Alex de Minaur has had a roller-coaster journey in 2025 so far, with his current focus now switching to the Dubai Tennis Championships.
De Minaur lost the Rotterdam Open final to Carlos Alcaraz, having exited the Australian Open at the quarter-final stage.
World number one Jannik Sinner defeated De Minaur in Melbourne, with the Italian then going on to lift the trophy.
De Minaur labelled Sinner’s situation ‘tough’, with the latter having been handed a three-month ban for doping shortly after his Australian Open win.
The former followed up his Rotterdam Open heartache by losing in the Qatar Open quarter-finals, once again to the eventual champion Andrey Rublev.
Alex de Minaur notices bigger hitters since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Australian star De Minaur, who is eighth in the ATP rankings, now takes on Marin Cilic in the Dubai Tennis Championships round of 32.
Asked in his opening press conference how he views the top 10 compared to when he was breaking through five years ago, De Minaur replied: “That is a great question.
“I feel like right now tennis is evolving into a sport where the ball speed is a little bit quicker. I feel like people are hitting the ball with a lot more force.
“You’re losing a little bit of that variety that maybe you had with obviously the likes of Roger [Federer] out there.
“It feels like everything’s a lot more fast-paced, right, because the technology, rackets, the balls. Conditions are slower, everyone is hitting the ball so much harder.
“The average ball speed – I would need a fact check – but I’m pretty certain that it’s gone up since I’ve even started on tour. Everything is a little bit more fast-paced, right? You have a little bit less time to think.
“In the past you had someone like Rafa [Nadal], which played with extreme spin and heaviness and shape.
“Completely different ball, but at least you had a little bit of time to think about it. It kind of spread you in different ways. There were more angles.
“Now it just feels like it’s very quick and kind of, yeah, big hitting I guess is probably the best way I can describe it.
“As a player myself, I’ve had to adapt and kind of find ways to hit the ball a little bit harder just to adapt. Adapt or die, yeah.”
Alex de Minaur tops ATP Tour return leaders list
De Minaur has certainly adapted well, with the Australian star boasting nine ATP Tour titles at the age of 26.
He has, however, yet to achieve Grand Slam success, with a quarter-final finish his best in all four major tournaments.
De Minaur’s run at his home event last month was his best ever in Melbourne, and followed three successive quarter-final finishes at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2024.
Perhaps 2025 will be the season he aims to really push on and clinch such a title, but that is, of course, much easier said than done.
Legendary figures Federer and Nadal may be gone, but veteran Novak Djokovic remains on the scene, as do current stars Sinner and Alcaraz.
Moreover, Joao Fonseca has been tipped as the next Alcaraz, with the Brazilian among a handful of younger players more than capable of upsetting the more experienced ones this season.
De Minaur can, however, rely on his expert return, with the Australian currently top of the pile for ATP Tour return leaders.
| Rank | Player | Return rating | % 1st serve return points won | % 2nd serve return points won | % return games won | % break points converted |
| 1 | Alex de Minaur | 169.3 | 34.0% | 55.7% | 33.1% | 46.5% |
| 2 | Carlos Alcaraz | 164.0 | 34.4% | 54.5% | 31.9% | 43.2% |
| 3 | Tommy Paul | 160.0 | 34.0% | 53.6% | 29.5% | 42.9% |
| 4 | Daniil Medvedev | 158.7 | 32.9% | 53.6% | 28.3% | 43.9% |
| 5 | Jannik Sinner | 157.8 | 31.8% | 56.2% | 28.2% | 41.6% |
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