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Britain's Katie Boulter admits she feels she has to "decide between my physical condition and my world standing" as the competition persists for a position in next January's Australian Open main draw.

While the typical WTA Tour competitive period is completed, there are still position points to be earned in Latin American countries, regional locations, multiple sites and European destinations.

The female entry list for the first Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be determined by the international positions of early December, which could cause a difficult choice for players close to the cut.

Injury Concerns

Previous British leading competitor Boulter experienced an hip muscle in her last tournament of the year in Hong Kong last period, and is now evaluating whether to participate in the WTA 125 Challenger event in Angers, France, in the initial week of December.

Boulter's ongoing health concern, and the situation she would need to achieve at least multiple victories in the European event to improve her position, means she may well ultimately not playing.

Different Systems

In opposition, male athletes are not facing the same dilemma, as for the initial instance the male Australian Open entry list will be created from present week's positions, which is the ATP's standard year-end ranking date.

The change is intended to discouraging players from seeking ranking points during what is fundamentally the off-season.

Professional Adjustments

This season has been a challenging one for Boulter.

She won only 14 Tour-level main-draw contests and lately split with trainer Biljana Veselinovic after a extended partnership in which she won three WTA victories.

"Biljana is an exceptional instructor, and an extremely good person as well, which creates situations particularly challenging," Boulter stated.

The quest for a replacement instructor is actively progressing, seeking a professional who has elite background as Boulter continues to think she can be a top-20 player.

Future Goals

"Moving ahead with a different trainer, one thing I'm completely sure on is that they are going to be someone who has considerable expertise in how to advance to the highest echelon of this sport," she explained.

"I've been placed as high as twenty-three and I am confident I can climb back to that level. I don't think my performance has disappeared, I think the reliability should improve.

"My goal is not to be ranked 50, forty, thirty, twenty - we've achieved that. The goal is to be inside the elite group."