{"id":798681,"date":"2026-07-14T01:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/798681\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T01:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:07:13","slug":"tennis-world-baffled-as-alex-de-minaur-secretly-weds-long-time-partner-katie-boulter-during-wimbledon-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/798681\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis world baffled as Alex de Minaur secretly weds long-time partner Katie Boulter during Wimbledon final"},"content":{"rendered":"

After his crushing Wimbledon<\/a> defeat to Flavio Cobolli, life has picked up for Alex de Minaur, who was in despair after last week\u2019s fourth round loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, while Jannik Sinner was beating Alexander Zverev in the men\u2019s final, he married British No.2 Katie Boulter near the English midlands village in which she grew up, and on Monday he reached a career-best fifth in the world rankings.<\/p>\n

The low-key wedding took place at a church near Boulter\u2019s family home in Old Woodhouse, Leicestershire Village. Locals were reportedly sworn to secrecy over the ceremony, which was attended by only family and close friends. <\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

But while the happy couple enjoyed their special day, fans immediately zeroed in the curious date choice. <\/p>\n

What would have had happened if either of them made it to the Wimbledon final? Perhaps unlikely in Boulter\u2019s case, but de Minaur was seeded fifth heading into the tournament. <\/p>\n

De Minaur has never reached the last four of a grand slam tournament and fans questioned whether he has enough belief in himself. <\/p>\n

\u201cWorld No.5 ranked player planning their wedding for the day of the Wimbledon final … the ATP is absolutely cooked,\u201d one fan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really didn\u2019t have much belief he would make the final kind of tells it\u2019s own story,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they both knew they wouldn\u2019t make it to the Wimbledon final,\u201d one fan said. <\/p>\n

\u201cNeither planned on being in the Wimbledon finals then,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew he\u2019d be available that day a year in advance,\u201d one more said. <\/p>\n

But plenty of fans were quick to call out the negative commentary. <\/p>\n

\u201cCongrats to both! Shame on the haters \u2014 this is not about tennis \u2014 this is about celebrating their union & love which most haters are desperate for<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat to see De Minaur\u2019s big smile again. Tennis has injected a lot of pain in him recently.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AlexAlex de Minaur has plenty to celebrate having married and made the world\u2019s top five. Credit: AAP<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, de Minaur is the first Australian man to make the top five in 17 years and the seventh in total following Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Pat Cash, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. The current Davis Cup captain, who had previously reached No.1, was last in the top five in January 2009.<\/p>\n

Confirmation came on Monday with the ATP\u2019s ranking list, in which Wimbledon champ Sinner remains clear at the peak, Zverev overtakes injured Carlos Alcaraz in second, and quarter-finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime stays fourth.<\/p>\n

Then comes de Minaur, who moved above Ben Shelton.<\/p>\n

Shelton\u2019s first round Wimbledon exit didn\u2019t just open up a clear path to the semi-final for de Minaur, which made his defeat so painful, it also hit the American\u2019s ranking. Having been a quarter-finalist in 2025 he had 400 points to defend (points last for a year). He earned ten.<\/p>\n

De Minaur, having also lost in the fourth round last year, to Novak Djokovic, broke even, winning as many points as he gave up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Djokovic could have climbed above de Minaur had he reached the final, but he lost in the semis to Sinner so stays seventh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year de Minaur began and ended Wimbledon 11th so this represents a year of real progress even if it doesn\u2019t always feel like it, given he also reached quarter-finals in Melbourne and New York and the third round in Paris.<\/p>\n

That, however, is a minor improvement on the previous 12 months in grand slams (two quarter-finals and a second round Paris exit in 2025) and he also reached four Masters quarter-finals, won ATP 500 events in Washington and Rotterdam and made the last four at the ATP Finals.<\/p>\n

So there\u2019s plenty to celebrate as de Minaur and Boulter enjoy some time together before the north American hardcourt swing begins for the duo.<\/p>\n

It is, however, a long way down the rankings to find Australia\u2019s No.2, James Duckworth, up five places to 74th having also lost to Cobolli at Wimbledon.<\/p>\n

Adam Walton (up six to 79th) and Rinky Hijikata (down 15 to 97th) are the other Aussies in the top 100.<\/p>\n

In the WTA rankings Talia Gibson remains at 58, the leading Australian. Also in the top 100 are Daria Kasatkina (up two to 63), Kim Birrell (up seven to 65), Maya Joint (up ten to 77) and Ajla Tomljanovic (up two to 92).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boulter, incidentally, is 67th.<\/p>\n

The big mover in either chart is Briton Arthur Fery, the Wimbledon wildcard whose run to the semi-final thrilled the home audience. He has vaulted 78 places to 36, by far his career-high.<\/p>\n

\u2014 with AAP<\/p>\n

ATP WORLD RANKINGS TOP TEN<\/p>\n

1 Jannik Sinner (ITA) 13450 points<\/p>\n

2 Alexander \u200cZverev (GER) 8480<\/p>\n

3 Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) 8160<\/p>\n

4 Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 4740<\/p>\n

5 Alex de Minaur (AUS) 4110<\/p>\n

6 Ben Shelton (USA) 3770<\/p>\n

7 Novak \u200cDjokovic (SRB) 3760<\/p>\n

8 Daniil Medvedev 3670<\/p>\n

9 Flavio Cobolli (ITA) 3460<\/p>\n

10 Taylor Fritz (USA) 3365<\/p>\n

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