“The goal is to go far in Grand Slams”: Alex De Minaur aim for Top 5 breakthrough in 2025

Alex de Minaur has high ambitions for 2025 as he aims to break into the top 5 for the first time in his career. The Australian is in Sydney to compete in the United Cup, where he will team up with Olivia Gadecki to lead the local team through a challenging Round Robin.

De Minaur will face Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry on 28 December and will play against the United Kingdom’s Billy Harris (who replaces the injured Jack Draper) on 1 January. The British team also includes World No. 24 Katie Boulter, who recently got engaged to De Minaur.

De Minaur gears up for 2025 season at the United Cup

The 25-year-old had only 20 days off between his appearance at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition in London and his upcoming debut at the United Cup. In a recent interview with AFP, he reflected on his last season: “In 2024, I probably took the biggest step by getting into the top 10. It was one of my life goals. But, if I’m realistic, it’s not that big of a step compared to when I was 12th (in 2023),” the World No. 9 joked.

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“I just hope to start the season in great shape and find the momentum I had at the start of last season. But ideally, the goal is to get as close as I can to the top 5,” the Australian added. “If I want to improve my ranking, that's where I can gain points. So the goal is to go far in the Grand Slam and Masters 1000.”

De Minaur improved his Grand Slam performances significantly this season. Until early 2024, he had only one quarterfinal appearance, but this year, he reached the last eight in three consecutive majors. He lost to Alexander Zverev in the French Open quarterfinals, withdrew before facing Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals due to injury, and was defeated by Jack Draper in the same round at the US Open. His overall record in major tournaments was an impressive 14-3 (82%).

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“I focused on improving my serve to try to win a few more free points. I’ve clearly increased the speed of my serves; now, I need to work on precision,” he explained. “And, of course, off the court, I’m working on building muscle and getting stronger (…) to be more competitive against the best.”

The World No. 9 hopes the United Cup will serve as a strong preparation for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. “Playing in Australia is inspiring for me. When I step on the court, I know the crowd will support me from the first to the last point,” he said.

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