Tommy Paul ready for pro tennis' Australia swing after spending winter in Palm Beach County
Tommy Paul enjoys the Boca life so much, he spent an extra amount of time in Palm Beach County before starting the 2024 season in Australia.
Ranked a career-high 13th as the second-highest American male, Paul, 26, announced himself as a premier future contender for a Grand Slam title at the Australian Open last January. Paul, unseeded, made a thunderous charge into the 2023 semifinals, losing to Novak Djokovic.
A new tennis year begins anew and Paul waited until the final Australian Open tuneup before flying to the Down Under a few days ago. He’s competing this week in the Adelaide International before Sunday’s commencement of the Australian Open – the calendar’s first Grand Slam event.
Paul, who has lived in either Boca Raton or Delray Beach since he was 13, spent from late November to New Year’s Day at his Boca residence near Meizner Park. Paul will be back here soon enough when he makes his fifth appearance at the Delray Beach Open in February.
“I’m pretty excited,’’ Paul told The Palm Beach Post in a phone interview from Adelaide. “I thought I played pretty well throughout the year last year and went into December training motivated. We had a good group of guys, had some really good weeks leading into the new year.’’
Rotating between three venues, the Evert Tennis Academy, Florida Atlantic University and Delray Beach Tennis Center, Paul practiced in December with a strong group of pros, including Frances Tiafoe, who moved to Boynton Beach during the pandemic. Paul also battled on court with young American JJ Wolf, ranked 39th, the still-rehabbing Reilly Opelka, Alex Rybakov, ranked 289th, and conditioning coach Franco Herrero. Occasionally the group had to figure out a way onto the FAU courts because the court’s gates were locked.
Paul calls Boca Raton a 'tennis hub'
Tennis wasn’t the only sport Paul participated in during his long stay in Boca, which he calls “a tennis hub.’’
“I’ve been fishing a lot here with some of my team and friends,’’ said Paul, who was born in New Jersey. “All the free chances I get here, I’m pretty much at the beach or ocean fishing. I tried to stay out of Miami as much as I can.’’
Still, Paul enjoyed the break and spent several days at fashion events in Miami, going with his former roommate Opelka.
But now it’s tennis time and a chance to establish himself as the most powerful American on the men’s side. Taylor Fritz is the top-ranked American at 10 but Paul can overtake him if Paul wins Adelaide. The top-seeded Paul is facing Alex Bolt in a round of 16 match early Wednesday morning.
“All of us want to be the No. 1 American,’’ Paul said. “All of us knows we have what it takes to be the No. 1 American. It’s not like I’m going into the tournament thinking, 'If I do well here, I’ll be the No. 1 American.' I just like winning tennis matches. I train hard for it. If I become the No. 1 American, then that’s great. I feel that’s how everyone feels about it.’’
There’s been a hodgepodge of guys who have been hyped as a threat to become the first American men’s player to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick’s 2003 U.S. Open title. One of them was the 6-foot-11, hard-serving Opelka, Paul’s roommate in Delray and Boca for eight years.
Reilly Opelka continues to struggle with health issues
Paul says it’s been difficult to see his best friend continue to be off the tour. Opelka, who won the DelrayBeach Open in 2020, has been removed from the ATP circuit for nearly 1 1/2 years due to hip surgery, wrist surgery and various arm ailments.
In late October, Opelka made a brief return in a Challenger tournament but, mysteriously, withdrew after winning one match. Paul says it is another arm issue. Opelka has been out since – his plan of using the low-level Challenger tour to get ready for Australia in January derailed.
“Yeah, he’s going to come back, I’m not sure when’’ Paul said. “I’ve been practicing with him a ton. He’s been playing great tennis off the ground. He’s been very, very unlucky with injuries. It’s been hard to see. I feel terrible for him. I know if he’s healthy, no one wants to be on the court with him. Whether it’s Novak or me, no one wants to play against him. He’s a tough out.’’
Paul has only played Djokovic one time in his career and that occurred on one of tennis’ grand stages in Melbourne. Djokovic won the Aussie semifinal, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. It launched Djokovic onto his most impressive year in winning three of the four Grand-Slam titles at age 36.
At last year’s Aussie, Paul beat, among others, Ben Shelton, the University of Florida product who made the U.S. Open semifinals.
‘I loved everything about last year’s run except the semifinal match,’’ Paul said. “I had a lot of fun. I played really good tennis. The semifinals, Novak just made me look like a rookie. He played great tennis and made me uncomfortable on the court and didn’t miss many balls. He did what he does. It wasn’t a lot of fun losing like that. But the two weeks as a whole were great.’’
There are seven American men currently inside the Top 50 but a champions is needed to lift tennis in the U.S. to another level.
Paul repeats statement that US 'best athletes definitely going to other sports'
Paul made a remark in 2023 that raised eyebrows when he called tennis “probably the 20th-most popular sport in The States. Like nobody cares about it and we still have two people in the top 10. So it’s kind of cool we’re actually up at the top of the game. All our best athletes go into other sports, so there’s our excuse I guess.’’
The full quote didn’t get reported and it was looked upon strictly as a knock on tennis’ popularity that surely ruffled feathers inside the USTA offices in New York.
When asked by The Post about the remark, Paul said,
“Although it obviously was an exaggeration, tennis isn’t as big as many of the other sports in the states anymore and our best athletes are definitely going to our other sports.’’
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That many of the Australian Open matches occur in the wee hours of the morning doesn’t help invigorate the new tennis year in a loud way. But Paul was anxious for the Adelaide tuneup after a 2023 season in which he made the quarterfinals or better in 10 tournaments.
“I’m excited to play some matches out here,’’ Paul said. “You can’t recreate match play. You can play practice matches but it’s not the same. You don’t feel the same pressure as you do in tournaments. I’m excited to feel it again this week and then playing in the Australia Open. I like the conditions here in Adelaide and in Melbourne. I’m excited to get it going.’’
And then it’s soon onto the Delray Open, where last season he returned from a Davis Cup match in Uzbekistan sick and was upset in the quarterfinals by Radu Albot. Fritz won the 2023 Delray title and is back to defend it.
“The tournament was right there at home so I decided to play it anyways,’’ Paul said. “I don’t regret it but it kind of sucked. I always want to play that tournament. All my friends are there. My family comes up and stays with me. It’s super fun and right where I live.’’Delray Beach OpenFeb. 9 - 18Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: American Tommy Paul opens play in Adelaide International before Australian Open
