Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur explained how they balanced their relationship with their tennis (Image: Getty)
There are power couples everywhere, from celebrities to politicians to everyday successful people. Even in the tennis world, players have been dating each other for decades.
Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert got engaged in the 1970s before calling things off. Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters suffered a similar fate in the 2000s. Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi have been married for more than 20 years.
But tennis power couples have had a resurgence in recent years, with ‘Tsitsidosa’ – aka Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa – and Jannik Sinner and Anna Kalinskaya jumping into the ATP/WTA dating pool.
Dating someone in the same profession will always have its challenges, but these are heightened for professional athletes. Three tennis power couples have now opened up on the realities of their relationships, letting Express Sport in on the highs and lows of romance on the professional circuits.
Boulter and De Minaur have been together for almost five years and just announced their engagement. The pair seem to have struck the right balance between tennis and their personal lives, though both admit it’s difficult to turn off.
“There are times when I do say to myself and Alex that we need to get away from it and just focus a little bit,” the British No. 1 explained.
De Minaur added: “It’s funny because we, at random times, we’ll start talking about tennis, about how we’re feeling on the court, off the court. Doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, tennis can always come into the conversation.”
But they do go out of their way to leave tennis at the door when they spend time together. “I think we both make a pretty good effort if we have date night where we say, ‘Alright we’re going to have to switch off and we’re going to be two completely normal human beings’,” the ATP No. 9 said.
Boulter and De Minaur also have a knack for thriving off of each other’s success. Twice in 2024, they won titles in the same weekend. Getting competitive could be uncomfortable for some couples but it’s clearly working for the world No. 24 and her new fiance.
Ugo Humbert has been with his girlfriend Tessah Andrianjafitrimo since they were teenagers (Image: Getty)
Don’t miss… Tennis star, 18, asks for help from his parents after winning £397k tournament [LATEST]
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
“I would say we’re proper competitive. I think it’s hard not to be,” Boulter smiled. “We’re both in elite sports and we both also want the best for each other but when it comes to competing against each other, I think we’re pretty up there with the most competitive for sure.”
De Minaur agreed. “I think it drives us both, right? It’s a great feeling. I know for myself, just seeing what Katie has been able to achieve this year has been unbelievable,” he said. “Seeing her do well fires me to try and match that as well.”
The nature of the tennis tour means Boulter and De Minaur – and other tennis couples – often travel to different places. Even when they’re at the same tournaments, it’s not what people expect.
“We’re still both doing our job so we still have to prioritise our tennis in different ways,” the Australian confessed. “So trying to find the balance between all of this, of supporting each other but also looking out for yourselves and your own profession, it’s a tricky task.
“But we’ve found ourselves with a very healthy balance that has helped each other and funnily enough, we’ve been able to both, since we’ve been together, just continuously grow and play our best tennis together. So I guess it’s been working.”
ATP No. 14 Humbert and his long-time girlfriend are in a different position. Andrianjafitrimo, who has a career-high ranking of No. 139, mostly competes on the ITF circuit, so doesn’t get to spend time with her high-profile partner.
“It’s not easy because we are not in the same tournaments,” Humbert said. “She is around 300 in the world, so it takes time to be in the top 100 and to play the same tournaments.”
But Andrianjafitrimo believes it makes their relationship special. She added: “We just don’t plan. We don’t really know when we are gonna see each other it can be months, weeks, two days… so we just live the moment fully.
“And when we meet again, it’s like the first time, magic! I like that life, because there is a moment for everything. And you can just stay focused on your job without thinking if the other can understand because we are thinking the same.”
The pair have been together since they were teenagers, reconciling after a brief split. And Humbert confessed it was best to be with a fellow player, admitting some exes weren’t as understanding.
“With her, it’s easy because I’ve known her for maybe 10 years. We were together when we were 15 for five years, then we came back together,” he explained.
“It’s really important because, with some ex-girlfriends, it’s not easy when they are not in this world because they don’t understand why you are not at home, why you don’t come back after a good day of work.”
Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina confirmed their relationship in early 2019, creating a joint Instagram account – GEMS Life. They have since stopped using the profile, but they got married in 2021 and welcomed their daughter Skai a year later.
Monfils, who is 38 and has been ranked as high as No. 6 in the world, takes a different approach than some younger tennis couples. There’s no rivalry, and they feel like they have a normal relationship.
Elina Svitolina has been married to Gael Monfils for three years (Image: Getty)
He explained: “I guess we’re not talking about so much tennis, to be honest. It’s more like a normal relationship. Most people think we have our job in common but the rest of the life, it’s completely different. We have common desires, wants. We actually are lovers but we are best friends too.”
The 12-time title winner is used to being away from Svitolina, though starting a family has made things tough. “I find it really difficult to be away from my daughter. This is really difficult. From Elina, not really because we’re used to it so it’s kind of easy in a way,” he continued.
As for the competitive streak, there is none. Monfils even admitted he’d rather see Svitolina be successful. “There’s no competition to have either with my wife or my friends, I always say that I put my family first, my wife first,” he said.
“If I’ve been asked, if one of us could win a Grand Slam, would I pick myself or her? I say, ‘Of course her because I feel like she is the one, so I want to give her the best.’ So no competition at all.”
