Tommy Paul talks engagement, injury rehab at Cincinnati Open

CINCINNATI, Ohio—Through a summer of injury setbacks, Tommy Paul carved his own silver lining in the form of a romantic summer proposal.

The American is playing his first tournament since suffering a foot injury at Wimbledon and opened up about popping the question to longtime girlfriend Paige Lorenze after 6-2, 6-2 victory over Pedro Martinez at the Cincinnati Open.

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“I knew I was going to do it for a while. I didn’t know when and then obviously I was out for a little bit, so it was kind of like a forced vacation,” smiled Paul, who earned a career-high ATP ranking of No. 8 back in June. “I figured this was probably going to be the best time for me to do it, you know? It was great because it was kind of like her family vacation. I didn’t want to take over her family vacation with that, but I guess I kind of did. But it was great.

“I wanted to do it on the beach but the schedule for the weather was horrible; it was supposed to rain the whole time. I ended up renting a little cottage in Nantucket and did it there. It was great. There was nobody around us, just me and her. I thought it was great just to have that moment for ourselves, you know?”

Paul spent the earlier part of the summer in a boot after rupturing a tendon in his foot at the All England Club, the latest in a series of health struggles that began in the midst of a career-best run at Roland Garros.

“It’s a lot of things, one thing after another, really,” sighed Paul, who was unable to defend his Queen’s Club title due to abdominal and adductor injuries following a quarterfinal defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. “It’s tough, you know? It really sucked, I mean, even if I go there and not defend my points, maybe lose first round or second round. That hurts, but that doesn’t hurt as much as not even getting the chance to go there. So, that really sucked.”

Things went from bad to worse at SW19, where he fell in four sets to Sebastian Ofner in the second round.

I wanted to do it on the beach but the schedule for the weather was horrible; it was supposed to rain the whole time. I ended up renting a little cottage in Nantucket and did it there. It was great. There was nobody around us, just me and her. I thought it was great just to have that moment for ourselves, you know? Tommy Paul on proposing to Paige Lorenze

“I heard a pop in my foot during the match, and after I got an MRI and when they tell you you’ve ruptured a tendon, you kind of just shut it down,” said Paul. “It was agreed upon by the whole team. But moving forward, we weren’t sure if I was going to play here. Obviously, I was in a boot for two weeks. I think I got the boot off two weeks ago and we weren’t sure if I was going to play here.

“With practice the past couple of weeks, it was pretty good. I told my coach, ‘I think we’re good to go for Cincy, at least, and get some matches.’ It was either come here or not come here and play Winston-Salem before the Open and I thought, ‘It would be better if I could obviously play here.’”

His first match in a month went largely without issue and the No. 13 seed booked a third-round meeting with Adrian Mannarino, who won their most recent match at the Rolex Paris Masters last fall.

“I feel like, with my serve, I was getting some good pop on it. I’m not sure what the percentages were, probably wish it was a little bit higher. I was a little sloppy sometimes coming into net; first volleys could have been better. But all in all, I thought the tactics were good in that match and I wouldn’t change too much.”

The 27-year-old will aim to find one last silver lining at the US Open, the final major tournament of the season and the only one where Paul has yet to reach at least the quarterfinals.