🔗 Share this article

Britain's Katie Boulter states she believes she has to "decide between my physical condition and my professional position" as the scramble continues for a position in January's Australian Open primary competition.

While the typical WTA Tour season is finished, there are still ranking points to be won in Latin American countries, Argentina, multiple sites and France.

The female participant roster for the opening Grand Slam of the upcoming season will be based on the global standings of 8 December, which could cause a difficult choice for competitors near the qualification line.

Injury Concerns

Former British number one Boulter experienced an abductor in her concluding competition of the year in Hong Kong last month, and is now considering whether to compete in the WTA 125 secondary tournament in European venues, France, in the first week of December.

The athlete's recent injury, and the situation she would need to win at least three matches in the European event to improve her position, means she may well ultimately not playing.

Different Systems

In opposition, men's competitors are not facing the same predicament, as for the initial instance the male Australian Open entry list will be drawn up from current week's rankings, which is the ATP's official season-concluding standing calculation.

The adjustment is aimed at discouraging athletes from seeking standing points during what is fundamentally the rest interval.

Professional Adjustments

This season has been a demanding one for Boulter.

She secured just fourteen professional primary competition matches and currently split with instructor Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year partnership in which she captured multiple WTA titles.

"Biljana is an outstanding instructor, and an exceptionally excellent individual as well, which makes things particularly challenging," Boulter said.

The search for a replacement trainer is currently ongoing, searching for someone who has top-tier experience as Boulter maintains the belief she can be a top-20 competitor.

Career Objectives

"Going forward with a different trainer, one thing I'm absolutely certain on is that they are going to be a professional who has a lot of experience in how to succeed to the peak performance of this profession," she stated.

"I've been positioned as elevated as 23 and I am confident I can return to that level. I am not convinced my level has disappeared, I believe the reliability must enhance.

"My objective is not simply to be placed 50, 40, thirty, 20 - we've accomplished that. The aim is to be within the elite group."