Alex de Minaur is the fastest mover among the leading men on grass, a counter-puncher who wins through anticipation and flat, low returns rather than raw power. He finished 2026 13th in the men’s GTC Grass Rankings with a rating of 109, the same position he held before the season.
Grass at a glance
- GTC Grass Rating: 109, 13th in the men’s rankings (13th before the season)
- Pillars: Lawn Form 64, Arsenal 63, Wimbledon 53, Nerve 61
- Nationality: Australia
- Best Wimbledon result: Quarter-final (2024, withdrew before the match with a hip injury)
- Grass titles: Eastbourne 2021, ‘s-Hertogenbosch 2024
- Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
How Alex plays on grass
Grass suits de Minaur’s footwork. He covers the court quickly, stays low through the shot and takes the ball early, so the surface’s skid works for him on defence as much as it does for bigger hitters on attack. His return is among the best on tour on a fast court: he stands close, blocks the first serve back deep and makes opponents play an extra ball they are not used to playing on grass.
The limits are just as clear. His serve is accurate rather than heavy, so he earns fewer free points than the players ranked above him, and against a strong server he can spend whole sets waiting for one return game. His forehand flattens out well on grass but rarely ends points from the middle of the court. That mix explains an Arsenal pillar of 63. His Nerve score of 61 is respectable: he competes hard in tie-breaks, but close finals and five-set matches against top 10 opponents have not often gone his way.
Grass record
De Minaur reached the third round of Wimbledon in 2018 and the fourth round in 2022. His first grass title came at Eastbourne in 2021, where he beat Lorenzo Sonego in the final, and he reached the Queen’s final in 2023, losing to Carlos Alcaraz. The 2024 season was his best on the surface: he won ‘s-Hertogenbosch without dropping a set and reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final, but a hip injury forced him to withdraw before playing it. In 2025 he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets in the fourth round.
The 2026 grass season
He opened as second seed in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, beat Benjamin Bonzi 6-2, 6-4 in the quarter-finals and then Adrian Mannarino to reach the final. There he met Kamil Majchrzak, who had already beaten two top 10 players that week, and lost 3-6, 6-2, 6-7(5) in a deciding tie-break. The final still lifted his rating from 107 to 110.
At Queen’s he was the top seed but lost his quarter-final 5-7, 3-6 to Brandon Nakashima. The rating still edged up to 112 on the strength of his earlier wins that week. At Wimbledon, seeded 5th, he reached the fourth round for a second straight year before Flavio Cobolli beat him 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3. That exit, in the first meeting of two top 10 players at the Championships, moved his rating back to 109.
Looking ahead to 2027
De Minaur’s grass pattern is now consistent: strong results at the 250 and 500 level and a ceiling around the fourth round at Wimbledon. The ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Queen’s swing will probably stay on his schedule, and both events suit his game. The area to improve is the serve, both first serve speed and the number of cheap points it earns, because that is what separates him from the men who reach the second week every year. A realistic target is a grass title in the lead-in and a first completed Wimbledon quarter-final.
