"The tour should stop after the US Open": Tommy Paul pushes for extended off-season in tennis

Tommy Paul returned to the court this Monday at The Garden Cup held at Madison Square Garden. After several months out of competition, the 28-year-old star reappeared for an exhibition match where he faced Australian Nick Kyrgios, claiming the victory 4-6, 6-3, [10-5].

More than three months had passed since Paul was last on court. The American played his last tournament of the season at the US Open, where he was the 14th seed but ended up falling in the third round to the 22nd seed Alexander Bublik 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-6.

"I don’t usually start playing practice matches or points until about two weeks before I leave for Australia. This year with Garden Cup, I’ve started playing two weeks ago! So, I’ve been playing points for a while and I’ve been really excited about it, you know?” Paul commented to Tennis.com in an interview prior to the exhibition against Kyrgios. “I’ll tell you what, I’ve never prepared for an exhibition this much! I’m treating it like it’s two weeks out of Australia right now!”

Paul missed several months of competition and fell in the rankings, although he managed to finish inside the Top 20 anyway – despite missing the Asian swing and the indoor tournaments in the final months of the year. According to his coach Brad Stine in a previous interview, he had a replacement of his orthopedic insoles in his shoes which caused severe pain in his left foot.

The three months off the courts were an ideal time to rest and recover for the 2026 season. Amid constant criticism from various players about the long ATP Tour season, Paul acknowledges that the year should end much earlier for players. “We as tennis players always complain that the season is too long and the tour should stop after the Open, and that’s pretty much what I did. Let me tell you, it’s not that bad!”

“Most other sports do a really good job of giving their athletes time to build muscle and prepare for a grueling season. These past couple weeks, couple months have been really good for that. I feel like I’ve been able to get a good routine going, and I want to be able to go into Australia and feel good about everything throughout the entire year.”

His first tournament of the season will be the Brisbane International, starting January 4 – and featuring players like Daniil Medvedev and Grigor Dimitrov on the entry list. He will then play the Adelaide Open, between January 12-17, which has confirmed stars such as Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca, and Alexei Popyrin. With these two tournaments, he will conclude his preparation for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, where he is defending a quarter-final run.

“You can play matches in practice and say that you’re pushing yourself hard, but there’s nothing that pushes you the way playing a real match does,” admitted Tommy Paul. “You push the boundaries that much more, and push yourself that much harder...I’m excited for those things, where you get to a ball in a match you probably wouldn’t get to in practice...In everything I do, I just love competing and it’s the whole reason why I started playing the sport. “

The American took advantage of his time away from competition to think about the important step he will take in his personal life, after getting engaged to his partner, American influencer Paige Lorenze midway through the year. “This is the first wedding that she’s planned, but I trust her with my life. She’s doing most of it, and likes bringing stuff and asking me questions about it,” the world No. 20 said. “I would totally trust her regardless. She has the best taste for that kind of stuff. I think it’s going to be an absolutely amazing wedding, I’m so excited.”