By Marc McGowan
Alex de Minaur has revealed long-time girlfriend and fellow tennis star Katie Boulter helped him gain greater perspective in dealing with his lowest moments as he takes aim at a top-five world ranking.
The No.1-ranked Australian and in-form Brit have been off-court partners since 2020 – and a Wimbledon mixed doubles duo last year – and are the talk of the tennis world entering the Indian Wells Masters thanks to both winning prestigious 500-level tournaments last week.
Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur: some in the British press have dubbed them tennis’ version of “Posh and Becks”.Credit: Getty Images
It might not quite match Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert’s synchronised Wimbledon titles in 1974 when the tennis legends were dating, but still prompted UK media to dub Boulter and de Minaur the “new Posh and Becks”.
World No.10 de Minaur defended his Acapulco title last Sunday (AEDT) before skipping the event’s after-party to hop into a taxi at barely 4am the next day to board a red-eye flight to make it in time to watch Boulter win the biggest trophy of her life in San Diego.
“I want to say a small, special thank you to my boyfriend,” Boulter said in her acceptance speech.
“He finished last night at midnight and I really want to embarrass him. He got in a 4.15 taxi this morning and 6am flight to be here today, so I do appreciate it.”
They are a somewhat rare case among professional tennis-playing couples, given they are thriving on court, whereas many other loved-up players’ results suffered – the latest being Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa.
De Minaur still bases himself in Monaco, but confirmed he had also bought a home in London that he shares with Boulter, who climbed to a career-high No.27 in this week’s WTA rankings.
“I probably put it down to us being two different people in many ways, and quite similar in other ways,” de Minaur told this masthead from California. “We’re able to help each other in a lot of different aspects in our games, which has created a great environment for both of us to keep pushing each other to improve.
“Katie’s helped me find perspective within tennis matches, and within losses, on how to deal with that side of things and not get too down on myself. I’ve always liked how she’s gone about her business, and how she doesn’t let any result define her. That’s something in the past that was tough for me to deal with.
The duo played mixed doubles at Wimbledon last year.Credit: Getty Images
“She’s finally believing in herself and the level she’s got, which everyone knew she had in her – and it’s great to see her [achieving] results and playing some great tennis.”
On their dual final triumphs, including him defending an ATP Tour title for the first time to retain his top-10 status, de Minaur said it was “extra special” to share the moment with Boulter and made it a “perfect weekend”.
He is amid a brilliant career burst that arguably has its origin at the Paris Masters in November two years ago, when he defeated Russian Daniil Medvedev for his maiden top-five scalp at his 19th attempt. That milestone victory helped change the Sydneysider’s trajectory.
De Minaur followed that with six top-10 victories in 2023, and already has four more – including beating world No.1 Novak Djokovic at the United Cup – within the first three months of this year.
He also reached the Rotterdam final a fortnight before his Acapulco success, losing to Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner. De Minaur’s scorching start to the season, including being agonisingly close to his first quarter-final at Melbourne Park, has him in third place, behind Sinner and Medvedev, in the Race to Turin, where the ATP Tour Finals is played.
The 25-year-old said qualifying for the end-of-year finals – reserved for the eight best-performed players each season – for the first time was a big goal, as was breaking into the world’s top five.
“I was definitely in the hunt until the very end [last year], so I gave myself a pretty decent shot there,” he said.
“It’s a long year, but if you can stay in the top 10, you’re giving yourself quite a good chance to make it. That’s the ultimate goal, and it’s based on consistency all through the year, so that’s where you want to be.
“I definitely want to go deeper at the grand slams than I have in the past [his best result is making the 2020 US Open quarter-finals], and that’s what will get me to the next level, rankings-wise, because that’s where all the points are … hopefully, I can push myself to do that. The top five is my next goal.”
De Minaur is already noticing a difference in how his locker-room peers are treating him, but there was also a tangible reward that came from what his well-earned ranking has done for his confidence.
The international couple have been together since 2020.Credit: Getty Images
He had never beaten Greek star Tsitsipas in 10 previous clashes on the main tour before finally getting the better of him in last week’s Acapulco quarter-finals – and after losing the first set 6-1.
“It is never easy going into a match-up where you have not been successful in the past and had a lot of trouble,” de Minaur said.
“It was really important for me to get over that hurdle and break through that door, in a way. One of the bigger things I kept reminding myself [of] was I was ranked higher, and I had that ranking for a reason. I managed to turn it around in great fashion, so it was a big win for me.”
There is a major opportunity in front of de Minaur across the next three months, starting with the “Sunshine Double” at Indian Wells and Miami, arguably the sport’s biggest tournaments outside the slams.
He lost in the second round at both last year, after having a first-round bye, which he also benefited from this time.
De Minaur starts his campaign against Japan’s Taro Daniel. It is feasible that the Australian could rise as high as No.7 by the grasscourt season, given how few points he has to defend before then, with a coveted top-eight seeding a game-changer at the majors.
Love match: Boulter and de Minaur share a home in London, and de Minaur also has a base in Monaco.Credit: Getty Images
There is still a sizeable points gap between that pack and sixth-ranked German Alexander Zverev.
“It’s going to be big for me, so hopefully I can go out here and make good use of my chances,” de Minaur said.
“I had a great week last year at Acapulco, but was unable to back it up the next couple of weeks, so I will have a big focus on doing all the right things, and will try to start on the right note at Indian Wells and put myself in a good position.
“It’s never easy after a good week to back it up, and you’ve just got to be ready because there’s a bigger target on your back than normal. The opening rounds are the danger matches. If you can get through them; you get into the tournament and start playing some of your best tennis.”
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