Katie Boulter reveals boyfriend Alex de Minaur's advice to her after heartbreaking Wimbledon 2R exit

Katie Boulter has revealed boyfriend Alex de Minaur's words of encouragement after her second-round loss to compatriot Harriet Dart at the ongoing 2024 Wimbledon Championships. Boulter also said that she is lucky to have De Minaur's support, who has been through various ups-and-downs on the men's circuit.

The WTA British No. 1 won her first round match against Tatjana Maria in straight sets to set up a second-round clash against Dart at SW19. Meanwhile, Dart put in an impressive display in her opening encounter against Zhuoxuan Bai, winning 6-4, 6-0.

Katie Boulter seemed to be in control against Dart as she clinched the first set, 6-4. However, the latter stormed back into the contest in emphatic fashion, dominating Boulter in the second set, 6-1, to square things up. A nerve-racking third and deciding set ensued, going all the way to a tie-break, where Dart completed her comeback, 7-6(8).

During her post-match press conference, the 27-year-old said that her boyfriend and ATP World No. 9 Alex de Minaur helped immensely in keeping her spirits high after her disappointing defeat to Dart.

"One match doesn’t define my career. That’s the first thing he (Alex de Minaur) said to me when I got off the court," Boulter said (via The Tennis Letter on X).

The WTA World No. 29 added that De Minaur's words came from his own experiences on the ATP Tour. De Minaur has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the men's game. However, the Australian has endured several heartbreaking defeats at Grand Slam events, where he has never gone beyond the quarterfinals.

"He knows what he’s talking about. It’s not his first rodeo. He’s been through it all before, and I’m lucky to have that support," Boulter added.

Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur won titles within hours of each other in the buildup to Wimbledon 2024

Katie Boulter (L) and Alex de Minaur (R)

Boulter's 2024 Wimbledon outing may have been a forgettable one, but she and De Minaur will surely keep the buildup to this year's grasscourt Major in their memory for a long time.

On Sunday, June 16, both Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter stepped out to play finals in two separate events. The Australian was in action against Sebastian Korda in the final of the Libema Open, while the Brit faced former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

De Minaur, the Libema Open top seed, made short work of Korda to win his ninth singles title on the ATP Tour. Meanwhile, Boulter came back from a set down against Pliskova to taste glory for the third time on the WTA Tour.

This was the second time the couple won titles within hours of each other. The first instance came in March this year, when De Minaur got the better of Casper Ruud to win the Mexican Open and then flew to catch Boulter live in action against Marta Kostyuk in the final of the San Diego Open. Even on that occasion, Katie Boulter had to recover from losing the first set to win the WTA 500 event.

De Minaur is still in contention at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. The Australian has progressed to the third round after registering wins over compatriot James Duckworth, and most recently, Jaume Munar. In the third round, he is set to face Lucas Pouille.