- Stars announced their engagement last month
- De Minaur seeded eighth in his home grand slam
Alex de Minaur copped a withering reply from his fiancee Katie Boulter when the Aussie grand slam hope posted a photo of him muscling up on the court – just after he narrowly dodged taking far more revealing pics for a nude calendar.
The 25-year-old treated his followers to an image of him with his biceps rippling in a sleeveless top on Monday night accompanied by the caption ‘Prep done…. Go time now’, with fellow Aussie stars like Alexi Popyrin and Matt Ebden giving it the thumbs-up.
However, Boulter was having none of it, writing, ‘Stop trying to thirst trap you have a fiancé,’ referring to the slang for a post on social media that’s intended to make people attracted to them.
The playful reply was a hit with tennis fans, who either laughed at her ‘wicked’ reply or joked that she should let him keep posting photos of his physique.
On Monday, de Minaur explained how close he came to getting all his gear off for a calendar as part of his participation in an NFL fantasy football league.
The Australian Open’s eighth seed and some friends including British tennis star Cam Norrie are competing against each other to see who can pick the best imaginary team – and the entrant who gets the worst result is presented with a choice between punishments.
Alex de Minaur was brought down a peg or two by his fiancée Katie Boulter when he posted this shot to Instagram
Boulter delighted tennis fans with her playful reply to his beefcake photo
The Australian Open’s eighth seed and Boulter closed out 2024 on a wonderful note when they announced their engagement
‘This is high-stakes fantasy football. It is pretty brutal,’ de Minaur said at a Q&A session in Melbourne, according to The Age.
‘This last year, we changed it so you can either do a marathon [if you come last] or you can do a nude calendar.
‘I came awfully close to losing, but I did not lose.’
Organisers of the competition were worried about the effect running a marathon would have on big names like de Minaur and Norrie so they added the rude option, according to the publication – with Aussie player Luke Saville choosing the running when he came in last.
Boulter recently opened up about being accepted as an honourary Aussie since the couple announced their engagement in December.
‘I feel like I’ve already felt the love so much more here, even more than last year,’ said the 28-year-old.
‘Being in Sydney [for the United Cup], which is his home town, where he was born, it was my first proper time playing tennis there. Just walking out onto the court and hearing the crowd for me really did help.
‘I felt very much at home and comfortable. Normally I’m the kind of person that dislikes going to new places. I felt very comfortable from the word go when I was there and that was completely because of them and how they’ve been treating me.
‘It makes a world of difference.’
Both stars have had favourable draws at the Australian Open, where they both begin their campaigns on Tuesday
De Minaur is often pictured on his fiancée’s instagram enjoying a pub lunch or country walk, and Boulter was asked if she has a favourite local delicacy in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
‘It’s definitely not Vegemite,’ she replied. ‘I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not sure that’s my thing. You can say TimTams, love a TimTam.
‘I’m always picking up accents. I don’t know if I have a bit of an Aussie twang here or there.
‘I just love the culture. I really enjoy coming here every single year. Obviously being around someone like Alex, such a hard worker. He loves his country, lives and dies by his Davis Cup number. I think that’s definitely rubbed off on me.
De Minaur begins his Open campaign on Tuesday night as he faces Botic van de Zandschlup on Rod Laver Arena, with the draw ahead opening up for him after Stefanos Tsitsipas’s shock exit on Monday.
Boulter will face Rebecca Marino on Tuesday afternoon as her favourable draw puts her in a good position to win through to the second week of a grand slam for the first time in her career.
