Former British number one Boulter tore an abductor in her final event of the year in Hong Kong last month, and is now weighing up whether to compete in the WTA 125 Challenger event in Angers, France, in the first week of December.

In contrast, male players are not facing the same dilemma, as for the first time the men’s Australian Open entry list will be drawn up from this week’s rankings, which is the ATP’s official year-end ranking date.

The change is aimed at discouraging players from chasing ranking points during what is essentially the off-season.

“I do think that would probably be the smart thing to do,” Boulter continued.

“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.”

Boulter’s recent injury, and the fact she would need to win at least three matches in Angers to improve her ranking, means she may well end up not playing.

But that is likely to mean she will need to win through qualifying if she is to make the main draw at Melbourne Park for the sixth time in her career.