AUSSIE qualifier Daria Saville will receive a significant rankings boost after securing her spot in the Merida Open semi-finals overnight. The former Top 20 player ousted world number 11 Paula Badosa who was forced to retire with a lower back complaint when down in the second set 3-5 after winning the the first 6-1.

The victory put the Australian in the box seat to reach the decider, taking on fellow qualifier and Colombian Emiliana Arango in the semis. Saville was in trouble early, winning just one game in the first set and broken three times with only a break of her own in the fifth game stopping a bagel. However she got back on track in the second, with Badosa struggling, and when Saville had won the last three games – including two breaks – the Spaniard was forced to retire.

The match had been going for an hour and 17 minutes at that point, with the world number 121 boosting 12 spots in the world rankings with the victory, while Badosa’s efforts to get to the quarter finals earned her a return to the Top 10.

Saville ended up hitting two more winners than Badosa (10-8), and only one more unforced error (25-24), though was completely outplayed in the first set with a dominance rating of 0.48 compared to the Spaniard’s 2.06. Even in the second set, though the higher dominance rating (1.15 to 0.87) it was clear Badosa’s injury was the reason behind her drop off.

Still, Saville showed you can only beat who is in front of you, and her ability to keep pushing earned herself a spot in the semi-finals. She takes on Arango who came from a set down to knock off 40th ranked Rebecca Sramkova, 5-7 6-3 6-0.

Arango is ranked 133 in the world though due to not needing to defend any points, will enter the Top 100 for the first time, shooting up to 97th and leapfrogging Saville in the process. The Colombian hit 21 less winners (15-26) but also far fewer unforced errors (19-42) en route to the win.

Meanwhile the news was not as promising for Aussie teenager Maya Joint against Armenian Elina Avanesyan. The 18-year-old won the first set 6-4, but once the world number 45 got going, Joint was unable to stop her. Avanesyan won 6-2 6-0 in the final two sets, racking up 10 of the last 11 games to storm into the semi-finals.

While Avanesyan will make history by becoming the first Armenian player to reach the semi-finals of a WTA500 event, she will face stiff opposition against top seed and world number 10, Emma Navarro. The American ended the run of reigning champion and wildcard, Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez in straight sets 6-4 6-2, and put behind her some inconsistent form of late to make the last four.

The last time the two faced off, Navarro only dropped three games in a straight sets victory in Auckland, 2024. All players will be eyeing off Indian Wells which kicks off on March 5.