Alex de Minaur Is Always Learning From Katie Boulter

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Alex de Minaur had a big weekend. He won the Mexican Open in Acapulco, then immediately hopped on a plane to San Diego, to watch his girlfriend, Katie Boulter, clinch the San Diego Open title.

“It was an unbelievable experience to be able to make it all happen and see us both having a pretty surreal week,” he tells Town & Country. “It’s probably one of those things that, in your career, won’t happen very often. So I’m glad I was able to be there to witness it. It was pretty crazy how it all worked out perfectly so we could be there for each other.”

De Minaur is speaking ahead of the 2024 Indian Wells tournament, which he’s excited to play in. “It’s a great time of the year. I’m really looking forward to the Sunshine tour, both in Indian Wells and Miami,” he says. “It’s a great place to be, great weather, hopefully we get great crowds out there as well.” Ahead of the BNP Paribas Open, he chatted with T&C all about winning at the same time as Boulter, what he’s learned from her, and what his goals are for the rest of the year.

Alex De Minaur celebrates his win against Casper Ruud of Norway during the singles final of the Mexican Open.Matthew Stockman – Getty Images

Coming off your win in Acapulco, how are you feeling about Indian Wells?

I’m feeling great. I’m feeling excited for this next week coming up. It’s quite important for me now to just reset after an unbelievable week and get ready for a whole new week where it’s gonna be tough competition from the very start.

When you have such tight turnaround between tournaments, how do you adjust to the new location?

The biggest thing for me is to try and get used to the conditions as quickly as possible. It’s never easy. You don’t have a lot of time. You have to try and reset mentally, as well, put everything that happened last week in the past and not take anything for granted because the following week, you don’t get any special privilege for [winning]. We all in the same round and everyone wants to beat you. So you gotta be ready for it. It’s always difficult backing up a big week, but the big goal is to be ready for the first round and build from that.

Boulter and de Minaur played doubles at Wimbledon last summer.Mike Hewitt – Getty Images

You and your girlfriend are a new tennis power couple. How do you feel about that title?

We’re just an ordinary couple, nothing special. We push each other to be better human beings, better tennis players. Every now and again we enjoy each other’s company as well.

What’s it like for you, when the men’s and women’s tours are in the same place?

It’s great. It’s really, really big for both of us to be at the same tournaments together. It’s not often. Recently we’ve been playing the same tournaments more and more, and it makes it a lot easier. We both enjoy it, we get to go about our business on the court, and probably the most important thing is that once we’re done, we get to switch off and relax and really reset, which is something that when we’re by ourselves is a little bit harder to do.

Are there things you two like to do in your downtime?

Anything that takes the mind off tennis. We’re pretty good at switching off, whether it’s wandering trying to find new places, exploring, or finding new coffee shops, or just taking a nice, easy day by the pool or watching movies on Netflix. We’re both suckers for comedy, so anything on that side of things where it’s kind of easy to watch and not too engaging. Mostly it’s all about just trying to relax.

Are you competitive with each other? Have you learned anything from Katie’s game that you’ve incorporated into yours?

We have practiced a fair bit [together] in the past and it always gets competitive. It’s part of the fun. The great thing that we’ve got is that we are very comfortable giving each other a lot of crap. It makes it fun and enjoyable.

I’ve learned a lot from her. Every time I watch her, I wish I could hit the ball as big as she does and hit as many winners as she does. Instead I’m stuck to running side to side. I have learnt a lot from her [also] on the mentality side of things and how she goes about her business and it’s been great.

Boulter after winning the San Diego Open 2024.Sean M. Haffey – Getty Images

When she won in San Diego, she spoke about the pay gap between the men’s and women’s tours, which is definitely closed at the bigger tournaments, but it still remains at the smaller events. What’s your take on the fight for equal pay in, in tennis?

Look, it’s obviously a constant battle and I hope that the WTA can work through it and make it equal for all players. It’s a long battle that’s been in the works for a while and it’s getting closer. Tennis is one of the leading sports in this area, and they’ve made a big effort and a big change over the years, and it’s great to see.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?

My goal is to keep going where I’m at—keep the level going. It’s a long year, and it’s only the start of it. So for the rest of the year, [the goal is to] try to keep the same mentality and mindset. When you’ve played a lot of years on the tour, you know how to pace yourself. It’s very important to switch off whenever you can, get yourself ready, and try not to burn out in the middle of the year.

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