"It's almost like I have to choose between my body or my ranking" - Boulter on the fence whether to compete as Australian Open ambitions hanging by a thread

With the Australian Open rapidly coming up, Katie Boulter is sitting in a very precarious position. She is ranked 100th in the world after a tumultuous year on court with a hip injury at the end of this season not helping her cause out.

Despite being in a seeded position for the event, protected rankings may mean she misses out on an automatic spot, leaving her to battle through qualifying just to make it into the event. It is a huge change of scenery from the former British number one who was the 22nd seed for last year's event. This leaves her in a tough spot as whether to continue to soldier on and try to clinch the ranking points to confirm her spot in the event in Melbourne or protect her body and let the events play out.

"If there are tournaments there, it gives you an opportunity because you want to make the main draw of Australia," Boulter told BBC Sport. "I'm in this predicament myself right now, and it's almost like I have to choose between my body or my ranking. I think I know my own right choice, but it's difficult because it means that everyone else is going to be playing and passing me."

While the regular WTA Tour season is over, events are still being played in France, Chile and Argentina. The tennis circus never sleeps, and this could give other players the chance around her to surpass her overall ranking points tally, leapfrogging her in the standings. Fortunately, the cut-off for the main draw is the 8th December 2025. The change has been implemented to prevent players from nicking last-minute ranking points in what is supposed to be the off-season. However, while the men's cut-off is this week, the women will have to wait for the conclusion to the WTA 125 Challenger event in Angers, France, before being written in stone for the maiden Grand Slam of 2026.

"I do think that would probably be the smart thing to do," Boulter said. "There has to be somewhere where you draw the line and you give people an opportunity to recuperate and also get a good pre-season in. I feel like this year we've seen so many burnouts, and so many people not playing the end of year because of mental health issues as well as body issues, and I do think it contributes to it."

The 29-year-old made the ultimately tough choice to move away from Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year partnership. It provided much success, winning three WTA titles and a career-high ranking of 23 in the world. However, only 14 tour-level wins this year have seen her plummet down the rankings. Now is the time Boulter believes that change is necessary.

"Biljana is an incredible coach, and an extremely good human as well, which makes things very difficult," Boulter stated. "I think it was just time. I think we both felt that it was the right thing to do. We've accomplished so much together. I'm still going to be spending a lot of time talking to her, I think she's a huge part of my team regardless."

As the search for a coach prolongs, Boulter has set lofty ambitions for the future. "Going forward with a new coach, one thing I'm very clear on is that they are going to be someone who has a lot of experience in how to make it to the very top level of this game. I've been ranked as high as 23 and I know I can get back there. I don't think my level has gone anywhere, I think the consistency needs to improve. My goal is not to be ranked 50, 40, 30, 20 - we've been there. The goal is to be inside 20," she concluded.