Tommy Paul is finally getting his feet going after a disastrous 2023 season. He has already won 1 title and also finished runners-up once. He is finding much-needed form after things weren’t going his way last year, but interestingly, even 2022 had some bad hiccups. Owing to his poor performances, his coach Brad Stine did an unusual thing to get Paul back on track.

Brad Stine is a long-time coach of Paul, with their partnership dating back to 2020. He has helped Paul become one of the top stars of his country. However, his bizarre ways of coaching have always caught the eyes of the tennis world. Let’s find out what he had to say about one such incident.

When Tommy Paul was slapped by his coach

On the eve of the 2022 US Open, Paul was slapped by his coach, not once but twice. The American star used to get very nervous ahead of big tournaments. It significantly affected his performance, which was apparently a pattern that he hid from his coach. However, when Stine sensed it, he found a bizarre way of slapping Paul to deal with it.

The slaps were designed not to hurt Paul but to allow him to reset and shrug off the nervousness. Stine explained, “I literally slapped him in the face, and I told him, ‘Hey, I need Tommy Paul. Like, where’s Tommy Paul? The guy who’s here right now is not Tommy Paul.'”

Indeed, this method proved to be fruitful. Paul reached the round of 32 at the US Open, his best finish there. Although runner-up Casper Ruud eventually beat him, Stine’s tactics worked on waking up the ‘real’ Tommy Paul.

Early last year, Paul also reached the semifinal of the Australian Open. En route, he had a big victory over his compatriot, Ben Shelton. Paul once revealed how his coach helped him in his win over Shelton.

Coach’s advice proved fruitful for Paul while playing against Shelton

While he was involved in an intriguing match against Shelton, Paul sought advice from his coach. A few words of wisdom proved to be of much help for Paul as he prevailed over Shelton in four sets.

DIVE DEEPER: ‘He’s Pressed Right Now’ – Spirited ATP Star Ben Shelton Taunts Opponent as All-American Battle Heats Up Much to the Delight of Fans at US Open

Explaining what his coach had to say, Paul said, “He was like, what? I was like, where am I going? And then I think when I said it was a little bit louder tone. Ben heard it. He screamed ‘T’ and then I covered ‘T’ and then he went wide. Hey so”.

Further, Paul is in the semifinal of the Indian Wells Masters. He will take on Daniil Medvedev in the last 4 clashes later today.