Australia’s very own tennis Maestro, Alex de Minaur, on falling in love with watches and designing his ideal daily
Jamie WeissFor a man nicknamed “Demon”, Alex de Minaur is actually a very nice guy. The 27-year-old Australian tennis star, who as of publishing is ranked No. 6 in the world on the ATP Tour, might be known for his unrelenting style of play – intense speed, flamboyant angles, immense tennis IQ and grinding down his opponents – but off the court, he’s a laid-back, contemplative character, and also a bona fide watch lover. Nevertheless, it was a welcome surprise when, earlier this year, it was announced that de Minaur was partnering with Gerald Charles, eschewing the big-box brands for an increasingly prominent independent.
Just after his impressive win at the 2026 Rotterdam Open, I had the chance to chat with Alex about where his passion for watchmaking came from, and what it’s like to be repping a Genta design as he travels the world on the ATP Tour.
Congrats on your win at the Rotterdam Open – your first indoor title! How do you feel?
Yeah, I mean, I feel amazing to get my 11th title in Rotterdam! My first indoor title ended up being a pretty great week, and obviously super pumped to have got another title so early in the season, which is hopefully going to set me up for the rest of the year. So very excited about that.
It was great watching you at the Australian Open this year and very cool to see you wearing the Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis in Melbourne. What’s it like being able to compete in front of such a passionate home crowd, and did it mean something more to be able to wear a Gerald Charles watch on your wrist for the first time during the Australian Open?
Being able to wear the Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis for the very first time at the Australian Open was a pretty cool feeling. Obviously, it’s a huge pleasure playing at home in Australia in front of my fans, but to be able to do that whilst wearing Gerald Charles for the first time was a new experience and something that I’m very proud of – it’s a partnership that’s been in the works for for a while now, and it seemed like the perfect moment to show the world. I’m super excited about where this is going to go, and it’s just the beginning.
But yeah, it’s not often that I get to wear a watch whilst I’m playing tennis. So it definitely does mean that I truly trust all the durability of this watch, right?
You’ve described yourself as a watch guy – when did your passion for watchmaking first start?
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It all kind of came about about four or five years ago. I’ve always been into my classic cars, and then I started to get into my watches – and that’s because I wanted to be able to have something that I could enjoy 24/7. I can’t really travel with cars! So watches became something that I started to obsess about, and I went very deep into the history of watchmaking, not only the big-name brands, but I really wanted to understand the finer details: the manufacturers, the history of watchmaking…
I ended up getting super interested in mechanical movements and how long it takes to make each watch – all the different pieces and how they all come together to become this beautiful, fine-tuned machine, right? There’s something so elegant and chic about a nice watch, something that you can always wear on your wrist, and can remind yourself of not only what the watch presents and what it took to make, but also the significance of it. A watch can remind you of special moments in your life, and if you associate it with that, it’s a pretty cool thing to have with you at all times.
How did your relationship with Gerald Charles come about?
So it’s been a long time coming, but how it really kind of started to get interesting was in Turin. Federico Ziviani, the CEO of Gerald Charles, came to meet with me whilst I was playing in the Nitto ATP Finals, and he just explained to me what the brand was about. That was very important for me to know exactly what they were about: to understand the inner workings, the connection to Gérald Genta… I had a lot of knowledge about the brand, but it was very cool to see what Federico had in his mind for the brand going forward and where it was going. And I think that’s where it definitely intrigued me, very, very much.
So there are a lot of cool things coming with Gerald Charles – you’d better stay tuned! I’m very excited about this journey and this project together. I think we share the same values, and it’s going to be a very cool partnership.
Most tennis players don’t wear their mechanical watches when they compete, as it’s so easy to break them – have you ever broken a watch playing tennis?
I haven’t, but that’s just been because I haven’t had the confidence in said watch to play tennis in until the Gerald Charles GC Sport Tennis. I love the different features that it has, not only it having a left-handed crown so it’s not digging into your wrist, but the lightweight case, the durability of it, and its versatility.
These features are a must if you want to wear a watch whilst playing tennis, because the amount of force that comes about every single shot you hit is pretty extreme, and not a lot of watches can withstand that. So I’ve got the confidence and trust in the watch that it can withstand that power in every shot, and at the same time, continue to have the comfort of being able to play in it.
If you could design your own watch, what features would be a must?
This is a great question, and something I’ve obviously been thinking about a lot. For me, some of the key features would be versatility in terms of something that is easy to wear in a sporty environment, and at the same time, you can dress up for a nice event. So to be able to have that versatility, and be able to dress something up and dress something down, is super important to me. Obviously, it needs to be lightweight and have the crown on the left, so it doesn’t dig into your wrist. Comfort is a big one for me as well, and then trying to have something timeless in terms of both being modern enough and being classic enough.
There are a lot of different materials that you can use to keep it lightweight, but that would be my main goal. I’ve always been very intrigued by the mechanical side of watches, so an open case back, or maybe a skeletonised movement… I’d want to find interesting features that would make the watch pop from the very first time you see it, and then ultimately, have people ask you about it! I want people intrigued about what’s on the wrist, what the different mechanical components of that watch are, what the complications are, what’s the story behind it… I think all of these elements are super important when creating or designing a watch, and that’s something that I would be very much interested in doing in the future.