Alex de Minaur, 25, and Katie Boulter, 27, have opened up after four years together and revealed their very different approaches to tennis, the sport that helped them fall in love. The men’s world number seven and Britain’s number-one women’s seed met in a hotel lobby while both travelling for tournaments and started dating soon after, bonding over their shared love of the sport. But Boulter admits their approach to tennis couldn’t be more different.
But Boulter admits their approach to tennis couldn’t be more different.
“I know it’s not the end of the world if I lose a match,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald this week.
“Alex, on the other hand, is someone who can live or die by every match.”
The 27-year-old explained that De Minaur “can beat himself up a lot” when he loses matches, especially big ones like when he “brutally” lost to Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open this year.
“I always go and find him in the gym straight away and give him a hug. There’s not much you can say, but I want him to know I’m there for him,” she added.
Though Boulter has always been passionate about the sport, she gained a lot of perspective when two relatives were diagnosed with cancer within 10 days of each other recently.
That confronting moment taught her that sometimes there are bigger things than tennis to worry about, and that De Minaur will stand by her side through anything.
He dropped everything and rushed to be with her when she got the news and supported her through the difficult period of time that followed.
Speaking to the SMH, De Minaur revealed he’s learned a lot from Boulter in the last four years, both on and off the court.
“I’ve learnt a lot watching her play,” the Australian tennis star said.
“Katie has helped me out a lot with finding perspective, not being so driven, not to live or die by match results, which were everything for me.”
She’s also become a huge part of his family, the Aussie tennis star joking that if they ever argued, his relatives would probably take Boulter’s side.
De Minaur’s mum texts her “every single day” and Boulter said she’s grateful to have such a huge, supportive extended team surrounding the both of them.
