As a young adult, Paul initially struggled with his identity as a professional tennis player. Opening up last year on the Netflix docuseries Break Point, the New Jersey native revealed how he eventually hit ‘rock bottom’ at a time when he regularly found himself being tested for alcohol while friends Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Frances Tiafoe were all moving up. Rediscovering why he was drawn to hitting serves and groundies helped him get out of the dark cloud, as did surrounding himself with voices that could foster making a U-turn and charting a new path.
Paul’s climb to the Top 10 is a admirable lesson in both self-investment and turning vulnerability into opportunity.
“It’s so much about the right people, and the right people made it different for me. I was able to really enjoy doing it again,” he reflects.
“A big part of it for me was from 18 to 21, I saw all my friends in college having the best time and I was like, ‘Oh, I should have done that.’ Then I saw them all get desk jobs and it became, ‘OK, what I’m doing isn’t so bad.’ Yeah, man, I just started loving going to the practice court and getting better. I really started taking it super seriously. It’s my job, but at the same time, I’m having fun.”
That was apparent in Paul’s most recent tour appearance at the Dallas Open when he proudly wore a Philadelphia Eagles hat throughout the tournament inside the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys ahead of his team’s Super Bowl triumph. Directly following this week’s upcoming Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, where Paul finished runner-up two years ago, more fun awaits the world No. 10 in Las Vegas.
