Katie Boulter faces a difficult task when Great Britain take on Australia in the United Cup.
The 28-year-old and her teammates will face the home team during the team tournament after they were placed in the same group along with Argentina.
Australia features the World number nine and Boulter’s fiance, Alex de Minaur, who enjoyed the best season of his career in 2024.
He is keen to continue that momentum at the start of 2025, and he may have to go through Katie Boulter in order to do so.
Does Katie Boulter want to play Alex de Minaur at the United Cup?
Boulter and De Minaur will start 2025 with their respective countries going head to head in the group stages of the United Cup.
Great Britain will face Australia on New Year’s Day, and there is a possibility that De Minaur and Boulter could play against one another should the tie be decided with a mixed doubles match.
Boulter and De Minaur have been dating since March 2022 and announced their engagement in December 2024.
The couple have not played against each other previously, and the British number one would like it to remain that way. “I can confirm I would rather not play him” she told reporters.
“On a personal level, on a tennis level, on every level I would much rather play someone else. But of course, I will still try and do my best and hopefully get one up on him on something. So, yeah, I’m relying on the team for this one.
“We need a win. I’m not taking anything else other than that. So, yeah, it will be interesting to see what happens out there, but I don’t know if he’ll play mixed. I don’t know if I’ll play mixed. I think there are a lot of unknowns at the moment.”
Alex de Minaur wins his first match at at the 2025 United Cup
De Minaur wasted no time hitting his stride at the 2025 United Cup.
Cheered on by the home crowd inside Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena, the 25-year-old raced to a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
This put Australia back on level terms after Nadia Podoroska defeated Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match.
“I think just being back here in Sydney [helped]. I love it here,” De Minaur said after his win. “I love playing here. I get to play in front of friends, family and in front of my home crowd, so what better way to start the new season?
“I’ve been putting some great work in in the preseason. I felt comfortable with the way I was playing before the tournament, so I just told myself to back myself and play the type of tennis I wanted to play.”
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