Eugenie Bouchard will step up her preparations for the Australian Open by participating in the Hobart International in January.

The Canadian has endured a difficult 12 months in the sport, as she has slipped from seventh in the world rankings to 48th in 2015. It has been a disastrous year as she also failed to reach the quarter-finals of any WTA Tour event since January.

The 21-year-old’s poor form was compounded further at the US Open in September when she was forced to withdraw from the competition after slipping in the locker room and suffering concussion.

The youngster has only played one competitive match since then, but she was forced to withdraw during that contest against Andrea Petkovic in Beijing due to dizziness.

Bouchard is now fully focused on returning to form during 2016 and she will kick off the year in Hobart on January 10 searching for his first WTA title since her success at the Nuremberg Cup in May 2014.

The 2014 Wimbledon finalist is hopeful the tournament at the Hobart International Tennis Centre will stand her in good stead for the first major of the year that gets under way in Melbourne on January 18.

She said: “I want to start my 2016 season strongly and am hoping to get high quality matches in Hobart. The tournament is played on the same surface as the Australian Open and will help me prepare for Melbourne.”

The youngster has never made it beyond the last four at Melbourne Park, but she is available at 34.00 to claim the first major title of her career.