As Aussie tennis superstar Alex de Minaur steps onto the court at this year’s Australian Open, there are sure to be two things on his mind.
While the first is winning the tournament, a close second is the cost of his upcoming wedding to Katie Boulter!
“When I’m out there on court and you see me so stressed out, I’m just thinking of the wedding budget,” the 26-year-old joked to Eurosport.
“And that’s why I’m like, ‘I need to win more money, I need to win more matches.’ That’s all that goes through my head.”
The world Number 6 secretly proposed to Britain’s number one female tennis player in December 2024.
“We’ve been keeping a small secret,” the lovebirds shared on Instagram, with a selfie showing off Katie’s stunning emerald-cut sparkler.
The ring was chosen by Alex with some help from his future mother-in-law, Sue.
Prepping for the big day
Since the proposal, the couple have been slowly planning their wedding day in between tennis tournaments.
“There are times where we can focus on making decisions, other times we have to focus on tennis,” Alex explains.
“It’s a balancing act, that’s for sure,” adds Alex, who met Katie through mutual friends in 2020 during the Covid pandemic.
But just like the details of their engagement, the sporty pair have kept most of their wedding plans under wraps – until now!
Bride-to-be Katie recently revealed they will make the most of the European summer by tying the knot in the middle of this year.
The 29-year-old didn’t reveal an exact date or venue, however, Woman’s Day hears the nuptials will most likely take place in July in Florence, Italy.
That date is significant as it falls just after the Wimbledon tournament in England.
We’re told Italy is one of Alex and Katie’s favourite holiday destinations.
They even enjoyed a romantic trip to the Tuscany region last year, sharing snaps on social media.
“Fallen for Florence,” Katie captioned one photo of their travels, venue-hunting, perhaps?
While the tennis player says she never really thought much about her wedding, jetting off somewhere exciting to say “I do” was always appealing.
“I did sort of dream about a destination wedding,” Katie admits. “Having a place you can go back to that’s your place.”
The guest list
So just which fellow tennis stars have made the guest list?
“There won’t be too many people from the tennis world,” reveals Alex.
“We’re going for a very small number.”
Katie adds of the intimate occasion, “As long as my family are there, I’ll be happy.”
But there is one famous face that fans can expect to see in wedding photos – Alex’s mentor and good mate Lleyton Hewitt.
“Lleyton has been a big part of Alex’s life for so long, it makes sense that he would want him there on such a big day,” says a source inside the tennis world.
“If the Hewitts don’t attend, it will be a shock, but I’m sure there would be a good reason behind it.”
For now, the couple are focused on making their mark at the Australian Open.
“He is amazing, he continues to impress me every day of my life,” Katie says of her top-tier player fiancé.
