"The biggest thing is discipline" – Brad Stine on Tommy Paul's rise in the ATP rankings

Tommy Paul has been a consistent presence on the ATP Tour, but in recent years, he has taken significant strides up the rankings. The American star is now among the top players in the game and will look to keep progressing in the future.

His coach, Brad Stine, recently provided insight into Paul's rapid rise, shedding light on the work behind his success.

As mentioned before, Paul has been on the professional tour since 2015. He has secured four ATP titles and is aiming to add more to his collection.

While he has yet to win a Grand Slam title, Paul reached the semi-finals of the 2023 Australian Open, marking a breakthrough moment in his career. He has also found success on the international stage, winning a bronze medal in men's doubles alongside Taylor Fritz at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In 2024, Paul captured the Queen’s Club title, becoming the first American to win the tournament since 2010. Now that he is in the ATP top 10, he hopes to continue his strong form and build a solid foundation for 2025.

Paul shared his thoughts on what it means to be a top-10 player:

"It's not my end-game goal. So obviously, you reset goals after you achieve one, and now I'm just focused on that," Paul said.

"I always feel a little awkward when people congratulate me for anything.

"I'm proud of the work I put in. I'm more proud of the stuff I do away from tournaments than at tournaments. And I'm proud of my team. I think without the team that I have, I wouldn't be where I'm at."

Paul’s coach, Brad Stine, shared his perspective in an interview with Tennis Gazette, discussing how Paul has evolved as a player.

"I think Tommy's just become progressively more professional in his approach to things," the 66-year-old said.

"I would say that once he cracked the top 100, he started to see progress in moving up a little bit.

"It became a natural process for him to want to continue to improve and climb the ladder, especially when there's a lot of motivation there with the other American guys."

Stine also highlighted how Paul has used his close friendships with other American players as motivation to push himself further.

"His best friends were in a position where he felt like he should be closer to those guys, competing with those guys at their levels.

"So that's been a little bit of something for him, chasing the other guys ahead of him. But the biggest thing is discipline—the discipline to do the right thing on and off the court, like maintaining a strict diet, adhering to a rigorous training schedule, and staying focused on the game despite the distractions."

Paul’s recent achievements and growing confidence make the 2025 season highly anticipated. With his strong work ethic and determination, his future in tennis looks bright.