‘Annoying’ It Hasn’t Happened Yet

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 27: Tommy Paul hits a forehand during practice against Toby Samuel during Fan Week as part of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Thursday, August 27, 2026 in Flushing, NY. (Photo by Pete Staples/USTA via Getty Images)

USTA via Getty Images

Tommy Paul wants to make a deep run at this U.S. Open.

The 29-year-old newly-married American has watched in recent years as his fellow top Americans have gone deep into the draw at their home Slam while he has never advanced past the fourth round.

Taylor Fritz made the U.S. Open final in 2024. Frances Tiafoe (2022 and ’24) and Ben Shelton (2023) have each made the semis in recent years.

But while Paul has reached at least the quarterfinals at every other Slam, making the semis of the Australian Open in 2023, he has never gone past the round of 16 in New York.

“We’ve seen ‘Foe play amazing tennis in New York, we’ve seen Fritz make finals, we know Ben can play amazing tennis in New York,” Paul, the No. 20 seed in this year’s draw, said in a recent exclusive interview. “I’ve only made [the] fourth round so obviously I’ve got to step up to catch up to those guys in New York. It’s annoying that it hasn’t happened, but I don’t see why it can’t happen.”

Paul, 29, will begin play during the day session on Sunday against Coleman Wong, a native of Hong Kong ranked No. 94 in the world who trained at the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy.

The draw looks pretty good for Paul to get to a possible fourth-round matchup with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who is returning to the singles court for the first time since suffering a wrist injury in April.

Alcaraz is 6-2 vs. Paul, but Paul has two wins over Alcaraz on outdoor hardcourts.

“I love Tommy Paul getting through there and that’s the matchup that I think could really test Carlos Alcaraz,” ESPN’s James Blake, a former world No. 4, said on air after the draw came out. “And we can see where is that wrist, where is the fitness, how is he feeling because Tommy Paul will push you.”

Blake added: “Tommy Paul can play physical. He’s one of the fittest players on tour, he can get to so many balls, he’s one of the best movers, he’s really got an all-around game [and] can do everything. He’s comfortable moving forward. He’s comfortable playing defense, so he can cause Carlos some problems. He can force Carlos to have to play well. He may not overpower him but he can force Carlos to play his best tennis.”

Mary Joe Fernandez also pointed to Paul as a difficult potential opponent for Alcaraz.

“When Alcaraz is at his best, Tommy Paul is one of the guys that stays with him because of that speed, because of how well he moves around the court,” she said. “He is a physical player so I would really be interested if that were to be a matchup in the fourth round.”

Paul, who was born in Voorhees Township, N.J. before moving to North Carolina as a youngster, has been in New York all week training and playing Mixed doubles with partner Emma Navarro.

Last year, his trainer, Franco Herrero, recommended Dymatize, a well-known brand of sports nutrition supplements and since then he’s exclusively been using their ISO100 protein powder and ready-to-drink protein shakes to fuel up and help him recover.

“We’ve absolutely loved working with [Dymatize] and he brought it to me and we’ve absolutely loved working with them, and we love the product,” he said. “The ISO100, we use it every day, we take it on the road…We used it every day for recovery and muscle building.”

To work his way into the singles draw, Paul played in the Mixed Doubles event with fellow American Navarro. They beat fellow Americans Learner Tien and Amanda Anisimova in the first round on Tuesday, before falling to eventual champions Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova in the quarters.

Asked on court how their partnership came together, Paul said, “I kind of bullied her into it, honestly.”

“Yeah, a little,” said Navarro with a wry smile. “I was happy to be bullied into it.”

Paul is also playing in New York as a married man for the first time.

He and longtime partner Paige Lorenze were married at Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island on July 14. Fritz, Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka were part of the wedding party, while others at the festivities included Ethan Quinn, John Isner, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson.

Via Vogue:

The tennis player and the creative director and @DairyBoy founder’s love story began the way many modern romances do: with a few likes on Instagram. After Tommy started engaging with some of Paige’s posts in the summer of 2022, she decided to make the first move and sent him a DM. Instagram messaging led to texting, and the two agreed to meet later that year at the US Open. “Tommy invited me to one of his matches,” Paige remembers. “And the rest is history.”

Just over a year after getting engaged on Nantucket, their wedding was held at Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island, NY on July 14. “I wanted the wedding to feel true to who we are and where our story began,” shares the bride. “It felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest.”

Asked if married life has changed his approach to tennis, Paul said:

“I don’t know, I don’t feel like I’ve played enough tournaments to answer that question. It was like the best day, best week of my life. It was so much fun. It felt like it flew by and then next thing I knew I’m playing tournaments again.”

Now Paul is focused on a singles draw that is devoid of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, out with a knee injury, and one that includes a huge question mark in Alcaraz, who hasn’t played since April.

Novak Djokovic, the 24-time major champion, also lost in the first round in Cincinnati and is 39 years old.

The question marks at the top of draw open it up for an American man to win a major for the first time since Andy Roddick in 2003.

That means guys like Shelton, Fritz, Tiafoe and Paul are dreaming of big things across the next two weeks.

Paul has reason for confidence. He earned a win over top seed and Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev in the quarters in Cincinnati before falling to French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in the quarters.

“This is a monster opportunity [for the Americans],” Patrick McEnroe said on a recent ESPN call with reporters. “Shelton had another big win in Canada. Fritz has been pretty rock solid this summer. A lot of matches under his belt. Let’s throw Frances Tiafoe in the mix after getting to the final in Cincinnati. He thrives with the New York crowd.

“Tommy Paul is certainly capable. I’d put Shelton as the top guy. For me, he’s the best chance with his serve. I liked what I saw from him a lot in Canada. I thought the return game looked a lot better. To me, that’s always been the thing that he’s got to improve upon the most if he wants to win one of these big ones.

“Not only for the Americans, but Zverev who has gotten the proverbial monkey off the back by winning Paris. He’ll be a big-time threat.”

Paul said his approach in New York will be to channel his past frustrations while simultaneously trying to stay in the present.

“Early on in my career, I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well there and I think…I put too much pressure on myself,” he said of the Open. “And once I got my first win there, I felt like I had a big weight lifted off my shoulders. So my mindset is not to put too much pressure on myself, but at the same time I need to use my past results there as motivation. And every time we go to New York, we’re motivated.”

He added: “It is the U.S. Open and I’m an American tennis player. That’s where we want to play well. Unfortunately, my best result there is [the] fourth round and me and nobody on team is close to satisfied with that.

“We want to go in this year and do better than that. We want to play in rounds that end in ‘finals,’ quarterfinals, semifinals, finals.

“We always joke about that. And also it’s the only Slam that I haven’t made quarterfinals, so it’s a big goal of mind to do well there.”