🔗 Share this article

British Katie Boulter says she feels she has to "pick between my body and my professional position" as the competition carries on for a place in the upcoming January Australian Open main draw.

While the standard WTA Tour competitive period is over, there are still standing points to be won in South American nations, regional locations, Ecuador and international tournaments.

The female participant roster for the opening Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be calculated from the world rankings of 8 December, which could create a dilemma for players close to the qualification line.

Physical Setbacks

Previous British top-ranked player Boulter suffered an abductor in her last tournament of the year in Asian venues last month, and is now considering whether to compete in the WTA 125 development competition in Angers, France, in the first week of December.

Boulter's recent injury, and the situation she would need to win at least multiple victories in Angers to improve her ranking, means she may probably eventually not competing.

Varying Approaches

In opposition, men's competitors are not experiencing the equivalent situation, as for the initial instance the male Australian Open entry list will be created from present week's rankings, which is the ATP's official annual-final ranking date.

The change is intended to deterring competitors from pursuing standing points during what is fundamentally the rest interval.

Training Transitions

This year has been a difficult one for Boulter.

She won only fourteen Tour-level major tournament games and lately parted ways with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year partnership in which she secured several WTA championships.

"Biljana is an incredible trainer, and an remarkably excellent individual as well, which creates situations extremely hard," Boulter commented.

The search for a replacement coach is actively progressing, searching for a professional who has top-tier expertise as Boulter still believes she can be a world-class player.

Professional Aspirations

"Moving ahead with a new coach, an important factor I'm completely sure on is that they are going to be someone who has considerable knowledge in how to make it to the peak performance of this game," she stated.

"I've been placed as advanced as twenty-three and I believe I can get back to that level. I don't think my standard has diminished, I feel the steadiness should develop.

"My goal is not simply to be ranked 50, 40, 30, 20 - we've accomplished that. The goal is to be inside 20."