Serve On SI

Tommy Paul Talks Tennis Culture, Matthew McConaughey, & US Open

Tommy Paul answers our burning questions thanks to CELSIUS.

Pat Benson

Tommy Paul takes on tennis culture and more in an interview.
Tommy Paul takes on tennis culture and more in an interview. / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

American tennis player Tommy Paul is truly a man of the people. Fans love Paul for his authentic style and down-to-earth personality. Those who follow him on social media know how much he relies on CELSIUS.

CELSIUS is different from other energy drinks because it focuses on movement. When combined with exercise, their formula is clinically proven to boost your metabolism and help you burn body fat.

Leading up to the US Open, Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI spoke with the tennis icon about his preparation, diet, and more.

What made Celsius the right brand to partner with?

"I've always been a fan of them. I live in Boca Raton, and their headquarters are in Boca Raton. I thought the partnership made perfect sense for us. Since I started working with them, it has been a pretty big part of my routine at home and on the road. I absolutely love the product."

Do you have a favorite flavor?

"They're all pretty good, but I like the Sparking Lemon Lime."

What are the vibes like in New York City?

"I'm feeling pretty good. I got a good week of training and prep in Florida before coming up here. I just landed about two hours ago, so New York is looking pretty New York-y to me. It's looking pretty busy, a lot of people running around the streets. I actually haven't been so site yet, but I'll definitely go to the courts tomorrow and get to work."

Are you doing anything different with your training regimen?

"Yeah, we have had a pretty interesting year. With the Olympics, we were switching around surfaces more than normal. We're going from clay to grass, back to clay, and now to hard. I've always found it easier to go from hard to any other surface easier than going from a slow surface to hard.

So we've been just getting hours in on the hard court and just get dialed in on the speed of the court. I've been in Florida, playing with the heat, which is a huge thing. I love living in South Florida; I feel like anywhere I go it's so much easier to play because I'm used to the conditions probably more than the other guys most the time."

Do you feel any extra pressure playing in front of an American audience?

"I would say that I used to. When I was younger, I felt the pressure of playing in front of the crowd at the US Open, but over the past three years, I've really embraced it. I really love it. Especially now, there is so much hype around American tennis.

We obviously have a really good group coming up, and we're all playing some pretty good ball. Especially this year. Everyone's excited about it, and we're all feeding off the energy. If there is one thing the US Open brings, it's a lot of energy. If you're not feeding into it, it's probably hurting you."

Are you going to keep the mustache for the US Open?

"(Laughs) The mustache is gone already, I'm sorry to break the news. It was a good little week. It had to go."

How would you make tennis more popular in America?

"There is a lot of really good personalities in the sport. Obviously, I think I'm really biased, but the banter the American players have with each other is really awesome. So if you can utlize that in a way, like the Netflix show, but it's tough to follow us around and see our real personalities and see how we interact with each other.

Also, I think the US Open does a pretty job of making it rowdy and that's so good for the sport. Tournaments need to be more rowdy. There have been some rule changes where people are allowed to get up and walk around in between every game now.

But I think you should be able to go get a beer between points and games. I don't think that should really affect the players - that's something that could help."

Matthew McConaughey shouted you out on Twitter. How far does that friendship go back?

"(Laughs) I don't really know where that came from, to be honest. I feel like I had seen him at the US Open before in Novak's (Djokovic) box. But I didn't know it was a pretty deep love for tennis, like if he's following a bunch of other players.

Obviously, he knows quite bit about the sport. When he tweeted at me, I thought it was amazing. He's so talented and one of the best actors out there. I was pretty pumped to see that. I think he will be coming to the US Open this year, and it would be cool to meet him for the first time."

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

"The goal for me all year is to win tournaments. I made quite a few finals last year, and getting ready for this year, that was always the plan. I wanted to come into this year and take home trophies. I got two of them, but you're never really satisfied in this sport. I want more and I've also been ranked top-12 in the world and want to break into the top ten. That's my goal."

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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