Who Is American Tennis Player Tommy Paul? - 5 Facts About ...

Tommy Paul became a professional tennis player in his teens, and now, he has reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in his career. Tonight, he faces Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open—if you're a night owl, it airs at 3:30 a.m. eastern on January 27 on ESPN and ESPN+.

This is Paul's first big match in the spotlight. So who is this rising American tennis star?

Here are 5 things to know about Tommy Paul:

1. He was born in New Jersey, but grew up in North Carolina.

When Paul was three months old, he moved from Voorhees Township, New Jersey to Greenville, North Carolina. He started playing tennis at age 7, training on clay courts.

His mom, Jill MacMillan, who played in college at East Carolina University, was his first coach. When he reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, MacMillan, an audiologist, got straight on a plane in her scrubs to watch her son play.

2. He made his professional debut in 2015.

That year, Paul won the French Open junior title, defeating fellow American Taylor Fritz. He's steadily climbed in the ranks since his debut, and won the Stockholm Open in 2021, his only ATP title to date. He's currently ranked number 35 in the world, but expect him to make his top-20 debut after the Australian Open thanks to his deep run in Melbourne.

3. Paul is close with his fellow American tennis players.

Paul grew up playing with Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka, and Taylor Fritz. And, as of August 2022, he was roommates with Opelka in Florida.

"It's great that three of my really close friends all ended up making it to where we're at now together," Fritz told Town & Country about their squad. "It's amazing to be able to travel around the world with these guys, [and] hang out with them. It definitely helps a lot with the fact that you're never home, when you have some of your closest friends with you."

Paul is encouraged by the recent success of his fellow Americans. "You see Fritz win a Masters 1000, and I think all of us we're all happy for him, but we're all like, 'OK, he did it. We can do that," he told the New York Times. "And then Foe [Frances Tiafoe] makes semifinals of the U.S. Open and had chances in the semis, and who knows what would have happened if he had won that match? So, you see that happen, and you’re, like, 'All right, that's awesome. I’m happy for him, but I can do that.'"

4. He's dating social media influencer Paige Lorenze.

Paul started dating Lorenze, who has over 400,000 followers on Instagram, last year. She describes herself as an "ex ski racer / new englander / thrifter / thinker / lover / creator / friend / daughter / adventurer / nature lover." She also founded a clothing brand, Dairy Boy.

Here's some sweet snaps of the two of them:

Paul, too, is on social media: he instagrams at @tommypaull and tweets at @TommyPaul1.

5. When he's home, he works on his family's farm.

"My mom and stepdad live on a farm in South Jersey, where they have roughly 100 chickens, six sheep, two dogs, a horse and a cat. I grew up in North Carolina, but my mum moved back to South Jersey when I turned pro. That is where she grew up," Paul told ATPTour.com. "The animals have built up. It is something to do for her. When she is not at work, she is outside on the farm."

When he's home, he helps on the farm. "I’m not gonna just, like, sit inside and do nothing," he told New York Magazine. "I obviously don’t know anything, but I get out there and try to help anyway. It’s fun. It’s a nice change-up, you know?"