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British Katie Boulter says she feels she has to "pick between my physical health and my professional position" as the competition continues for a place in January's Australian Open main draw.

While the typical WTA Tour competitive period is completed, there are still position points to be won in South American nations, Argentina, multiple sites and France.

The female entry list for the opening Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be calculated from the international positions of early December, which could cause a dilemma for competitors near the cut.

Physical Setbacks

Previous British leading competitor Boulter suffered an hip muscle in her last tournament of the year in Asian venues last month, and is now evaluating whether to participate in the WTA 125 development competition in French locations, the European nation, in the first week of December.

The athlete's current physical issue, and the situation she would need to achieve at least several wins in the European event to improve her position, means she may probably end up not playing.

Contrasting Methods

In contrast, male athletes are not experiencing the equivalent situation, as for the initial instance the men's Australian Open entry list will be created from present week's standings, which is the ATP's standard year-end standing calculation.

The modification is intended to preventing competitors from seeking standing points during what is basically the off-season.

Professional Adjustments

This season has been a difficult one for Boulter.

She achieved merely fourteen elite major tournament games and currently separated with trainer Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year collaboration in which she won multiple WTA victories.

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

The search for a replacement trainer is currently ongoing, searching for an individual who has high-level background as Boulter continues to think she can be a elite-level competitor.

Career Objectives

"Moving ahead with a new coach, one thing I'm completely sure on is that they are going to be a professional who has extensive experience in how to advance to the very top level of this game," she said.

"I've been positioned as advanced as 23 and I know I can get back there. I don't believe my standard has diminished, I feel the reliability needs to develop.

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