How Tommy Paul has become a threat again after 'weirdest injury ever'

(Getty/Paul Crock)

Tommy Paul has cruised through his first two Australian Open matches, with a strong 6-4 6-3 6-3 win over countryman Aleksandar Kovacevic, followed up with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Thiago Agustin Tirante.

So far, everything seems to be running smoothly for the American 19th seed. When asked if he was somewhat surprised with his first week so far, Paul leaned towards his serve as a big strength.

"I don't want to say I was surprised, but I feel like something that's helped me perform the way that I've been playing is my serve," Paul said. "It takes a lot of pressure off you when you're holding easier. You feel like your serve can dig you out of a hole, and it's done that for me in the last two matches a bunch."

The First Serve Live returns on Monday February 2nd at 8pm AEDT for its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly tennis program on commercial radio running through till the end of November.

Paul is back to the scene of his best Slam results, having reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park in 2023, and backing it up with a quarter-final run last year.

Unfortunately for Paul, injury struck him early last season, and though he played through a lot of it, he eventually called time on 2025 after the US Open.

"I mean, I really knew around French Open, beginning of French Open I knew at some point in the year I was going to have to be shutting it down. I kind of just extended maybe a little too long. Probably shouldn't have gone and played Wimbledon. Probably shouldn't have played US Open," he admitted.

"At the same time, I'm happy I did it. I think the time that I stopped was good, right after the Open. Got to stay home for a bit, fully reset my mind to get ready for this year. In some sort of way, it was a blessing for me to be home, fully reset, get completely healthy.

"I was saying that I feel like that's what the schedule should be, like stop after the US Open and have three months off. I feel most of the other sports are kind of like that, at least in the States. I mean, for me, it was great."

The injury that eventually would lead him to cut his season short was a tendon injury in his left foot. However, Paul also let on that he had other issues as early in the season in Melbourne, where his shoulder was causing issues.

"I had a tear in my left shoulder. Weirdest injury ever. It didn't really hurt or anything besides coming down on the serve and the backhand a little bit, but it was pretty much all year last year," Paul shared.

"We talked about it. I think there was, like, four matches I played the whole year where I wasn't in pain, which was ridiculous."

Based on that, it was no surprise when asked what his 2026 goals are, that the top priority was health.

"I mean, it would be nice to play the whole season. Injury-free, pain-free would be great. I mean, every tournament, every year, you go to tournaments wanting a title, and I didn't get any last year. I definitely want to get some this year."

At the moment, Paul's body appears to be holding up very well, confirming: "I would say [I’m] as close to 100 per cent as I could be, really. I'm not really worried about anything. Just worried about playing my brand of tennis."

With the tennis calendar always in the spotlight, Paul is a good example of a player who probably pushed themselves too far when the body really needed a break. When asked if he thinks the calendar is going to change at all, to allow more breaks for the players, his answer was pretty clear with a one-word response: "No".

But when pushed as to whether he will build some of his own breaks into his schedule, Paul admitted he might have to.

"We've tried to plan our schedule smart. We've tried to take breaks when necessary, but it's a demanding schedule," he said.

"There's only so much that you can really skip if you want to keep your ranking up. So we're going to do our best, for sure. I think maybe we'll skip a couple more tournaments this year, but for the most part, I do want to play everything.

"I'm excited about playing all the tournaments that I wasn't feeling good in last year. I want to go and do even better this year, of course."

Paul also knows he's becoming one of the elder statesmen on the tour, but he's ok with that.

"It's happening. I'm getting older. I'm seeing a bunch of kids come through. That seems so young now," said Paul.

"But, I mean, I think for me it helps. Experience, it means a lot in this sport. I feel like you gain a lot from experience coming down here. Playing in the first round when you are in your younger years, you feel so nervous. You don't know really what you're getting yourself into.

"I mean, I know what I'm getting myself into every time I play. Three out of five sets, it's very challenging on the body, but I think over the years, I've learned how to deal with that, how to manage that."

Paul will face off against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in round three.

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