Tommy Paul bounced back from personal off-court drama to win his first-round match at the French Open on Sunday, advancing in the tournament despite dealing with the unexpected repossession of his truck back in Florida.
The 12th-seeded American eliminated Elmer Moller of Denmark with a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory at Court Simonne-Mathieu on a day marked by unpredictable weather conditions that alternated between light rain, heavy wind, and sunshine.
Paul’s on-court success came despite a challenging off-court situation involving his Ford F-150. The player revealed that he had missed several automatic payments due to changing banks and forgetting to update his payment information. “I missed I think it was like three payments,” Paul explained. “They came and took it. I didn’t know it happened like that.”
The repossession occurred while Paul was competing in Europe. His trainer back in Florida asked him to check security camera footage to look for any delivered packages. Instead, Paul discovered that his truck had been towed away in the middle of the night. “There were no packages — and no truck,” he recounted.
Upon reviewing the footage, Paul saw a tow truck arrive and take his vehicle. “I’m like, ‘What the hell is going on? There’s a tow truck coming and taking my car!’ I thought it was stolen at first,” he said. Paul eventually figured out what had happened and took to social media to share the black-and-white footage, adding a soundtrack of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” for dramatic effect.
Despite the unexpected ordeal, Paul managed to keep his focus on the tennis court. The 28-year-old from New Jersey, who was a semifinalist at the 2023 Australian Open, continued his strong clay-court performance at Roland-Garros. Paul’s ability to maintain his concentration through personal adversity was evident in his second-round win.
