By Scoop Malinowski
Status: ATP no. 17. Winner of two ATP singles titles. Best ranking was no. 12.
DOB: May 17, 1997 In: Voorhees, New Jersey
Tennis Inspirations: Andy Roddick – favorite tennis player.
First Tennis Memory: Probably at the Athletic Club Courtside in Greensboro, North Carolina, where I grew up. I saw all the old people out there playing doubles. I was like, ‘All right, I’m gonna get out there and do that.’ And then I remember trying to play out there [at age six]. It didn’t really go too great the first time.
Nickname: T-Paul.
Greatest Career Moment: Winning Stockholm (2021, first ATP title).
Most Painful Moment: Definitely had some losses. Maybe like five summers ago. I played a few [ITF] Futures tournaments and I lost in the first round in one of them. That was coming back from one of my injuries. That was pretty painful to me in my career.
First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: Paul Goldstein at the US Open.
Last Book Read: I actually read Tim Tebow’s book not that long ago. I have trouble finishing books. I probably read three books at a time, but I’ll read about 20 pages and then switch to the next book [laughs]. I’m not too good at finishing one.
Funniest Players Encountered: All my friends that we hang out with are really funny – Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz.
Strangest Match: I played against Denis Kudla and we played a three-set match – 6-2, 0-6, 6-0. It was a pretty strange match (at Cincinnati Open qualies 1R in 2015, won by Kudla). Another match in Cincinnati, a woman in the crowd fainted and I totally lost my focus and lost the match after that.
Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: I’ve always loved it since I was little. I’ve loved how competitive it is and one-on-one, gotta find a way to win.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:Â Vanilla.
Favorite Tournaments: I have three – Wimbledon, US Open and Indian Wells.
Embarrassing Tennis Memory:Â Probably swinging and missing at a ball and getting really embarrassed.
Best You Ever Felt On Court: At some point in the 2017 Citi Open. I beat Casper Ruud, Lucas Pouille and Gilles Muller, and then I was up a set and a break on Kei Nishikori. Blew it. Ended up losing that match [laughs]. That was tough. That was some of my best tennis, I think.
Favorite Sport Outside Tennis:Â NFL football to watch, basketball to play.
People Qualities Most Admired:Â I like funny people, sarcastic. I think sarcasm is so funny.
New Balance · Tommy Paul · USA · Yonex
Scoop Malinowski · October 7, 2021 at 5:42 pm
Solid win today vs F Lo who just broke the record for playing most Masters 1000 tournaments, breaking shared recored with Roger Federer. Paul has the goods to be a top ten player, may not have that “life and death obsession” for every match though.