🔗 Share this article

Britain's Katie Boulter says she feels she has to "decide between my physical health and my professional position" as the scramble persists for a spot in the upcoming January Australian Open primary competition.

While the typical WTA Tour competitive period is over, there are still standing points to be earned in Chile, neighboring countries, multiple sites and international tournaments.

The women's entry list for the initial Grand Slam of the forthcoming season will be determined by the world rankings of the December cutoff, which could cause a dilemma for competitors approaching the selection threshold.

Health Challenges

Ex- British top-ranked player Boulter suffered an groin injury in her last tournament of the year in Asian venues last month, and is now considering whether to participate in the WTA 125 secondary tournament 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 improve her standing, means she may probably eventually not participating.

Different Systems

In contrast, men's competitors are not experiencing the equivalent situation, as for the first time the men's Australian Open participant roster will be established from this week's positions, which is the ATP's official annual-final ranking date.

The change is intended to deterring players from seeking standing points during what is basically the break period.

Professional Adjustments

This year has been a challenging one for Boulter.

She secured just fourteen professional major tournament matches and recently split with trainer Biljana Veselinovic after a lengthy partnership in which she secured several WTA titles.

"Biljana is an outstanding instructor, and an extremely excellent human as well, which creates situations particularly challenging," Boulter said.

The quest for a replacement trainer is actively progressing, looking for a professional who has top-tier experience as Boulter still believes she can be a world-class competitor.

Professional Aspirations

"Moving ahead with a different trainer, a key aspect I'm absolutely certain on is that they are going to be an individual who has extensive knowledge in how to advance to the very top level of this game," she stated.

"I've been positioned as high as twenty-three and I believe I can climb back to that position. I am not convinced my standard has disappeared, I feel the steadiness must improve.

"My objective is not to be positioned 50, 40, thirty, twenty - we've been there. The objective is to be inside the elite group."