Alex de Minaur Speaks to His Demons

After taking losses hard—and talking in dark ways—the Australian star reflected on how he's processed defeats.

WASHINGTON — Professional tennis players train their whole lives to become very good at winning matches.

But learning how to handle losses, any veteran will tell you, is one of the sport’s most essential lessons for surviving on tour. Most pros lose around 20 times each year, and processing a loss in the right way is something that can determine a player’s short-term or long-term future.

What “the right way” is, of course, is subjective, and can vary from player to player, and moment to moment.

I’ve talked to players shortly after their losses more than a thousand times, probably, and I’ve seen many reactions and mechanisms at work. But in all those years, I don’t think I’d ever before heard a player publicly handling losses like Alex de Minaur did after his defeats at the two Grand Slam events this summer.

Alex de Minaur in his pre-tournament press conference in Washington. (Photo by Kathleen Ricker for Bounces)

In his post-loss press conferences, the 27-year-old Australian spiraled into self-flagellation that felt nearly existential, leaning into dark despair in a way I’d rarely ever heard an athlete do on the record.

When he came to Washington this week, I was eager to ask sixth-ranked De Minaur, the defending champion, about why he’d allowed himself to go so bleak so publicly.

For more on Alex de Minaur’s past comments, and his present reflections on them, subscribe to Bounces! —Ben