Tommy Paul is back in the ATP Tour fold after shutting his season down following the 2025 US Open.
The American dealt with several injury issues throughout 2025 and eventually bit the bullet and stepped away from the sport to get healthy after his loss to Alexander Bublik at the US Open.
Paul played back-to-back in Brisbane and Adelaide, where he picked up two wins and two losses in matches against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Reilly Opelka, Aleksandar Vukic, and Tomas Machac.
The star is set to be careful with his schedule in 2026 and suggested that he could skip a few more events than normal.
Tommy Paul shares plan for 2026 schedule at the Australian Open
Paul kickstarted his Australian Open campaign with a straightforward victory against Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round.
The win marked Paul’s 15th straight first round victory at a Grand Slam and he will play Thiago Agustín Tirante in the second round.
At his Australian Open press conference, Paul dropped hints that he might be more selective about the tournaments he plays in 2026 following his injury issues.
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“It’s a good question, because it’s something that we’ve tried to do the. You know, we’ve tried to plan our schedule smart. We’ve tried to take breaks when necessary, but it’s a demanding schedule.
“There’s only so much that you can really skip if you want to keep your ranking up. So, yeah, 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 could play back-to-back Spaniards if he finds a way past Tirante, with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Carlos Alcaraz both in his section of the draw.
Tommy Paul shares how bad his injuries really were in 2025
Paul never really disclosed how bad his injuries were after missing the last quarter of the season following the US Open.
At the Australian Open, the world number 22 has shared exactly what he went through over the last season.
“I think there was, like, four matches I played the whole year where I wasn’t in pain, which was ridiculous,” he said.
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“So that’s obviously number one goal going forward. And this year is to try and stay as pain-free as we can, take care of the body as much as we can.
“I know it’s been a focus of mine for years now, but at some point, you know, something breaks down, it just happens. But, you know, the only thing you can do is keep taking care of your body.”
Paul is likely to break back into the top 20 of the ATP Tour rankings after the Australian Open, particularly due to Flavio Cobolli and Jiri Lehecka’s first round exits at the Grand Slam.
