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British Katie Boulter states she believes she has to "decide between my body and my world standing" as the scramble carries on for a place in the upcoming January Australian Open main draw.

While the typical WTA Tour competitive period is over, there are still ranking points to be earned in Latin American countries, regional locations, various venues and European destinations.

The female competitor lineup for the opening Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be calculated from the international positions of early December, which could present a challenging situation for players approaching the cut.

Physical Setbacks

Former British top-ranked player Boulter experienced an groin injury in her concluding competition of the year in Hong Kong last timeframe, and is now evaluating whether to compete in the WTA 125 Challenger event in European venues, the continental destination, in the opening days of December.

The athlete's ongoing health concern, and the reality she would need to achieve at least three matches in Angers to enhance her standing, means she may well end up not participating.

Varying Approaches

In contrast, male athletes are not experiencing the same dilemma, as for the first time the male Australian Open participant roster will be established from current week's positions, which is the ATP's standard season-concluding position determination.

The change is designed to preventing athletes from seeking standing points during what is essentially the off-season.

Training Transitions

This period has been a challenging one for Boulter.

She secured just fourteen Tour-level primary competition games and lately parted ways with instructor Biljana Veselinovic after a extended partnership in which she captured three WTA championships.

"Biljana is an exceptional coach, and an remarkably excellent person as well, which creates situations very difficult," Boulter stated.

The pursuit for a different trainer is currently ongoing, looking for an individual who has top-tier experience as Boulter still believes she can be a top-20 athlete.

Future Goals

"Progressing with a new coach, an important factor I'm very clear on is that they are going to be someone who has a lot of experience in how to advance to the highest echelon of this game," she said.

"I've been positioned as elevated as twenty-three and I am confident I can climb back to that position. I don't think my standard has diminished, I feel the steadiness must develop.

"My goal is not to be positioned 50, 40, 30, twenty - we've achieved that. The goal is to be within the elite group."