ATP Queen’s: Venus and Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach Hypes Up Tommy Paul With a Spicy Take On His Grass-Court Game

As tennis fever rises in the grass-court season, Tommy Paul has redefined his game with grace! Vying for his third title of the season, the former World No. 12 is all set to claim his No. 1 tennis spot in America for the first time! Exuding confidence in his game and hyping him up is Venus and Serena Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci! Macci’s latest social media post hints at Paul’s “smooth” motion on grass and the 27-year-old’s potential to make waves in the tennis world!

Only a few hours from now, the American tennis pro is going to swing his racquet for the first time against Lorenzo Musetti in the final of the Queen’s Club Championships event. As the tennis world quickly decides whose side they are on, the former tennis pro, Macci, has his preference clear. Sharing his opinion on X, the 69-year-old coach, wrote, “Tommy Paul moves so liquid smooth on grass like a John Deer turbo cutting machine and then mows blows and goes. @TommyPaul1.”

As the coach pointed out, Tommy Paul’s quick pace on the grass-court is incredible! Utilizing that, last year, he even reached the Eastbourne International final match as well. Not only that, his fourth-round run to Wimbledon in 2022 also speaks volumes about his control and power on grass. Paul’s extremely fast speed on-court along with dynamic groundstrokes, and backhand approach have together helped him overcome every challenge on-court. Macci’s reference to Paul’s fast pace’s resemblance to John Deere’s machine (used for harvesting) further emphasizes the same, especially given his current performance.

The former Australian Open semifinalist (2023), Paul is giving his career-best performance this year. Be it winning his career’s second ATP title in the Dallas Open or his achievements that followed after that, Paul is moving up the ladder of success with his strong will. With his career 150th win in Rome, this season, the American has already made his mark in his first Masters clay semifinal event in Italy. 

Not only that, the BNP Paribas Open earlier this year also witnessed Paul’s incredible prowess in the semi-final for the first time! However, that’s not all. As the grass court season began, Paul’s hunger for more success heightened. Defeating Jack Draper, Sebastian Korda and others, Paul is now determined to bag another title this season. And according to Rick Macci, Paul has what it takes to win!

“I love Tommy Paul,” says his affectionate admirer, Rick Macci

Tommy Paul, who turned pro in 2015, is making having the best time of his life on-court. However, Macci, who recently shared his perspective on Paul’s swift movement on grass, always had full faith in him. Rick knew Tommy back when he was 14 years old and even called him the “human backboard,” for his outstanding performance in the USTA Player Development program.

Not only that, describing his backhand as very “sound,” Macci explained how Paul is extremely efficient with his “serve.” Furthermore, he also added, “He’s one of the best athletes in the world. I really like Tommy’s game. And I love, more importantly, he is not afraid and he knows he belongs. When you know you belong, you expect to win, not hope to win. I love Tommy Paul.”

Coming off fresh from the quarterfinals of the s-Hertogenbosch event, Paul now wants to continue to “play his best tennis” once again in London. It will be interesting to watch how he gives his best performance on-court once again!