professionalism," Anne Keothavong, Britain's women's team captain, told BBC Sport.
"But there is certainly more belief and confidence now. She's in a very good place.
"She's been grinding away on the tour for a long time and it's great to see someone who has put in a lot of time to succeed and win a big title."
Keothavong named Dart in her squad for September's Billie Jean King Cup Finals and although she did not select Dart to play in the tie, she was impressed by her ball-striking during practice.
Taking that level back on tour has helped Dart continue what has been an encouraging few weeks for British women in the Asian hard-court swing.
Sonay Kartal reached the final of a WTA 1000 event in Wuhan, Katie Boulter made the semi-finals at a WTA 250 in Osaka and now Dart has won her maiden title at WTA 250 level.
Last week, teenager Hannah Klugman won the biggest title of her career at the Wrexham Open - a W100 event on the second-tier Challenger tour.
"The way they're all performing towards the end of the season - at whatever level - has been impressive," added Keothavong.
"It's not easy at this time of the season because there has been a lot of tennis played, but they've all capitalised and risen to the occasion.
"It's great reward for all their hard work and is encouraging for British tennis."
English (US) ·