🔗 Share this article Body or World Standing - Boulter's Melbourne Grand Slam Predicament Katie Boulter has fallen from 23rd position to 100th in the world rankings in the current season British Katie Boulter states she believes she has to "choose between my physical health and my professional position" as the competition continues for a position in January's Australian Open primary competition. While the regular WTA Tour tournament schedule is finished, there are still position points to be gained in South American nations, neighboring countries, various venues and France. The female participant roster for the initial Grand Slam of the 2026 season will be determined by the world rankings of the December cutoff, which could create a difficult choice for players near the selection threshold. Injury Concerns Previous British leading competitor Boulter suffered an groin injury in her final event of the year in Hong Kong last month, and is now considering whether to participate in the WTA 125 secondary tournament in French locations, the continental destination, in the opening days of December. Boulter's recent injury, and the fact she would need to secure at least three matches in the French tournament to boost her position, means she may well ultimately not playing. Varying Approaches In contrast, male athletes are not facing the equivalent predicament, as for the premier occasion the men's Australian Open participant roster will be drawn up from current week's positions, which is the ATP's formal annual-final standing calculation. The adjustment is intended to deterring athletes from chasing standing points during what is fundamentally the break period. Coaching Changes This year has been a difficult one for Boulter. She secured just fourteen professional main-draw contests and recently split with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year working relationship in which she secured several WTA titles. "Biljana is an incredible coach, and an extremely good person as well, which creates situations very difficult," Boulter said. The pursuit for a replacement instructor is well under way, seeking an individual who has top-tier expertise as Boulter still believes she can be a top-20 player. Future Goals "Going forward with a new coach, a key aspect I'm absolutely certain on is that they are going to be an individual who has extensive expertise in how to make it to the peak performance of this game," she said. "I've been positioned as elevated as twenty-three and I am confident I can return there. I am not convinced my level has diminished, I believe the consistency must enhance. "My goal is not merely to be ranked 50, 40, 30, twenty - we've been there. The aim is to be within 20."