"Great for bragging rights" - Newly-engaged Katie Boulter & boyfriend Alex de Minaur share their feelings about battling each other at United Cup
Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur have been a couple for many years, and last year was their first chance to officially play against each other, though as part of teams. It happened as part of the United Cup, which pits nations against each nations, with teams consisting of both men and women.
Last year's edition saw Australia take on the United Kingdom and beat them 2-1 overall. Boulter played the women's singles match and won, while de Minaur played the men's singles match and lost. In the doubles, the Australians prevailed, though neither Boulter nor de Minaur played in that one.
This year will see them compete against each other at the competition once more, and they were both asked about the event. Boulter said (via Sky Sports),
"I wouldn't say that I was thrilled at the idea of playing him all over again. He's a top 10 player and he knows how to play tennis so there is one side of it, there is a personal side of it as well which is difficult but also great for bragging rights. I'm looking forward to the match of course. I think it's going to be a great atmosphere. Playing Australia is always going to be fun. It's another opportunity for us, we're definitely the underdogs so let's put pressure on them."
Meanwhile, de Minaur said he found it "surreal" that the two were back in the same circumstances again. He said,
"I don't know how to explain. It's almost surreal. Whole year later and here we are again. Obviously almost the same opponents but yeah it's gonna be interesting once again. Hopefully we can play some good tennis."
It's unlikely that the pairing will feature against each other in the mixed doubles as both their teams have dedicated doubles specialists.
Katie Boulter on who the couple will cheer at United Cup
As a couple, while Boulter and de Minaur do show a lot of support for each other, she was asked what will happen when their nations clash against each other. though. Boulter said she doesn't expect de Minaur to be supporting her. She said,
"I don't think he's going to be out there cheering for me. You never know. I'm always supporting him and what he does. I'll be supporting him from the box every single time for the rest of the year. Let's see what happens."
While she generally supports everything he does, this matchup might be the exception in her case as well.