Body versus World Standing - Boulter's Melbourne Grand Slam Predicament
Britain's Katie Boulter admits she feels she has to "pick between my physical condition and my professional position" as the race persists for a position in the upcoming January Australian Open primary competition.
While the standard WTA Tour tournament schedule is finished, there are still ranking points to be earned in Chile, neighboring countries, Ecuador and France.
The female entry list for the first Grand Slam of the forthcoming season will be based on the global standings of the December cutoff, which could cause a dilemma for athletes near the cut.
Injury Concerns
Previous British number one Boulter tore an abductor in her last tournament of the year in Asian venues last month, and is now weighing up whether to compete in the WTA 125 development competition in French locations, the European nation, in the opening days of December.
Boulter's current physical issue, and the situation she would need to achieve at least three matches in the European event to boost her position, means she may well end up not competing.
Different Systems
In contrast, male athletes are not confronting the same dilemma, as for the initial instance the male Australian Open competitor lineup will be drawn up from this week's standings, which is the ATP's standard year-end ranking date.
The change is designed to discouraging players from seeking ranking points during what is basically the rest interval.
Coaching Changes
This period has been a challenging one for Boulter.
She secured just 14 Tour-level primary competition contests and recently separated with instructor Biljana Veselinovic after a extended working relationship in which she secured three WTA victories.
"Biljana is an outstanding trainer, and an remarkably quality human as well, which makes things extremely hard," Boulter commented.
The search for a replacement trainer is well under way, searching for an individual who has elite experience as Boulter continues to think she can be a world-class competitor.
Professional Aspirations
"Moving ahead with a different trainer, one thing I'm completely sure on is that they are going to be an individual who has a lot of expertise in how to advance to the highest echelon of this game," she said.
"I've been positioned as high as 23 and I am confident I can get back to that level. I don't believe my standard has gone anywhere, I think the steadiness should improve.
"My objective is not simply to be positioned 50, forty, thirty, twenty - we've been there. The aim is to be among 20."