Australian Open: Tommy Paul - New racket, new luck
Tommy Paul is in the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The American meets Novak Djokovic tomorrow, Friday. With a still quite new piece of equipment.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jan 26, 2023, 12:42 pm
Tommy Paul is still young at 25, but after the American entered the ATP circus in 2015, he no longer goes through as a newcomer. Rather than a high-flyer who is finally bringing his horsepower to the court. Reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open is Paul's greatest success to date, even though he already won a title in Stockholm in 2021. The reward for Australia's efforts will be their first entry into the top 20 players in the world, no matter how the match against Novak Djokovic ends.
It is noteworthy, however, that Tommy Paul made a drastic change in a quite advanced phase of his career: Anyone who saw him at work at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna last autumn, for example, could tell Paul with a racket from the house Watch Wilson. Since the beginning of the year he has been serving with a Yonex. As does compatriot Frances Tiafoe, who has been doing this for many years.
Djokovic and Thiem with racket changes
Changing the playing equipment is a rather unusual process on the ATP tour: Roger Federer has relied on Wilson throughout his career, Rafael Nadal on Babolat, while Novak Djokovic started with Wilson and is celebrating his current successes with Head. Dominic Thiem made the leap from Head to Babolat early in his career. The secondary reasons may be of a monetary nature, but the top players are primarily concerned with feeling comfortable with their gaming equipment.
Which, not too long ago, made the term “paint job” popular again and again. This means that a player continues to play with his familiar racket, but it gets a new look including a new brand. This is impossible in the case of Tommy Paul: Because the shape of the Yonex racket is unique in the tennis world and cannot be compared with any other manufacturer.
laver arena