Alex de Minaur is Australia’s best male tennis player and at 24 years old, he still has the potential to become the most prolific Australian star of the modern era.
Alex de Minaur is an Australian professional tennis player currently ranked 10th in the ATP singles ranking.
The young Aussie star has been making a name for himself since making his professional debut in 2015, aged just 16 years old. Since then, de Minaur has gone from strength to strength under the keen tutelage of one of Australia’s favourite sons, Lleyton Hewitt; the tennis ace has been claiming victories against some of the game’s greatest ever players, in recent years.
The rising star first started playing tennis when he was just four years old after his mother handed him a tennis racket and signed him up for lessons. He moved to his mother’s native home of Alicante in Spain at an early age, but continued his trajectory in the sport with the support of Tennis Australia who helped to pay for his lessons.
But who is Alex de Minaur, Australia’s dark horse for the Australian Open? Read on as DMARGE tells you all you need to know about Australia’s best young tennis player.
In this Alex de Minaur guide:
Alex de Minaur Quick Facts
Name | Alex de Minaur |
Age | 24 |
DoB | 17 February 1999 |
Birthplace | Sydney, Australia |
Height | 6 feet / 1.83m |
Weight | 10 st 9lbs / 69kg |
World Ranking | 10 (8 January 2024) |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Prize Money | $11,576,789 USD (~$17,268,170 AUD) |
@alexdeminaur – 293k followers |
Who is Alex de Minaur?
Alex de Minaur is an Australian professional tennis player who plays on the ATP World Tour.
At the age of only 25, de Minaur has won seven career titles throughout his ATP career and is currently ranked the 10th best male player in the world.
Alex de Minaur has several strengths that he deploys on the tennis court, but chief among them is his formidable speed and agility which has earned the young Aussie the nickname “speed demon” during his early career.
Early Life
Alex de Minaur was born in Sydney to a Uruguayan father and a Spanish mother. His family owned an Italian restaurant on George Street in Sydney.
When de Minaur was just five years old, the family moved to Alicante in Spain, where he honed his tennis ability under the watchful eye of coach Adolfo Gutierrez, who continues to coach the young Australian ace today.
At the age of 13, de Minaur returned with his family to Australia and felt the yearning to represent his country after years spent overseas, telling the Sydney Morning Herald:
“I used to represent Spain, but I always felt I was Australian. As soon as we moved back here again that was the first thing I wanted to do – play for Australia.”
Growing up he played in several boys’ Grand Slams and won the 2016 Australian Open Boys’ Doubles. In juniors, he reached the world ranking of number two.
Alex de Minaur Ranking
The start of 2024 marked another career milestone for the young Australian star, breaking into the ATP World Rankings Top 10 for the first time.
With less than a week to go before the 2024 Australian Open, Alex de Minaur was announcing himself on the biggest stage by beating three Top 10 players within just a few days of each other.
“I think it’s an extremely special moment, and to be able to do it in Sydney on Ken Rosewall Arena in front of friends, family, it’s a memory that I’ll cherish forever beating another Top-10 player, a quality player, and playing an extremely high-level match,” De Minaur said. “It was very special. There was a lot to play for, but I just love every second that I have here in Sydney.”
It’s the first time an Australian has been seeded in the Top 10 on the ATP World Rankings since Lleyton Hewitt vacated the 5th spot in 2006, breaking a nearly 20-year record to put his country firmly on the map.
RELATED: Alex De Minaur Emerges As Australian Open’s Dark Horse After Shattering 20-Year Record
Professional Career
In 2015, Alex de Minaur turned professional and made his debut in the Spain F22 tournament aged only 16 years old.
Just over a year later, in 2017, the Australian was celebrating his first-ever entry to his home tournament, the Australian Open when he was 17. He entered as a “wildcard” winning his first-round match-up against Gerald Meltzer, saving a match point in the fourth set in the process.
Throughout the season, de Minaur made many Grand Slam debuts, including the French Open and the U.S. Open, but his first ATP title would come a couple of years later at the 2019 Sydney Open, becoming the youngest winner of the tournament since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. Hewitt would go on to act as a mentor for young de Minaur throughout his professional career.
This proved to be his first of seven ATP career titles to date, with his latest coming in 2022 with a victory at the 2022 Atlanta Open.
In 2021, after winning his fifth title at the Eastbourne International, de Minaur achieved his highest ranking on the ATP tour, reaching world number 15. His best result is a quarterfinal result at the 2020 US Open at age 21, only bowing out to eventual winner Dominic Thiem.
In 2022, de Minaur has managed to reach the fourth round of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, showing that the future is bright for the young tennis star.
2022 Paris Masters
Despite being a perennial top-35 player for the last two years, Alex de Minaur has struggled to compete with upper echelon of the tennis rankings.
He was beaten in 18-straight games against top-five players dating back to his professional debut.
However, he was able to break this streak on 2 November 2022, at the Paris Masters.
Taking on world number three Daniil Medvedev in the round of 32, who had previously topped the ATP ranking, Alex de Minaur came out victorious in a thrilling match, winning 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, to beat the Russian.
A win in his next match against world number 21 Frances Tiafoe would put de Minaur ahead of current Australian number one Nick Kyrgios, who currently sits three places above de Minaur at 22.
Here’s hoping Alex can pull it out of the bag in the next round!
Alex de Minaur’s Prize Money
Having won seven ATP tournaments and achieving decent Grand Slam finishes, Alex Minaur’s prize money is pretty impressive for a 24-year-old.
The young tennis star has netted a total of $11,576,789 USD (~$17,268,170 AUD) throughout his professional career.
Tennis Triumphs
The Skilled tennis player proceeded to clutch a win against Rafa at the US open. He started his year by getting to the grand finale of the Australian Open in 2023. He was split seconds close to clutching another win but Novak was faster. He then returned to Tennis limelight with a 6-4-6-4 win at Rotterdam against the swift Rublev.
Alex’s Second Quarter
In the second quarter of the year, He won the Mexican title for the first time. He also appeared in the Wimbledon mixed tournament with his girlfriend of four years, Katie Boutler.
After attempting the Cinch championships without success, The swift Alex took a mid year vacation at the hotel pelicano II in the springs of Italy to relax and unwind a tulmutous first half of the year.
He returned grabbing a slot at the Atlanta open tennis where he was noted for his crazy speed of light whilst playing. His return was epic as he beat Andy Murray at tournament.
Wrapping the Year up
The year was wrapped with Alex’s win count of 200 career wins. He proceeded to the Davis cup tournament and made his way to the grand finale of the match. Alex wrapped up 2023 This time he had a mini date with his English cream golden retriever and his girlfriend.
Stellar Start to 2024
Taking 2024 in full force, he represented Australia and scored a hatrick which led to a tie breaker.
He shot his career to the top by participating in the Australia open. He broke the record of getting to the 4th round. A feat that has not been attained in years. He was also listed as one of the top 10 players in the whole of Sydney. Not relenting, he bagged his second Mexican title. He also celebrated his 4 year anniversary with his girlfriend, Katie Boulter in March 2023.
Katie Boulter: Alex de Minaur’s Girlfriend
On International Women’s Day last year, de Minaur confirmed that he was in a relationship with British tennis player Katie Boulter.
Boulter competes on the WTA circuit, adjacent to the men’s ATP season, and has reached a career-high ranking of 57th in the world.
In 2022, Alex de Minaur gave his girlfriend an emotional shout-out after reaching the Third Round of the Wimbledon Championships in 2022.
A tennis power couple in the making!
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