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

While the typical WTA Tour competitive period is completed, there are still position points to be won in Latin American countries, Argentina, various venues and European destinations.

The women's competitor lineup for the first Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be calculated from the world rankings of the December cutoff, which could present a difficult choice for players near the qualification line.

Injury Concerns

Previous British top-ranked player Boulter suffered an hip muscle in her concluding competition of the year in Asian venues last timeframe, and is now evaluating whether to participate in the WTA 125 development competition in European venues, France, in the opening days of December.

The athlete's ongoing health concern, and the reality she would need to secure at least multiple victories in the French tournament to boost her ranking, means she may probably eventually not participating.

Different Systems

In comparison, men's competitors are not facing the equivalent dilemma, as for the initial instance the male Australian Open competitor lineup will be created from present week's rankings, which is the ATP's official season-concluding standing calculation.

The change is aimed at preventing competitors from seeking ranking points during what is basically the break period.

Coaching Changes

This season has been a challenging one for Boulter.

She achieved merely fourteen elite major tournament contests and recently parted ways with trainer Biljana Veselinovic after a lengthy partnership in which she secured multiple WTA victories.

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

The search for a replacement coach is actively progressing, looking for an individual who has elite background as Boulter maintains the belief she can be a top-20 competitor.

Professional Aspirations

"Moving ahead with a new coach, a key aspect I'm completely sure on is that they are going to be a professional who has considerable knowledge in how to succeed to the very top level of this profession," she explained.

"I've been placed as elevated as 23 and I am confident I can climb back to that level. I am not convinced my level has disappeared, I think the reliability must develop.

"My goal is not merely to be placed 50, forty, 30, 20 - we've been there. The objective is to be inside 20."