Tommy Paul is back in action on the ATP Tour this week, taking on the Houston Open.
Kickstarting his clay-court swing, Paul enters the ATP 250 tournament off the back of a roller-coaster run at the Sunshine Double.
He was beaten by Joao Fonseca in his second match at Indian Wells, before Paul lost to Arthur Fils in an epic Miami Open quarterfinal.
The American star is still chasing his first ATP Tour title of the season, from which he holds a 15-7 win-loss record.
Now his focus turns to the Houston Open, ahead of which Paul has risen two places in the ATP rankings to 21st.
And while he knows it won’t be an easy feat, a major rankings rise is now his main priority for the rest of the season.
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Tommy Paul wants to return to the ATP top 10
Paul revealed his main goal for 2026 ahead of his opener in Houston, where he meets Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the round of 16 after a first-round bye.
“I mean, I would love to finish a year back in the Top 10, where I got last year for a hot second,” he said, as quoted by Tennis.
“But I mean, to do that, you gotta win a lot of matches, you gotta win a lot of big matches.
“Everyone has their goals for the year, but I’m very focused on this week right now.
“And if I can do well this week, carrying momentum.
“Tennis is such a momentum sport when you feel like when you’re coming through tough matches and tournaments, it kind of just keeps going, and I think that’s something I’m trying to find right now.”
Tommy Paul among American men eyeing much-needed Houston Open success
Paul certainly knows what it takes to crack the top 10, having stayed there for a total of seven weeks in 2025.
He peaked at world number eight, but now finds himself outside the top 20, and as the fourth-highest-ranked American man.
The fourth seed at the Houston Open, Paul is currently behind Fritz (8), Shelton (9), and Frances Tiafoe (18th) in the rankings.
| Year | Titles | Tournaments |
| 2024 | 3 | Stockholm (Indoor/Hard) London / Queen’s Club (Outdoor/Grass) Dallas (Indoor/Hard) |
| 2021 | 1 | Stockholm (Indoor/Hard) |
Shelton is the top seed at the clay-court tournament in Texas, where Tiafoe and the likes of fellow Americans Learner Tien, Brandon Nakashima and Alex Michelsen are also involved.
With American players dominating the Houston Open field, it represents a fantastic opportunity for a home champion to emerge, which would both delight the fans and likely carry greater significance.
American men don’t look like ending their Grand Slam drought anytime soon following their Sunshine Double failures, but they could now gain great momentum on clay as the French Open approaches.
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