Physical Health or World Standing - Boulter's Australian Open Dilemma
British Katie Boulter states she believes she has to "pick between my physical health and my professional position" as the competition persists for a place in January's Australian Open main event.
While the regular WTA Tour competitive period is over, there are still standing points to be won in South American nations, Argentina, various venues and France.
The female participant roster for the opening Grand Slam of the forthcoming season will be determined by the world rankings of early December, which could present a difficult choice for athletes close to the qualification line.
Health Challenges
Ex- British leading competitor Boulter tore an groin injury in her final event of the year in Hong Kong last timeframe, and is now weighing up whether to participate in the WTA 125 secondary tournament in French locations, the continental destination, in the initial week of December.
Boulter's recent injury, and the situation she would need to achieve at least multiple victories in the French tournament to boost her standing, means she may likely ultimately not playing.
Varying Approaches
In contrast, male athletes are not confronting the identical situation, as for the premier occasion the male Australian Open entry list will be created from this week's rankings, which is the ATP's standard annual-final ranking date.
The change is intended to deterring players from seeking position points during what is basically the break period.
Professional Adjustments
This period has been a challenging one for Boulter.
She won only 14 professional major tournament contests and recently parted ways with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a extended partnership in which she won multiple WTA victories.
"Biljana is an incredible instructor, and an extremely quality human as well, which makes things very difficult," Boulter commented.
The pursuit for a new coach is well under way, searching for a professional who has elite background as Boulter maintains the belief she can be a world-class competitor.
Professional Aspirations
"Going forward with a different trainer, a key aspect I'm completely sure on is that they are going to be a professional who has considerable experience in how to succeed to the peak performance of this profession," she said.
"I've been placed as advanced as 23 and I believe I can climb back to that position. I don't think my level has disappeared, I believe the steadiness should improve.
"My aim is not to be ranked 50, forty, thirty, 20 - we've achieved that. The objective is to be among the elite group."