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Former British number one Katie Boulter has missed out on a place in the main draw for the Australian Open.<\/b><\/p>\n
There are 104 players who have received direct entry into the Melbourne draw, including those with protected rankings, with Boulter currently ranked 106.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old will now have to go through qualifying at Melbourne Park in January for the first Grand Slam of 2026.<\/p>\n
Boulter had the opportunity to earn extra ranking points in the WTA 125 challenger event in France last week but opted not to play after sustaining a hip injury in Hong Kong in October.<\/p>\n
She told BBC Sport in November that she had to “choose between my body and my ranking” when weighing up whether to play<\/a> to improve her ranking. <\/p>\n “If there are tournaments there, it gives you an opportunity because you want to make the main draw of Australia,” she said at the time.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Boulter has won just 14 Tour-level main-draw matches this year and recently split with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year partnership in which she won three WTA titles.<\/p>\n Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal and Francesca Jones all received direct entry into the main draw – along with Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n