American tennis player Tommy Paul is one of the brightest prospects in the sport at the moment. The 24-year-old had an outstanding junior career, with an ITF junior rank as high as third. He has a career high rank of 41 as of January 10, 2022. The American is one of those players that have only just started to make a name for themselves in the world of tennis. His maiden ATP title win came only a few months ago when he displayed impressive skill and resolve to win the 2021 Stockholm Open.
Paul began his professional career in 2015. Paul has shown an unusual preference for clay, having won the Junior French Open and his first four ITF Futures singles titles on the surface. At the 2015 US Open, he qualified for the main draw for the first time, but lost in the first round to Andreas Seppi.
Paul broke into the Top 200 for the first time in March 2016 when he qualified for the Miami Masters. Paul received a wild card into the 2016 US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston in April, and in the first round, he defeated 53rd-ranked Paolo Lorenzi for his first career ATP level win. For the remainder of 2016, Paul would primarily compete on the ATP Challenger and ITF circuits.
Paul entered the top 100 for the first time in his career in September 2019, after winning his second ATP Challenger title of the year in New Haven, following his victory in Sarasota earlier in the season.
Paul made his first appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam at the 2020 Australian Open, defeating 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round before losing to Marton Fucsovics. He also advanced to the second round of singles and the quarterfinals of doubles at the 2020 French Open, partnering fellow American Nicholas Monroe for the first time on his preferred surface.
Paul lost to Sebastian Korda in the semifinals of the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Italy, where he was preparing for Roland Garros. Paul advanced to the second round of the 2021 French Open, where he was defeated by Daniil Medvedev, the second seed. As a result, on 14 June 2021, he was ranked No. 50, one spot higher than his career high of No. 51, which he achieved on 8 March 2021 after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2021 Rotterdam Open.
Paul qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics for the United States, but he was knocked out in the first round by 11th seed Aslan Karatsev. He reached the round of 16 at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open, defeating World No. 5 and fourth seed Andrey Rublev to reach the quarterfinals. He had never advanced past the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event before. After defeating Alexander Zverev in Acapulco in 2020, this was his second win against a Top 10 opponent. He reached his first ATP final at the 2021 Stockholm Open, defeating Andy Murray in the quarterfinals and Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals. He defeated defending champion Denis Shapovalov to win the title.
