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Former British number one Katie Boulter has missed out on a place in the Australian Open main draw and will likely have to go through qualifying to feature in the first grand slam of next season.

The 29-year-old was the 22nd seed at Melbourne Park in January but a difficult season marred by injury and poor form has seen her slip to 106th in the rankings.

Boulter is currently three places away from a main draw spot, with 104 players receiving direct entry including some with protected rankings. She will have to go through qualifying unless there are sufficient withdrawals ahead of the tournament, which begins on 18 January.

Six British players have secured direct entry, with Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie and Emma Raducanu in line to be seeded as top-30 players. Jacob Fearnley, Sonay Kartal and Francesca Jones are the other Brits to seal an automatic spot.

Notable absentees on the entry lists are former Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur, who is pregnant, and injured men’s world No 15 Holger Rune.

Boulter recently split with coach Biljana Veselinovic, bringing an end to a three-year partnership in which she won three WTA Tour titles, including two on home soil in Nottingham.

She last played in Hong Kong in October, retiring with a hip injury in the first round against Alexandra Eala, and decided not to put her body under further strain chasing more ranking points before the cut-off. The women’s entry list for the Australian Open is based on the world rankings as of Monday 8 December.

Additional reporting by PA