Tommy Paul was born on May 17, 1997, in Voorhees, New Jersey, United States, to mother Jill and father Kevin. It was his parents who introduced him to tennis at the age of seven, and Paul grew up playing on the US green clay courts in Greenville, North Carolina.
Paul had an impressive junior career and reached a high of third in the ITF Junior rankings. In addition, the American player reached two Junior Grand Slam finals and faced compatriot Taylor Fritz in both. Paul won the first meeting between the Americans at the 2015 Roland Garros but lost at the US Open final the same year against Fritz.
After turning pro in 2015, Paul made his senior Grand Slam debut at his preferred major - the US Open. However, he was eliminated in the first round by Andreas Seppi. In 2016, Paul largely competed in Challenger-level events and appeared in a handful of ATP-level competitions.
He qualified for the Miami Open and received a wildcard for the US Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston. Here, Paul won his first ATP match, beating Paolo Lorenzi in round one. The following year was a breakthrough season for Paul.
During the 2017 campaign, the American progressed from regular Challenger events to establishing himself on the ATP Tour. Some key moments in the second half of 2017 included reaching the quarter-finals at the Atlanta Open and Citi Open in Washington.
Just as Paul was rising through the ATP Rankings, his career stalled between 2018 and 2020. First, the American player suffered an elbow injury in 2018 and a leg injury in 2019, which ruled him out for most of the season. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic limited Paul’s recovery playing time, although he did reach round three at the Australian Open in January 2020.
But Paul returned with a bang for the 2021 season and produced some of the most consistent tennis of his early career. Regular breaks into rounds two and three in the first half of the season helped Paul get into the ATP Top 50 for the first time.
His impressive performances also earned him a place on the US Olympic team, although he fell in the first round against Aslan Karatsev. Later in the 2021 campaign, Paul lifted his first career title. At the Stockholm Open, his final tournament of the season, Paul beat Fritz, Andy Murray, Frances Tiafoe, and Denis Shapovalov to claim his first ATP tournament win.
Paul went from strength to strength in 2022 and 2023 and started to produce consistent runs into the latter stages of tournaments. In 2022, the American reached two ATP 1000 quarter-finals at the Canadian Open and Paris Masters.
The following season also saw Paul progress to his first Grand Slam quarter-final when he got to the Australian Open final four but lost to Novak Djokovic. Once again, the Canadian Open proved a strong tournament for Paul in 2023, and he reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner Jannik Sinner.
