De Minaur driven by hitting new landmark at Wimbledon

Ian Chadband | June 28, 2026

Not obsessing over ranking points and numbers any more and refreshed after another Paris disappointment, Alex de Minaur is still confident he can end another Wimbledon quest in the best place of his wholehearted tennis career.

As he offered his annual ‘state-of-the-Demon’ address at the All England Club on Saturday, Australia’s No.1 once again demonstrated his trademark resilience, sounding bullish and confident about his prospects on the SW19 lawns just a month after he cut a quite dispirited figure after a third-round French Open exit.

The 27-year-old, looking forward to his eighth main draw appearance at the grass-court slam where he may well have his best chance of success, admitted he hopes to have soared to a new career-high among the world’s top five by the end of the fortnight.

He will enter his first-round match on Tuesday against Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga as fifth seed and No.6 player in the world, but, with the help of a kind draw, could possibly get to No.4.

To do that, he would have to enjoy a better tournament than the No.5 Ben Shelton, who he’s scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals, and No.4 Felix Auger-Aliassime, so it’s likely he would have to make the first grand slam semi-final of his career after seven times making the quarters. 

That’s a big ask for a player who’s been brutally hard on himself for missing out in slam matches he feels he should have won, but de Minaur was adamant that a changed outlook over the past two months has put him in the mood for a career-altering fortnight.   

“Getting on to the grass-court season has come at a pretty good time. It’s always a part of the year in which I feel refreshed and energised, and I feel quite happy, because things start to make sense quite quickly on the grass for me,” explained de Minaur, who’s reached a final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and the quarters at Queen’s. 

“There’s been some good tennis being played, my game is trending in the right direction. Obviously very excited to be here at Wimbledon, and looking forward to hopefully being here for a while.”

After the disappointment of losing from a 6-0-set up against Jakub Mensik in Paris, de Minaur couldn’t have looked more glum, calling it a once-in-a-blue-moon missed opportunity, but he soon took stock of where his tennis really stood.

“I’ve been kind of taking a step back recently. I’ve been the number one person who’s been pretty hard on myself. I’ve been pretty disappointed in my results, but I’ve also reminded myself that, maybe to my standards I’ve not had the best year, but I’m still in a pretty good position. So there’s no need to be too tough on myself.

“And I feel like I’m in a better position going into this year’s Wimbledon than last year when I didn’t get too many matches under my belt on the grass. I have this year, so that feels great.”

Last year, de Minaur admitted that his obsession with his rankings positions and points had become one of the reasons he “burned out” leading into a Wimbledon which ended with him being knocked out by Novak Djokovic in the last-16.

“Over the last couple of months, I felt like I’ve needed a little bit more drive and motivation, and, for me, it was basically looking at how close I am to new ground, new milestones. So that’s renewed that hunger and drive in the right ways.

“I’m in a pretty good position. I’m seeded five, I’m playing Wimbledon, I’m on my favourite surface, one of my favourite slams, and genuinely playing some good tennis. So I feel like the results that I’m searching for will come, it’s just a matter of time.