🔗 Share this article

Britain's Katie Boulter states she believes she has to "pick between my body and my world standing" as the race persists for a spot in January's Australian Open main draw.

While the standard WTA Tour tournament schedule is over, there are still ranking points to be won in Latin American countries, Argentina, various venues and international tournaments.

The women's competitor lineup for the first Grand Slam of the forthcoming season will be determined by the global standings of the December cutoff, which could present a dilemma for players near the qualification line.

Physical Setbacks

Former British leading competitor Boulter suffered an abductor in her last tournament of the year in Hong Kong last month, and is now weighing up whether to play in the WTA 125 Challenger event in French locations, the European nation, in the first week of December.

Boulter's recent injury, and the reality she would need to achieve at least three matches in Angers to improve her position, means she may likely ultimately not competing.

Different Systems

In comparison, men's competitors are not confronting the same situation, as for the first time the male Australian Open participant roster will be established from this week's standings, which is the ATP's standard year-end standing calculation.

The change is aimed at discouraging athletes from seeking position points during what is essentially the rest interval.

Training Transitions

This period has been a difficult one for Boulter.

She secured just fourteen Tour-level main-draw contests and currently split with trainer Biljana Veselinovic after a extended partnership in which she won several WTA championships.

"Biljana is an incredible coach, and an extremely good human as well, which produces circumstances extremely hard," Boulter commented.

The search for a new instructor is currently ongoing, looking for someone who has high-level background as Boulter still believes she can be a world-class player.

Career Objectives

"Progressing with a replacement instructor, a key aspect I'm very clear on is that they are going to be someone who has considerable experience in how to succeed to the peak performance of this game," she explained.

"I've been positioned as advanced as twenty-three and I am confident I can return to that position. I am not convinced my level has disappeared, I feel the reliability must enhance.

"My aim is not simply to be ranked 50, forty, 30, 20 - we've achieved that. The goal is to be inside the top twenty."