Rising British star Katie Boulter has hailed profitable a trophy in the identical weekend her Australian boyfriend Alex de Minaur additionally triumphed as “very cool” – however she needs to see an finish to the yawning hole of their prizemoney.
The couple loved a triumphant couple of days on the North American circuit on the weekend, with de Minaur efficiently defending his Acapulco title in Mexico earlier than he jetted off within the early hours to observe Boulter annex the San Diego Open crown north of the US border 24 hours afterward Sunday.
It meant the pair, hailed the brand new ‘It couple’ of tennis by British society journal Tatler finally 12 months’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 identical 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,” mentioned Boulter.
But she sounded much less impressed with the truth that, although the titles earned each her and de Minaur 500 rating factors every, he received $US412,000 ($A633,000), almost thrice greater than Boulter’s $US142,000 ($A218,000).
Reflecting on the gender pay hole, the 27-year-old Boulter mentioned: “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 cash, I really feel like there’s quite a lot of equality in our sport within the greatest occasions. I actually hope that the WTA can proceed to assist bridge the hole between the opposite occasions.”
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 unbelievable week himself. What he is accomplished is insane – to win back-to-back titles – and that is what I aspire to be like,” she mentioned.
De Minaur has a first-round bye within the Californian occasion, whereas Boulter begins her marketing campaign on Wednesday towards Italian Camila Giorgi.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
