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British Katie Boulter states she believes she has to "choose between my physical condition and my ranking" as the scramble continues for a place in next January's Australian Open main draw.

While the regular WTA Tour season is completed, there are still ranking points to be gained in Chile, regional locations, Ecuador and international tournaments.

The women's entry list for the initial Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be based on the international positions of 8 December, which could present a challenging situation for athletes approaching the qualification line.

Injury Concerns

Former British leading competitor Boulter experienced an abductor in her last tournament of the year in Asian venues last period, and is now evaluating whether to participate in the WTA 125 Challenger event in French locations, France, in the first week of December.

Boulter's ongoing health concern, and the reality she would need to secure at least several wins in Angers to boost her ranking, means she may likely eventually not competing.

Contrasting Methods

In contrast, men's competitors are not confronting the identical dilemma, as for the initial instance the men's Australian Open participant roster will be created from present week's standings, which is the ATP's standard season-concluding ranking date.

The change is aimed at discouraging competitors from chasing position points during what is fundamentally the rest interval.

Coaching Changes

This year has been a demanding one for Boulter.

She secured just 14 elite primary competition games and recently parted ways with instructor Biljana Veselinovic after a lengthy partnership in which she secured three WTA titles.

"Biljana is an outstanding coach, and an extremely excellent person as well, which makes things particularly challenging," Boulter said.

The pursuit for a different instructor is well under way, searching for someone who has high-level background as Boulter continues to think she can be a top-20 athlete.

Career Objectives

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

"I've been placed as advanced as 23 and I know I can get back to that level. I don't believe my level has disappeared, I feel the reliability needs to enhance.

"My aim is not merely to be placed 50, 40, thirty, 20 - we've been there. The aim is to be inside the top twenty."