While thriving in a mostly individual sport, Alex de Minaur has made no secret that his biggest passion is for team competition. As a linchpin of the nation’s Davis Cup team, he led Australia to consecutive Davis Cup finals in the past two seasons.
DRAWS: Australian Open 2024 men’s and women’s singles
Those heroics extended to United Cup, where the 24-year-old Sydneysider claimed wins over Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic – De Minaur’s first over a world No.1 opponent – to boost Australia’s progress to the semifinals.
The Australian is equally committed to another team that’s also attracting significant attention in the tennis world. His girlfriend is fellow professional Katie Boulter, who at world No.57 is Britain’s No.1 WTA player.
Having first connected during the Australian Open four years ago – reportedly when De Minaur summoned up the nerve to ask Boulter on a coffee date – the couple became “Insta official” in March 2021.
And while they admit they’d prefer to keep their private life private, De Minaur and Boulter also understand that public interest in their relationship is only natural.
“She’s amazing,” said De Minaur, when asked last summer to describe the support Boulter provides in his tennis career. “I guess it's the beauty of us being both in the same sport. We understand each other. We know what to expect, how we can help each other in certain situations.
“Tennis is a very stressful lifestyle, as it is. It's always great to have a partner that you can count on, help you out here and there. It works both ways. I'm there to help her when she needs it.”
It’s no surprise then, that following Boulter’s personal-best season in 2023 – in which she climbed from outside the top-100 to crack the world’s top 50 – she’s happy to expand on De Minaur’s positive influence.
“I feel like we've set up a very positive environment. I think it's showing right now,” the Brit told media at Melbourne Park ahead of AO 2024.
“I think he's really rubbed off on me in so many different ways – the way he holds himself, the way he works. Having his expertise on the side, it's great for me because it's a support. It's someone that I can talk to about anything, including everything to do with my career."
“To have that extra support, it does make a huge difference.”
And while she laughs that, “I hope I’m rubbing off on him too,” Boulter is delighted to watch the excitement accompanying De Minaur’s ascent to a top-10 ranking.
“It's definitely been fun to be a part of because it's been a little bit of a circus, but a good circus,” she smiled. “I think it's awesome that he's getting the attention that he really does deserve. He's put the work in for it. He's playing some of the best tennis of his life."
“It really does fill me with a lot of pride to actually watch him at this moment because I know everything that he's been through, how hard and how strong he is with everything he does,” Boulter said.
Boulter has a first-hand view of De Minaur’s spectacular rise in several ways, having teamed with him in the Wimbledon 2023 mixed doubles tournament – the couple won their first match, then lost the second – and competed against him, when Australia and Great Britain were drawn in the same United Cup round-robin group.
The paths partly diverge now for the high-profile players – while Boulter, who exited in Australian Open qualifying last season, is preparing to meet Yuan Yue in the first round of the women’s tournament, the 10th-seeded De Minaur will take on Milos Raonic, a four-time quarterfinalist in Melbourne, at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday evening.
There’s bound to be words of encouragement for each other, along with an appreciation of the bigger picture as Boulter and De Minaur begin their respective campaign.
“It's been a pleasure to watch and be a part of it at the same time,” Boulter added of her partner’s increased star power on the Grand Slam stage.
“I'll continue to support him with everything that he does, no matter the good and the bad.