Behind-the-scenes footage of Katie Boulter goes viral amid brutal loss for Alex de Minaur's fiancee
The British tennis star's poor run at grand slams continued in the second round of the Australian Open.
Vision has emerged of Katie Boulter asking staff at the Australian Open to change the TV channel in the players' gym so she could watch fiancee Alex de Minaur during her warm-up. It was heartbreak for Boulter on Thursday night as the British 22nd seed suffered a shock loss in the second round.
Boulter's poor run at grand slams continued as she went down 6-7 (3) 6-2 2-6 to Russian World No.75 Veronika Kudermetova. It left de Minaur as the only player in the superstar couple remaining in the singles draw after his 6-2 6-4 6-3 thrashing of American qualifier Tristan Boyer earlier on Thursday.
De Minaur and Boulter have continually spruiked the way they support and feed off each other at grand slams, and the Aussie was spotted watching both his fiancee's matches this week. And Boulter even wanted to keep abreast of de Minaur's clash with Boyer while she warmed up for her own match.
Behind-the-scenes footage emerged on social media on Thursday showing Boulter asking a staff member in the players' gym to change the TV channel so she could watch her fiancee. She then started stretching and put her warm-up mat right in front of the TV so she could take in all the action. Fans were captivated by the cute footage, saying it shows what a lovely relationship Boulter and de Minaur have.
That’s love🥰
— NMielnik (@nmielnikn) January 16, 2025
Get you a girl like Katie
— Derek Brad (@DerekBradPhoto) January 16, 2025
Jelena Dokic comments on tennis players' relationships
It came after Jelena Dokic used de Minaur and Boulter as an example of how players can still maintain strong results after starting a relationship. There have been ugly claims that Stefanos Tsitsipas' relationship with Paula Badosa has negatively affected their careers, but Dokic disagrees.
Boulter has never made it into the second week of a grand slam, but has risen to a career-high ranking since her romance with de Minaur began (and so has he). "There's a few players that are in relationships on the tour and of course Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter have been together for quite a few years now, of course now engaged as well," Dokic told Channel 9. "And how well has that worked out for their tennis, because you can support each other in different ways and go and practice together and watch each other.
"So no, I don't think that that's the reason maybe why [Tsitsipas has] struggled on the court. I think their relationship (Tsitsipas and Badosa) has been really good so far, for over a year-and-a-half I think that they've been together, it seems to be working. I think for Stefanos it's more about having a fresh mind and fresh perspective, going on a tennis court. He really looks to me like he's got a bit of burnout."
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Katie Boulter vows to make grand slam breakthrough
Speaking after her loss, Boulter vowed to fight back and go deep at grand slams in the future. “I pride myself on every single week I go out and put everything I have on the court,” she said. “I felt like today I didn’t quite get there. Obviously losing a match like that hurts, but I’m someone that’s going to keep showing up.
“Of course, I want to have a run in a grand slam, but ultimately, I do feel like that will come. It’s just a matter of time. My level, when I think back to it over these last three weeks, has been above my normal level for a long period of time now. If I keep putting that in every single day, then I know I’m going to have my moment. Whether it’s today, whether it’s in a year, whether it’s the end of this year, whether it’s the middle of the year, I cannot tell you.”
Like with Boulter's loss to Badosa at the French Open, Kudermetova's ranking was somewhat misleading. The Russian was a top-10 player very recently before a slump last year.