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Britain's Katie Boulter admits she feels she has to "choose between my physical health and my ranking" as the race continues for a position in the upcoming January Australian Open main draw.

While the regular WTA Tour tournament schedule is finished, there are still standing points to be earned in South American nations, regional locations, various venues and international tournaments.

The female competitor lineup for the initial Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be determined by the global standings of early December, which could create a difficult choice for players near the cut.

Physical Setbacks

Previous British top-ranked player Boulter tore an abductor in her concluding competition of the year in international locations last period, and is now evaluating whether to play in the WTA 125 Challenger event in Angers, the European nation, in the opening days of December.

Boulter's recent injury, and the fact she would need to win at least several wins in Angers to improve her ranking, means she may likely ultimately not participating.

Varying Approaches

In comparison, male players are not confronting the same situation, as for the initial instance the men's Australian Open entry list will be established from this week's rankings, which is the ATP's formal annual-final standing calculation.

The adjustment is designed to deterring athletes from pursuing position points during what is fundamentally the break period.

Coaching Changes

This period has been a challenging one for Boulter.

She won only 14 professional main-draw matches and recently separated with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a extended collaboration in which she secured multiple WTA championships.

"Biljana is an exceptional instructor, and an remarkably excellent human as well, which creates situations extremely hard," Boulter commented.

The pursuit for a replacement instructor is currently ongoing, seeking an individual who has elite background as Boulter still believes she can be a world-class competitor.

Future Goals

"Moving ahead with a new coach, an important factor I'm very clear on is that they are going to be an individual who has extensive experience in how to advance to the highest echelon of this profession," she stated.

"I've been positioned as high as 23 and I am confident I can get back to that position. I don't think my performance has gone anywhere, I believe the reliability must develop.

"My objective is not simply to be ranked fifty, forty, thirty, twenty - we've accomplished that. The aim is to be within the top twenty."