Tommy Paul’s coach has weighed in on the American’s struggles against the top two ATP Tour players: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz and Sinner have dominated the Tour since the beginning of 2024, combining to win the last eight Grand Slams.
Their dominance has become so overwhelming that it is difficult to see any other player winning a Grand Slam in the foreseeable future.
As a result, players like Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev have fallen by the wayside.
Another player who has struggled to make his mark against Alcaraz and Sinner is Tommy Paul: an American star who consistently reaches the latter stages of Grand Slams.
His coach, Brad Stine, has discussed why Paul has been unable to usurp the Spaniard and Italian.
Brad Stine says Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have a mental advantage over Tommy Paul
Brad Stine, the former coach of Jim Courier, began working with Tommy Paul in 2020.
The American has enjoyed a period of consistent success under Stine’s guidance, reaching world number eight and recording a semi-final finish at the 2023 Australian Open.
However, Paul has been unable to close the gap to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in recent years.
Speaking on the Inside-In Tennis Podcast, Stine sought to explain why.
“At this point in the year, if you go back to last off-season, leading into the Australian Open, our focus for the off-season in 2024 was how do we beat Carlos and Jannik,” Stine said.
“Tommy has produced pretty good results against everybody else. He has not dominated in any way, shape, or form, but he has beaten virtually everybody else that is out there at that level.
“So, for whatever reason, Tommy had played Sinner in the last 16 of the US Open and Carlos in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
“He won a set against Carlos and he won a set against Jannik in Rome, so there are signs there that he is doing some things the right way.
“But it’s just a matter of maintaining those things and one of those things that we have talked about is that we feel like Tommy has a bit of an advantage against most guys, playing three out of five, but not those guys.
“Those guys have an advantage over him, not physically, not so much tactically or technically, Tommy can stay with them to some degree there.
“But I go back to what I said before, it’s the mental ability to maintain that level of play over a longer, longer, longer period of time.
“That is one of the things that Carlos and Jannik are just doing at an exceptional level.”
Tommy Paul’s record against Alcaraz and Sinner
Tommy Paul’s last victory against Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz happened over two years ago.
The match occurred at the 2023 Canadian Open, where Paul defeated Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
However, Paul’s struggles against Sinner and Alcaraz have since escalated: the American has lost his last seven matches against the pair, dating back to 2023.
| Opponent | Tournament | Score |
| Jannik Sinner | 2023 Canadian Open | 6-4, 6-4 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 2023 Cincinnati Open | 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 |
| Jannik Sinner | 2023 US Open | 7-6, 7-6, 6-1 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 2024 Wimbledon | 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 2024 Paris Olympics | 6-3, 7-6 |
| Jannik Sinner | 2025 Italian Open | 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 2025 French Open | 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 |
Sinner leads his head-to-head record against Paul 4-1, while Alcaraz also leads Paul – by five wins to two.
