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The grand slams have come and gone in 2014.
There is no big event - the WTA Finals aside - until January.
The WTA Tour is ploughing through its own version of purgatory, with most players meandering their way towards the Australian summer.
But for Sam Stosur, well out of contention for a spot in the eight-strong Singapore field at 29th in the 2014 race, there is plenty to play for next month.
Stosur finished season 2013 in a flurry, winning the Osaka title before runner-up finishes - both losses to Simona Halep - in Moscow and Sofia in October.
While the red-hot run pocketed her a sum just shy of $250,000 in prizemoney, it has - unfortunately - created a sizable conundrum 12 months on.
Stosur is in poor form, the Queenslander bowing out of the first round in Guangzhou and Wuhan to Yafan Wang - the world number 251 - and Karolina Pliskova respectively.
She also experienced a near-customary first-round loss at Wimbledon - her sixth first-up defeat at SW19 in her career - plus a loss to the 406th-ranked Naomi Osaka in an underwhelming second half of the season.
Low on confidence, the world number 20 is about to embark on a month where she is trying to defend 820 rankings points.
To put it into context, Stosur has 2110 ranking points to her name overall - meaning by the end of the month, if her form has not improved, her ranking will plummet.
It will not be an overly dramatic fall, results pending, as she should still position herself inside on the edge of the top 30, but if her losing streak continues, it is possible she might be outside the seedings come the Australian Open.
That would be a slap to the face of the Australian number one, although her mantle as the best player from her country is even under threat - with the career-best form of Casey Dellacqua - ranked 27th and climbing.
Stosur's annual judgement day is just around the corner at Melbourne Park, but she needs to show something in the next four weeks to gain some confidence - and much-needed points - ahead of her 13th tilt at her home major.
Sam Stosur faces rankings slide
