World No. 15 Tommy Paul’s 2025 season has been a punishing battle with injuries, derailing his consistency on the ATP Tour. His French Open run was hampered by a painful abdominal strain, followed by a devastating tendon rupture in his foot during his Wimbledon clash with Sebastian Ofner. Just when it seemed Paul had turned a corner, reaching the US Open third round, fate struck again with another setback against Alexander Bublik. Now, as the tour shifts focus to the Shanghai Masters, heartbreak hits once more: Paul has withdrawn, his ATP Finals hopes hanging by a thread as his fight to stay healthy continues.

Tommy Paul has officially withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters, which begins on October 1. “Paul had an outside chance to make Turin but he is the second top 20 player (after Draper) to withdraw from Shanghai,” Morgado wrote, summing up the blow to the American’s late-season push.

This withdrawal carries heavy ranking consequences. Paul reached the round of 16 in Shanghai last year, which means the 28-year-old will drop 100 ATP points once the event concludes. For a player chasing a spot in the prestigious ATP Finals in Turin, every point counts, making this setback sting even more.

His absence also shakes up the draw, opening the door for France’s Arthur Cazaux, who now gains direct entry into the main draw without having to battle through qualifying rounds. A silver lining for the French camp, this reshuffle could prove significant for Cazaux’s own ranking climb.

Adding to the narrative, Paul had also pulled out of the Laver Cup earlier this month, joining Ben Shelton on the withdrawal list. Their spots were filled by fellow Americans Reilly Opelka and Alex Michelsen, who helped carry Team World to its third Laver Cup title, sealed by Taylor Fritz on the final day. 

Paul, a member of the victorious 2023 Team World squad, was forced to watch this year’s celebrations from afar, his injury woes continuing to cast a shadow over what was shaping up to be a breakthrough season.

Tommy Paul’s 2025 season has been marred by a relentless injury saga, a shadow that loomed largest during the grass-court swing. A couple of months ago, the defending champion at the Queen’s Club ATP 500 was forced to withdraw at the last minute, a cruel twist after a year in which he had been primed to defend his title. 

Paul, grappling with leg and abdominal issues, had been scheduled to take on West Kensington once again, where he had stormed to glory 12 months ago, dropping just a single set to Jack Draper across five matches on his way to lifting the trophy.

The injuries have been no secret to fans, who watched Paul battle through the French Open with grit. After his comeback win over Marton Fucsovics in the round of 64, Paul admitted, “I’ve been dealing with a bunch of things. But just something in my lower ab I’ve been dealing with. I mean, for most of the match, I mean, I was feeling it.” Despite his courage, the quarterfinals proved punishing, with Paul struggling against Carlos Alcaraz. Needing his right thigh strapped, he conceded: he “wasn’t moving amazing,” a stark reminder of the physical toll the tour exacts.

This ongoing injury crisis has become a defining thread in Paul’s season, turning every tournament into a high-stakes balancing act between performance and physical preservation. Each match carries the weight of past strains and the fear of new setbacks, a challenge that tests both body and mind.

Adding perspective, Paul’s coach has shed light on the broader reality of the tour, emphasizing how unconventional hurdles can shape a player’s year. The Americans’ struggles underscore the fine line between resilience and risk, revealing how even top-tier athletes can be brought to the brink by the relentless demands of professional tennis.

Brad Stine shares strange locker room incident aimed Paul’s injury struggles

On a recent episode of The Inside In Tennis podcast, Tommy Paul’s coach, Brad Stine, shed light on the American’s grueling 2025 season, a year marked by his Davis Cup withdrawals that impacted Team USA’s performance. Stine recounted a bizarre incident during the clay-court swing at the Madrid Open, pinpointing Paul’s R16 loss to Jack Draper as the spark for what would become a lingering injury nightmare.

Stine described the incident in detail: “We get to the courts and, you know, I don’t think anybody did anything underhanded or anything like that, but all of his stuff was gone from his locker, which included his shoes and inside of his shoes, his orthotics.” The disappearance of the gear, particularly his well-worn orthotics, would prove pivotal in shaping the struggles that followed.

“These orthotics were really, those were older orthotics that were kind of broken in. And so, you know, he had a second pair of orthotics, but they were brand new, a little bit stiff. And, you know, he did some fitness, some training, you know, obviously on the court practicing and those kinds of things,” Stine explained. 

He later continued, “And all of a sudden his foot starts bothering him. And, you know, we’re convinced obviously that it was the transition to the newer orthotics. Foot started getting worse and worse and worse.” Despite diligent treatment from Paul’s physio, Seba, the discomfort intensified, turning every movement on court into a battle against his own body.

“He was playing on it and everything, but it was definitely bothering him,” Stine added, underscoring both Paul’s resilience and the relentless pain he endured. The incident highlighted the razor-thin margins in professional tennis, where even minor disruptions can ripple into season-defining consequences.

Now that his withdrawal from the Shanghai Open now confirmed, Paul gains crucial time to recover, though questions loom large about the American’s participation in the ATP Finals. After months of battling injuries sparked by a strange locker-room mishap, the tennis world now waits to see if Paul can reclaim his rhythm and return to the tour’s biggest stages before the season ends.