Once dubbed “one of the most exciting rising talents in the tennis world”, there’s no doubt that 26-year-old Alex de Minaur has been one to watch when it comes to the sport.
He rapidly ascended through the pro-tennis ranks and has been blowing tennis fans and commentators away with his skills with the racquet on the court.
With a last name pronounced “Dee Minn-Or”, or ‘demon’ as he is sometimes referred to by opponents on the court, the Australian-born, Spain-raised tennis star is all anyone can talk about at the moment.
Fans hoped he’d soar to success at the 2026 Australian Open; however, he was eliminated after losing to Carlos Alcaraz, who is ranked first in the world.
“It hurts right now. Losing at home is never easy,” Alex shared in a poignant Instagram post on January 28.
“This tournament is a childhood dream. I’ll keep working and come back stronger next year.”
He then went on to congratulate his opponent and wished him luck for the rest of the competition.
“Thank you to everyone for the unconditional love and support 🇦🇺💚💛,” Alex continued.
Opening up more about being knocked out, he told reporters that it “doesn’t feel amazing”.
“You try to do the right things, you try to keep on improving, but when the results don’t come, or the scoreline doesn’t reflect those improvements, then of course you feel quite deflated, I would say,” he explained.
Fans hoped he would soar to success this year, after he was knocked out in the quarterfinals during the 2025 tournament.
Just days ahead of the 2026 tournament, Alex opened up about his 2025 loss and candidly revealed it left him in a “very dark spot”.
“In sport, results mean a lot, right? And this was a feeling after having a couple of matches not going my way, and me putting myself in great positions to succeed, but not being able to get over the line and take that next step,” he told Good Weekend magazine’s annual Tennis issue.
“That was a very tough moment of dealing with not only the loss, but the way it happened. As well as I’ve played this whole year, there’s matches and situations that I need to improve on for me to get there, and I stumbled in a pretty big tournament.”
He admitted he found it more difficult that the win was “within grasping distance” as he discussed how he overcame the difficult time in his career.
“It just frustrates you even more that you can’t take that next step,” he added.
Scroll on for everything you need to know about Alex de Minaur.
Who is Alex De Minaur?
Alex was born to a Uruguayan father, Anibal, and Spanish mother, Esther, and spent much of his childhood living in his mother’s hometown, Alicante.
Born in Sydney, Alex made the move to Spain when he was just five years old with his family, before returning home to his native Australia when he was 13.
It was there that he met his tennis coach, Adolfo Gutierrez, when he was just eight years old, and they have formed a close father-son bond since.
Alex has been playing tennis since he was three years old, and originally represented Spain before his return Down Under as a teenager.
“I used to represent Spain but I always felt I was Australian. As soon as we moved back here again that was the first thing I wanted to do – play for Australia,” Alex shared with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2017.
Can Alex de Minaur speak French?
Growing up in a rich multicultural family that includes a father from Uruguay and a mother from Spain, the talented youngster is fluent in English, Spanish, and even some French – how impressive!
Is Alex de Minaur a good tennis player?
From the moment he picked up a tennis racquet at the tender age of just three years old, it was clear he had a bright future in the sport ahead of him.
After turning pro in 2015 just before his 16th birthday, he made his debut as a wildcard into the qualifying rounds of the 2016 Australian Open, but sadly was eliminated after round one.
He then made his Grand Slam debut the following year and made it through to the second round of the competition.
In May 2017, Alex was once again awarded a wildcard entry, this time into the French Open, but again lost in round one.
But in 2018, everything changed for the teenager, who managed to rack up a long list of defeats against players who had years, sometimes decades more experience on the court than he did – a massive feat for such a junior player.
These victories saw him enter the top 50 players in the world from #208 for the first time, eventually going on to replace Nick Kyrgios as Australia’s highest-ranked male singles player that same year.
In 2019 the 19-year-old continued going from strength to strength, taking out the Sydney International tournament and progressing his ranking to 29th in the world.
