"It wasn't just mental, my body needed rest," De Minaur explains withdrawal from 's-Hertogenbosch where he was defending champion

After his second-round exit at Roland-Garros against Alexander Bublik, Alex De Minaur had vented about the packed tennis calendar, claiming there were too many matches in a year. Just days later, the Australian announced his withdrawal from the ATP 250 tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch, where he was the defending champion.

During a press conference ahead of his Queen's campaign (where De Minaur has since lost to Jiri Lehecka in straight sets in his opening match), the world No. 12 cited the need for rest to justify his absence in the Netherlands—a decision that cost him his top 10 ranking this week.

"After Roland-Garros, I spent a full week doing nothing tennis-related. That’s very rare for me—I can’t even remember the last time that happened.

It felt strange because I was also Katie’s [Boulter, his partner] practice partner, and I really didn’t enjoy that experience. I thought to myself, ‘I can’t remember the last time I actually enjoyed playing on grass.’

It was kind of a false start, so I decided to take three extra days off. I used these two weeks without tournaments to disconnect a bit and make sure I’d return to competition with the same energy as before.

It was a tough decision not to defend my title in 's-Hertogenbosch, but it wasn’t just mental—my body needed rest. To be honest, my shoulder wasn’t at 100%. This choice might have consequences for my seeding at Wimbledon.

But I told myself it was the right thing for my body and that I needed to stop worrying about rankings. My only goal is to enjoy playing tennis and not think about all these external factors, because otherwise, it just adds stress.

I still hope to perform well at big tournaments. Mentally, I feel better, and even if I don’t get positive results this week, I know this break will help me in the long run," De Minaur told Tennis Australia.