'It doesn't change': Alex de Minaur slams 'angry gamblers' after girlfriend Katie Boulter opens up about receiving abuse online

Alex de Minaur has shed light on how his girlfriend, Katie Boulter, has dealt with online abuse. The 28-year-old, in an interview with BBC Sport, shared how she received hateful messages, including death threats.

"At the very start of my career, it's probably something I took very personally... getting comments about the way you look," she told the BBC. "It becomes more apparent every single time you go on your phone. I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now. I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that."

Australia’s De Mianur, who recently suffered a surprise defeat in the round of 32 of the Queen’s Club Championship to the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-2, has now been quoted in a report by English media outlet Daily Mail where he shared details about how his girlfriend Boulter has dealt with social media abuse. The 26-year-old also requested that authorities take action against ‘angry gamblers’.

“It's great for her to step up and shine a light into this, which is something that happens to every single tennis player out there. Every single athlete, I would say,” said De Minaur. “Hopefully there is something that can be done about it. It's something that's been going on for a while now. It's something that a lot of people have spoken out against, but it doesn't change. When you lose, you're feeling not in the best state emotionally, but then you've also got to deal with everything that happens behind the scenes with angry gamblers.”