Katie Boult ‘choosing between body and ranking’ over Australian Open main draw spot
Former British number one Bolt ripped a kidnapper at the final event of the year in Hong Kong last month and is now considering whether to compete in the WTA 125 Challenge in Angers, France, in the first week of December.
In contrast, male players do not face the same dilemma, because the men’s Australian Open entry list will be drawn from this week’s rankings for the first time, which is also the ATP’s official year-end ranking day.
The purpose of this change is to discourage players from chasing ranked points during the offseason.
“I do think it’s probably a smart move,” Bolt continued.
“The line has to be drawn somewhere and people are given a chance to recover and get a good performance in pre-season.
“I feel like we saw a lot of burnout this year, a lot of people not playing at the end of the year because of mental health issues and physical issues, and I do think that’s what contributed to that.”
Bolt’s recent injury and the fact that she needs to win at least three races in Angers to improve her ranking means she will likely end up unable to compete.
But that could mean she needs to win through qualifying if she wants to reach the main draw at Melbourne Park for the sixth time in her career.
