After making his maiden Australian Open quarterfinal appearance in 2025, Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur is looking to go further at his home slam this January.
“I would love nothing more than to have a deep run there and keep building upon what I’ve been doing the last couple of years and hopefully be a threat for the title,” De Minaur revealed on this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast.
“I’ve had my best year on tour, finished seven in the world, but I do feel like I’ve got more to give and I don’t think I’ve hit my ceiling just yet.”
If De Minaur were to lift the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup, he would be the first Australian man to do so since Mark Edmonson in 1976.
De Minaur’s season highlights included qualifying for the ATP Finals for a second consecutive year, claiming his 10th career title at Washington DC, and reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian and US Opens.
Yet 2025 wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Sydney native. A second-round loss at Roland Garros forced him to rethink how he approached the remainder of the season.
“I definitely felt a little bit burnt out and that early exit at Roland Garros really took a toll on me,” he shared, “to the point where I needed to take some action and be strong with myself about what my priorities are and what I need to do to get the most out of myself.”
Following Paris, the top-ranked Australian took some time away from the court to reset. His biggest title of this year came not long after at Washington DC.
“I decided to take a little bit of time off, focus on the bigger tournaments and ultimately believe in myself and back myself that if I’m physically healthy, mentally healthy, and full of energy then I am good enough to have the results that I want,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of highs, couple lows, but I’m overall very happy with the season itself. I’ve been able to overcome some difficult moments, learn a lot about myself and along the process feel like I’ve become a better version of myself.”
De Minaur’s tenacity was also on full display at Turin, where after losses to Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz, he bounced back to upset Taylor Fritz and advance to the semifinals for the first time.
“I feel like it’s been one of the attributes that I’ve had within me for a while. It’s not about getting knocked down, it’s how quickly you get back up and you keep fighting,” he revealed.
When reaching career milestones, such as that ATP Finals breakthrough, and the highest year-end ranking (No.7) of his career, De Minaur said he was making an effort to appreciate these achievements before moving onto the next target.
“We live in a sport that we are always striving for the next best thing and we easily forget once we’ve accomplished a goal and many times we don’t give ourselves enough credit for achieving that goal. That moment just passes away quickly and you’re not able to really cherish that,” he explained.
“One of the things I’ve done a lot more is in fact, cherish those moments. Take a step back from a very fast-paced life and enjoy those moments. It doesn’t need to be: go out and party every time you have a good win. But find whatever it is for you, something little that’s your way of giving yourself a little pat on the back.”
With the Australian summer just around the corner, De Minaur will be hoping he has more of these moments to celebrate.
He is set to lead Australia at the United Cup alongside Maya Joint, before heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open.
Listen to the full episode of The Sit-Down, a weekly podcast released each Monday featuring an in-depth interview with a notable tennis identity. Subscribe to The Sit-Down in your favourite podcast player.