Why there is no such thing as a perfect day for Tommy Paul

Tommy Paul might already be flying high, but the American has no intention of slowing his ascent any time soon.

The 25-year-old two weeks ago won the biggest title of his career at the cinch Championships, a tournament that has been won by legends of the sport from Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe to Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. But the Wimbledon 12th seed, who will face 23rd seed Alexander Bublik on Friday in the third round, knows there is still progress to be made.

“Tennis is a weird sport. I'm on a winning streak right now, but I meet with my coach after the match, and we're going to talk about the things I did wrong,” Paul told ATPTour.com. “You always look back at matches and think of what you could have done better. So it's not like I'm going home every day and being like, ‘I had a perfect day’.” 

It helps that Paul has a team around him, led by veteran coach Brad Stine, determined to continue pushing forward. Stine notably led Jim Courier to some of his greatest heights. But he spent multiple stints with the former World No. 1. Stine began coaching Paul in 2020 and feels their relationship has not gotten stale.

“We're always trying to get better and work on things,” Paul said. “I am happy with how I have been playing, and I've been getting a question about Queen's a lot. But it's a whole new week. I'm coming into the first round like everybody else here at Wimbledon. I have a challenge every round... I've just got to take every match one at a time.”

It would be easy for Paul, the No. 13 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, to be content with his recent success. He became the American No. 1 for a week and lifted one of the most historic trophies in tennis. But immediately he made clear that he still has goals to pursue, including cracking the Top 10 for the first time.

“I think that's what keeps people interested in sport. You look at Novak being at No. 1 forever. He was the best player in the world and he was still working on things,” Paul said. “He still wanted to get better and I think that's the coolest part about any sport. You're never satisfied. I'm definitely not satisfied. There's still a lot of work to do.”

Paul is one of the quickest players on the ATP Tour. In recent years, Stine has worked on developing Paul’s attacking game, specifically with his transition to the net and his abilities once there. That has paid dividends in making him a consistent Top 20 player.

According to Paul, this year they have been honing in on his footwork. Fitness coach Franco Herrero has been leading the charge in that area.

“We have a great team around me. And the way that my coach will talk to my fitness trainer, and they'll kind of write up a plan, create a plan on what my coach wants me to work on in terms of footwork, and we'll go in the gym and we'll do it a million times until it's right,” Paul said. “Footwork has been a big thing for me. Obviously, over the past couple of years, I feel like I've gotten stronger and been able to last longer in matches, but the footwork is at the end of the day what allows you to have a higher quality of shot throughout the entire match.”

At the start of the season, Stine said of his player: “Tommy is dedicated to wanting to be a great tennis player. He doesn't want to just be average. Obviously anybody that makes Top 100 and plays at the top echelon of the game is not average anyway.

“But within the game itself, we look at your ranking and the rounds that you've achieved in tournaments, and those kinds of things and established [what is] an average type of career. Tommy's not satisfied with that. He wants to be better than that and that's pushed him."

One of the most endearing qualities about Paul for fans is that what you see is what you get. As competitive as he is, the American is also laid back as they come on the circuit.

Paul loves tennis, but he enjoys other sports too, and is a big fan of Philadelphia teams. Jason Kelce, the brother of Travis Kelce, NFL star and partner of Taylor Swift, was a longtime standout offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring at the end of last season. On his team losing Kielce, Paul said: “It's a tough tough guy to replace. But I'm excited about the Eagles season, big time. I like who they drafted, I like the way that they drafted, just got to finish the season this time.”

The Philadelphia 76ers have been busy this offseason, set to sign star Paul George.

“I love Paul George,” Paul said, cupping his hands to amplify his voice into the phone recording this interview. “Love him! And they just resigned [Tyrese] Maxey. Yeah, I love that. That pumps me up.”

As much as Paul enjoys tennis, he also has interests off the court that keep him busy. It is not all tennis all day.

“I’m a sports guy. I love watching all sports, really, especially American sports,” Paul said. “It’s nice to have another interest. It sometimes gets a lot to talk about just tennis, tennis, tennis, as much as I love the sport. But yeah, I definitely follow a lot of sports and it's a nice distraction at times.”