Tommy Paul forced out of Miami Open with apparent leg injury

At Indian Wells, Tommy Paul appeared to come up a bit lame with a potential ankle injury. He was able to play through and eventually lost in the semifinals of the first Masters 1000 of the year. But on Saturday in the second round of the Miami Open against Martin Damm and up 6-4 1-2, Paul again pulled up on a point and hobbled to his seat.

After several moments and after getting help from the physio, Paul decided it was best to not continue playing. Now Damm will play in the third round and not Paul.

Tommy Paul was likely well on his way to another victory. He was playing solid tennis against the 6'8" Damm and was using his serve and volley to perfection. This was somewhat of a new scheme for Paul who has mostly relied on his serve and strong forehand to get into the top 20 of tennis. But his change of scheme implies he wants to take another step forward and potentially be a mainstay in the top 10.

Tommy Paul suffers an injury at the Miami Open

He has the skill and quickness to play at a high level. His past inconsistencies seemed to be less prevalent so far in 2024. After his run at Indian Wells, he had the potential to make another deep run in Miami, but this latest injury stopped that clearly.

We will find out more about how bad the injury is and exactly what the issue is. Paul appeared to suffer an ankle injury, much like Carlos Alcaraz did at the Rio Open in February. Alcaraz was able to come back quickly and played in the Netflix Slam before winning Indian Wells. The hope is that Paul can bounce back as quickly.

The problem might be that Paul didn't simply turn his ankle over as Alcaraz did. Potentially, there could be an issue with Paul's Achilles. But as well as the American has been playing recently, hopefully this is a minor setback and he can make a huge impact over the summer at Wimbledon and the US Open.

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