At the Australian Open that year, Alex lost the third round to Rafael Nadal, going on to loose to Steve Johnson in his opening round at Wimbledon.
Then at the US Open, he reached round four, before losing to Roger Federer at the Swiss Indoors, reaching yet another career high of World No.18.
Notably in 2020, Alex and fellow Aussie Nick Kyrgios won a three-set thriller match at the ATP Cup against British players Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury, before ultimately being defeated in the semifinals.
At the time, the sporting superstar described the match as “one of the best days” of his life.
At the US Open that year, Alex reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, an impressive feat despite being beaten by the eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
He then went on to reach the final of the European Open (which he lost against Frenchman Ugo Humbert), and the quarterfinals of the Sofia Open where he was defeated by future champion Jannik Sinner, ending the year ranking No.23.
The following year, the Australian-born, Spain-raised player won the Antalya Open and reached the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open and the semifinals of the Queen’s Club Championships as both a single player and in a pair.
And just a week before Wimbledon, Alex won his first title on grass at the Eastbourne International, reaching his highest career ranking yet of No.15, ultimately falling to 34 after a string of defeats in the latter half of 2021.
In 2022, the six-foot star started his year strong with a victory against top-ten player Matteo Berrettini at the ATP Cup (his first win against a top-ranking player in two years).
Shortly after, Alex returned to home soil and reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third time in his career before being eliminated by top-ten Italian player Jannik Sinner.
He then reached the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open, the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, and the Stockholm Open and won his sixth title at the 2022 Atlanta Open, ending his year with a singles rank of 24.
The youngster returned to Rotterdam in 2023 where he made it to the quarterfinals, won his seventh tournament and first ATP 500 title at the Mexican Open in March, came second at the Queen’s Club Championships and the Los Cabos Open, and went on to reach his very first Masters 1000 final, eight years on from his professional debut.
Notably at the 2023 Rolex Paris Masters, Alex managed to defeat former world number one Andy Murray, becoming the first opponent who had defeated the Scotsman on clay, grass, indoor, and outdoor hard court, going to reach his second-ever Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
In 2024, Alex had arguably the best year of his career, rising to a career-high ranking of world number six.
He also won two ATP Tour titles and reached the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam tournaments, and was the first Australian to qualify for the ATP Finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.
And last year, he improved on his career-best season even further, winning the Washington Open and making the ATP Finals semifinal round.
He also earned his fourth Newcombe Medal for outstanding Australian tennis achievements.
After reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian and US Opens in 2025, he is the favourite to soar to success at the 2026 Australian Open.
What is Alex De Minaur ranked?
From the moment Alex picked up a tennis racquet at the age of just three, it was clear he was meant for great things.
Currently, he is ranked 6th globally, and is believed to have won himself a whopping $34 million AUD in prize money.
When was Alex De Minaur eliminated in the Australian Open in 2025?
Alex was eliminated from the Australian Open during the quarterfinals after losing to Jannik Sinner.
Despite the disappointing blow, Alex said he hadn’t reached his peak and had his sights set on reaching higher than the top eight.
“After playing some great tennis on home soil and gaining so much, you feel like you just have been slapped across the face, to be honest, to finish off like that,” he said in a press conference at the time.
After the loss, he admitted that he was unsure that he could ever win a grand slam as he detailed his matches with some of his toughest opponents yet.
“It’s pretty tough right now for me to sit here after this defeat and tell you that I believe I can go all the way (and win a slam),” de Minaur conceded.
“But saying that, I do think that there are opportunities out there.
“Tennis is so much about matchups, right? Yeah, I think right now my worst matchup on tour is probably Jannik. You know, there’s a head-to-head that doesn’t lie, right?
“If I’m in a different side of the draw, different little section, then who knows? I genuinely think I’m going to give myself opportunities, and I don’t think my peak is making quarterfinals in a slam.”
