🔗 Share this article

British Katie Boulter admits she feels she has to "decide between my body and my ranking" as the race continues for a position in next January's Australian Open primary competition.

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

The women's participant roster for the first Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be calculated from the international positions of the December cutoff, which could create a difficult choice for competitors near the qualification line.

Injury Concerns

Ex- British number one Boulter experienced an abductor in her last tournament of the year in Hong Kong last period, and is now weighing up whether to participate in the WTA 125 development competition in Angers, the continental destination, in the opening days of December.

The athlete's ongoing health concern, and the fact she would need to secure at least three matches in the European event to enhance her standing, means she may well end up not participating.

Contrasting Methods

In contrast, male players are not confronting the equivalent predicament, as for the premier occasion the male Australian Open participant roster will be created from current week's standings, which is the ATP's official annual-final position determination.

The modification is aimed at deterring competitors from pursuing position points during what is essentially the break period.

Coaching Changes

This period has been a difficult one for Boulter.

She won only 14 professional major tournament contests and currently parted ways with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year collaboration in which she secured multiple WTA championships.

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

The search for a replacement coach is well under way, looking for an individual who has top-tier background as Boulter maintains the belief she can be a top-20 competitor.

Future Goals

"Going forward with a replacement instructor, a key aspect I'm absolutely certain on is that they are going to be someone who has extensive knowledge in how to make it to the peak performance of this sport," she explained.

"I've been positioned as advanced as 23 and I know I can return to that position. I don't think my performance has disappeared, I feel the reliability needs to develop.

"My objective is not simply to be placed 50, forty, thirty, twenty - we've accomplished that. The aim is to be among the top twenty."