Alex de Minaur on where he sees himself among Australia's tennis greats (The Sit-Down)

After a brief off-season, 2026 preparations are already underway for Alex de Minaur, who joined Viv and Matt on this week’s episode from his base in Monte Carlo. The Aussie No.1 enjoyed the chance to reflect on his 2025 season, during which he reached his first AO quarterfinal and won his 10th career ATP title in Washington DC – while also overcoming burnout and shifting perspective – to achieve his highest year-end ranking. Those performances saw him nominated once again for the prestigious Newcombe Medal, awarded to Australia’s most outstanding player and ambassador for the sport. ‘Demon’, as he is affectionately known, also dived into his passion for collecting vintage cars, his wedding plans, how he switches between English and Spanish, plans for his foundation, and how he’d love nothing more than a deep run at Australian Open 2026.

Listen to the full episode here.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
I've got a long way to go. I need to
get my hands on a slam to be in to
be even close to being in the same conversation. And
as some of the Aussie greats before me, So yeah,

(00:24):
got plenty of work to do, hopefully one day.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
At the same time, you are also taking a really
big interest in the next generation of Australian tennants through
the alex Dimnoor Junior Tour, for example, which includes scholarships
and a chance to spend some time training with you. Well,
what's that they like?

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Oh, this is really fulfilling being able to start the
Alexan Minor Foundation, be able to bring kids over to Europe,
not only to have that opportunity to play against kids
outside of Australia but in Europe and learn through you know,

(01:07):
those battles on the clay, but to also have one
on one time with a pro with myself. I take
a lot of pride in that I had a lot
of help when I was younger, and I know how
important it is to give back to the next generation.

(01:28):
So for me it is a big priority. I've got
a very very busy schedule, but as I said, I
make this a priority because I know how influential and
important it can be to someone's career, and hopefully I
can help them out, whether it's one percent, then I'll

(01:54):
I'll be happy.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
What's coming up for the Alex Dimenov Foundation. I understand
there's going to be a big event here in Melbourne
over the summer.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yes, we've got an amazing night with myself. I don't
know if too many people want to hear me speak
for a whole night, so I'm sorry about that. We'll
make sure we have other guests which are very very interesting,
but it's going to be a great night to kind

(02:27):
of celebrate a year of the foundation, a year of
being able to help these kids fulfill this their dreams
and ultimately leveling up right. Our goal is to help

(02:47):
more kids and to send more kids overseas and have
more interactions with myself. So there's a lot going on
in the pipeline and I'm very excited to be able
to help as many kids as I can. So we're
going to do our very best to keep on improving

(03:09):
the foundation and how many kids we can help. And yeah,
it's going to be exciting. So if for whoever is there,
I promise you I won't be talking all night, will
get interesting people on the panel and I'm sure it's
going to be a great night.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
Alex, You've been so generous with your time, Thank you
so much. Just before we let you go, we wanted
to know what you're most looking forward to for the
Aussie summer which is coming up, knowing that you're starting
at the United Cup for Australia with my joint.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, I'm very excited to be sharing the court with
my joint. I've had a bit to do with her
this year and being able to watch her unbelievable rise
the rankings. It is nothing short from incredible what she's

(04:05):
been able to accomplish, and I've got a lot of
admiration and respect for her. So I think it's going
to be a lot of fun to start the year
at Sydney, at my hometown with Maya and representing the
Green and Gold. So I'm very excited for that and
hopefully that's going to be the perfect lead up for

(04:29):
the Australian Open, where I would love nothing more than
to have.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
If you'd like to hear the rest of our conversation
with Alex dimoror make sure you head to the sit
down wherever you listen to this, or you can find
the links in the show notes.