Tommy Paul may have suffered a crushing quarterfinal defeat at the 2025 French Open in straight sets, but the American is proud of the fight he showed despite battling through abdominal and adductor injuries.
After his 0-6, 1-6, 4-6 defeat to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, the world No. 12 opened up about pushing his limits.
Tommy Paul On Battling Injury During French Open QF
Paul’s gritty journey to the final eight in Paris was his best showing yet at the French Open. Seeded 12th, the 28-year-old bulldozed his way through four rounds, defeating Elmer Møller, Márton Fucsovics, 24th seed Karen Khachanov, and 25th seed Alexei Popyrin, before running into second seed Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. With nagging abdominal issues and pain in his adductors, he entered Tuesday night’s match far from 100%.
In his post-match press conference, Paul didn’t sugarcoat the situation, stating:
“I’ve felt better. Obviously, I went into the match like I want to win the match. But pretty early on, it was pretty obvious that I wasn’t moving amazing.”
The American said what motivated him to stay on court was the crowd. “Everyone bought tickets to the night session. Everyone who was there deserved to see me play or try my best. And that’s what I went out and tried to do,” the 28-year-old added.
When asked if there was added pressure knowing the crowd had paid to see just that one match, Paul nodded to the weight of the moment. “Maybe a little bit, but at the same time, I earned that moment to be playing that match in the quarterfinals here,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t want it to go like that. But you know, I deserve to play the whole match, and that’s what I did.”
Paul Details Injury Struggles Following Painful French Open Defeat
He clarified that the issues stemmed from multiple physical setbacks. “It’s my ab and my adductors,” Paul said. “I mean, just a couple things. We’re going to figure that out in the next couple days.”
Despite the pain, Paul didn’t throw in the towel, noting, “Two sets down in the second round, I’d be lying if I told you I thought I’d be here tonight. But that’s what I tried to do the whole week, just fight and extend matches.”
Though his run ended against a rampaging Alcaraz, Paul said he was content knowing he gave everything he had. “Carlos was playing so quick and had me on my back foot the whole time. Felt like he was on offense, and that was not what I needed tonight,” he said. “I’m proud of the week. I did the best I could with what I had tonight, and I’m wishing Carlos the best of luck for the rest of the tournament.”
The American hasn’t ruled out defending his title at Queen’s Club, either. “That’s the plan. I’m signed up for the tournament, and I’ll go home and try to figure all that stuff out,” he confirmed.
