A seemingly innocent statement from Katie Boulter has led some tennis fans to believe she left Australia just before her fiance Alex de Minaur faces Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The British star took to Instagram on Thursday night to post a photo of her practicing at the Australian Open and a photo of her with De Miñaur along with the caption “Thank you Aussie for making me feel like I'm at home” accompanied by a crossed fingers emoji for good luck, and also an airplane emoji.
While many of her followers simply praised Boulter for the sentiment and called her an honorary Australian, some took the message and emoji as a farewell message and assumed she had left the country.
'Won't you stay to support your man…?' one wrote.
'Won't you stay to watch the rest of Alex's game?' asked another.
“Are you leaving Oz now?” added a third.
A simple Katie Boulter emoji attached to an Instagram post has sparked speculation that she has left Australia despite her fiancé Alex de Minaur (pictured together) still playing for Melbourne.
In the image: message from Boulter, which was accompanied by an airplane emoji.
'Don't go yet. “Demon is going to the finals,” another said, and another commenter added: “Wait @katieboulter you're leaving right before @alexdeminaur plays in the semis?”
Boulter has been on court for all of De Minaur's matches at the Open so far, and did the same for her when she beat Rebecca Marino in the early rounds before falling to Veronkia Kudermetova in three sets in her next match.
She was sitting with De Minaur's mother and father on Tuesday night as he edged out American Alex Michelsen in four sets to set up the blockbuster clash with Sinner, and was seen hugging her partner's mother in the stands.
The tennis power couple announced their engagement last month and Katie recently opened up about how much she loves being in Australia after visiting them several times during their five-year romance.
“I feel like I've already felt a lot more love here, even more than last year,” the 28-year-old said shortly before the start of the Australian Open.
'Being in Sydney (for the United Cup), which is his hometown, where he was born, was the first time I played tennis there. Just going out on the court and listening to the crowd really helped me.
'I felt at home and comfortable. I'm usually the type of person who doesn't like going to new places. I felt very comfortable from the beginning when I was there and that was entirely due to them and how they treated me.
“It makes a big difference.”
When asked if he had embraced Australian culture to the point of having a favorite Australian delicacy, he replied: “It's definitely not Vegemite.”
Boulter has been on court for all of De Minaur's matches at the Australian Open and will face Jannik Sinner in the biggest match of his life on Wednesday night.
'I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure that's my thing. You can say TimTams, I love a TimTam.
'I'm always picking up accents. I don't know if I have an Australian touch here or there.
'I just love the culture. I really enjoy coming here every year. Obviously being around someone like Alex, so hardworking. He loves his country, he lives and dies by his Davis Cup number. I think that has definitely rubbed off on me.
'I love coming to Australia. It's just a great place.'
The couple seems to share a great sense of humor, judging by some of the light-hearted comments they made about each other during the Grand Slam.
After his victory over Michelsen, De Minaur joked that his upcoming nuptials were weighing on his mind.
“When I'm on the court and you see me so stressed, all I think about is the wedding budget,” he said.
“That's why I think: 'I need to win more money, I need to win more games.'
“That's all that's going through my head.”
And shortly after the tournament began, Boulter mocked her man after he posted a photo of his muscular physique while practicing at Melbourne Park.
The world number 25 was having none of it, writing: “Stop trying to catch the thirst, you have a fiancé,” referring to slang for a social media post intended to draw people to them.