Alex de Minaur revealed that he and fiancée Katie Boulter are keen to compete in the revamped US Open mixed doubles event, despite not being included in the initial 16-team lineup announced that day. After his 6-4, 6-2 first-round loss to Jiri Lehecka at Queen’s Club, de Minaur said, “I didn’t even know they had come out with a cutoff yet. We’re definitely going to be keen to try and play if they allow us to,” per Express. Boulter, speaking at the Queen’s Club Championships, was coy but open to the idea, stating, “You never know! I don’t think we have ruled it out, but we haven’t had a conversation about it,” per The Tennis Gazette.
Event Details and Competition
The US Open’s mixed doubles, set for August 19–20 during Fan Week, features a $1 million prize pool and a “fast-four” format (two sets of four games, tie-break at 3-3). Eight teams qualify via combined singles rankings by July 28, with eight wildcards completing the draw, per Express. The announced lineup includes Emma Raducanu-Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper-Qinwen Zheng, and Jannik Sinner-Emma Navarro, with nine WTA and ATP top-10 players, per Express. De Minaur (ATP No. 12) and Boulter (WTA No. 39) face stiff competition for a spot, likely needing a wildcard, per The Independent.
Couple’s Mixed Doubles History
De Minaur and Boulter, engaged since December 2024, previously played mixed doubles at Wimbledon 2023, losing a close second-round match, and at the 2025 Eisenhower Cup in Indian Wells, falling 7-10 to Ben Shelton-Emma Navarro, per The Tennis Gazette. De Minaur, enthusiastic about mixed doubles, said in Dubai, “I really enjoy playing mixed doubles… it’s going to be fun to hopefully play some with Katie,” per Tennis.com. Their familiarity with each other’s games, honed by watching countless matches, could make them a formidable pair, per Tennis.com.
Context and Challenges
The couple’s plan to enter could disrupt the US Open’s field, as wildcards are “like gold dust,” per Express. Boulter’s cryptic response at Queen’s, “We can literally sign in the same week and hope for the best,” suggests a last-minute decision, per The Tennis Gazette. Meanwhile, Boulter’s recent BBC Sport interview about receiving vile social media abuse, including death threats, underscores the emotional stakes, with de Minaur praising her for speaking out, per BBC Sport. As they prepare for Wimbledon 2025 (June 30–July 13), their potential US Open bid adds intrigue to their power-couple narrative, per @DExpress_Sport.
