Jasmine Paolini fought back after a first-set bagel to defeat Katie Boulter and reach the Merida Open semi-finals.

Paolini triumphed 0-6 6-3 6-3 in just under two hours and will now face Cristina Bucsa in the last four, with Zhang Shuai and Magdalena Frech on the other side of the draw.

The Italian only won three points on her own serve throughout the entire opening set, with Boulter riding the momentum of a seven-match winning run and looking good to advance.

However, when there were five straight breaks of serve in the second set, Paolini took three of them, then she held her nerve to serve out the set and force a decider. 

An immediate break to love put Paolini in command, but Boulter broke back then held serve to go 3-2 up. However, that was the final game the Brit won, as her opponent reeled off the final four in a row.

"It was a really tough one. Katie, in the first set she was smashing every ball and hitting a winner everywhere," Paolini told Sky Sports afterwards.

"I was telling myself to play deeper in the court and hit the ball harder, because I had to raise the level to try and win the match, and in the end, it worked out."

Four remain. Who's rising to the occasion? @MercedesBenz | #MeridaOpen pic.twitter.com/Xk8HTC7pv1

— wta (@WTA) February 28, 2026

Data Debrief: Paolini boosts her level

Having started terribly on her own serve, Paolini steadied herself and improved with each set that passed.

She only won 17% (2/12) of first-serve points in the opener, but that figure jumped to 52% in set two (12/23) and 80% in the decider (12/15).