3 minute read
Alex de Minaur and his girlfriend Katie Boulter are both in Indian Wells as the tennis power couple continue their triumphant campaigns
Rising British star Katie Boulter has hailed winning a trophy in the same weekend her Australian boyfriend Alex de Minaur also triumphed as "very cool" - but she wants to see an end to the yawning gap in their prizemoney.
The couple enjoyed a triumphant couple of days on the North American circuit at the weekend, with de Minaur successfully defending his Acapulco title in Mexico before he jetted off in the early hours to watch Boulter annex the San Diego Open crown north of the US border 24 hours later on Sunday.
It meant the pair, hailed the new 'It couple' of tennis by British society magazine Tatler at last year's Wimbledon, joined the likes of former couples Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters in 2003, and Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert (1974), in annexing title doubles in the same weekend.
"I think that is very cool,. I had no idea of the people who had done it and to share something with my other half is something that I won't forget," said Boulter.
But she sounded less impressed with the fact that, though the titles earned both her and de Minaur 500 ranking points each, he won $US412,000 ($A633,000), nearly three times more than Boulter's $US142,000 ($A218,000).
Reflecting on the gender pay gap, the 27-year-old Boulter said: "I'm obviously very happy with my first WTA 500 title. Not too many players can say that they've won a 500 so I feel very special.
"Regarding the prize money, I feel like there's a lot of equality in our sport in the biggest events. I really hope that the WTA can continue to help bridge the gap between the other events."
The Anglo-Australian couple appear to be bringing out the best in each other this season, with de Minaur powering into the world's top 10 and winning back-to-back Acapulco titles, while Boulter defeated five top-40 players to win in San Diego to push into the top-30, now at a career-high 27.
De Minaur recently bemoaned the difficulty of being away from Boulter when the pair have their own tennis schedules, but this week they're in Indian Wells together for one of the biggest events outside the slams - and, happily, the prizemoney will be the same in both men's and women's events.
Boulter made it clear how her 25-year-old Aussie boyfriend continues to be an inspiration to her. "He had an incredible week himself. What he's done is insane - to win back-to-back titles - and that's what I aspire to be like," she said.
De Minaur has a first-round bye in the Californian event, while Boulter starts her campaign on Wednesday against Italian Camila Giorgi.
