Denied an opportunity to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after contracting COVID-19, Alex de Minaur is all set to make his Summer Games debut at Paris 2024.
As Australia’s premier men’s singles player of the current generation, de Minaur, who boasts a career-high ranking of No. 7, will also be carrying his country’s medal hopes in tennis from Paris 2024.
Alex de Minaur was born in Sydney, Australia, on February 17, 1999. However, he has Spanish citizenship as well and lived most of his life in Alicante, Spain. His father, Anibal, is Uruguayan and his mother, Esther, hails from France.
His love for tennis began at the age of three after being introduced to the sport in the suburbs of Sydney. From serving over the baseline before turning five to nearly beating his coach Terry Dock in a three-set match at the age of 10, de Minaur’s talent left everyone spellbound.
The young prodigy was trained by Adolfo Gutierrez when he moved to Alicante. He was ranked world No. 2 in the junior circuit in the years to come and also won the Australian Open boys’ doubles title alongside Blake Elis.
Alex de Minaur turned pro at the age of 15 at the Spain F22 ITF event and made it to the quarter-finals.
De Minaur made his ATP Tour debut in 2017 at the Brisbane International. A week later, he made his first big breakthrough at the Apia International Sydney, where he went on to beat world No. 46 Benoit Paire to win his first Tour-level match.
It was a year of many memorable firsts for de Minaur, who went on to feature for the first time at the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open - all through wildcard entries.
In 2018, he won his first ATP Challenger title at the Nottingham Open. Another final appearance in Washington DC saw him move into top 50 rankings and before long, he became the highest-ranked Australian player on the ATP singles circuit.
De Minaur won his first ATP Masters title after claiming the Cincinnati Open 2020 men’s doubles crown alongside Spanish Olympic medallist Pablo Carreno Busta. He also made it to the US Open quarter-finals later, where he lost to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
He became the first Australian men’s singles player in 17 years to be ranked in the top 10 in 2024 and reached a career-high ranking of seven after his quarter-final run at the Roland Garros.
The feisty Aussie will now spearhead Australia’s tennis continent at Paris 2024, where he will feature in men’s singles and doubles alongside Alexei Popyrin.
“It feels great, it’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to be an Olympian. I’m super excited to be able to represent the green and gold in Paris,” de Minaur told Tennis Australia.
“It’s going to be extra special, that’s for sure, to play my first Olympics. Obviously last time around I got a little bit unlucky to not be able to be in Tokyo and I’ve had my eye set on Paris and I’m super excited to be a part of the team.”