- Jakub Paul is the only Swiss tennis player in the top 100. He is ranked 81st in doubles.
- His job costs him 50,000 francs a year. That’s why he forgoes vacation.
- He also has to contend with hateful comments online. He even received death threats.
- Paul is considering focusing entirely on doubles because of finances.
Jakub Paul from Graubünden has had his best season to date, made it into the top 300 in singles and particularly impressed with strong performances in doubles. He is currently in position 81 in the world rankings, making him the only Swiss tennis player to be in the top 100 in one of the two rankings. But who is Jakub Paul exactly?
20 minutes met him before departure to Australia, where he will play in the United Cup with Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka. The 26-year-old talks, among other things, about his successes in doubles, unpleasant things such as hate comments online, the difficult search for sponsors and the immediate future prospects.
Grand Slam debut in doubles
When asked whether Paul sees himself as a singles or doubles player, he answers with a smile: “At the moment I still see myself as a singles player. I still see potential there and don’t want to give it up yet. That’s why I’m continuing to take a two-pronged approach for the time being.”
Right at the beginning of last season, he and David Pel won three doubles tournaments at Challenger level (one level below the ATP tournaments). Thanks to his success with the Dutchman, Paul earned his first participation in a Grand Slam tournament. In Paris they beat the former top 10 duo Gonzalez/Molteni in the first round. “That was a huge experience,” Paul looks back with pride.
Before Wimbledon, there was a break with Pel because, contrary to her plans, he decided on a different partner at short notice. “It’s a sensitive topic,” Paul admits. Pel started a run with a new partner and sensationally reached the final. “It wasn’t easy for me to see him win a game every other day at Wimbledon, as I would of course have liked to have been there,” said Paul.
Finding a partner via Instagram
“But this sort of thing happens regularly on the double tour. “Ultimately it’s a business,” says Paul diplomatically. The season still continued successfully for him. In Gstaad he only failed in the semi-finals at ATP level in a team with Dominic Stricker and at Challenger level he added another tournament victory in doubles.
From mid-February 2026, Paul will have a permanent doubles partner again, which will make a lot of things easier, as finding a partner is not always easy. “We talk to each other on the tour. But there’s also a lot going on on Instagram – you can reach everyone there,” says Paul with a laugh. Due to his success, he recently had to regularly turn down other players who asked him: “It’s sometimes unpleasant for me. Ultimately, everyone wants to play with the best possible partner.”
Hate comments are the order of the day
Like many tennis professionals, Paul is also affected by hate online: “I get messages like this after games,” he says worriedly. In order to be attractive to sponsors, Paul regularly provides insights into his everyday tennis life on social media. But that also has its downsides, as he explains: “I’ve also received death threats,” says a thoughtful Paul. He always has 20-30 messages on his cell phone after defeats. The reason is sports betting: “Even when I win matches, I receive hate messages. It’s difficult to accept that.”
The Grisons resident tries not to take such news seriously. Nevertheless, they meet him. «I’ve also experienced that they found my girlfriend on Instagram and wrote her messages. Of course they are angry when they lose money. But that’s just going too far,” says Paul.
Budget worries and a trip to Australia as a highlight
In addition to the hate comments, other things also worry him. “The search for sponsors is tough,” Paul admits openly. In order to cover his costs of around CHF 50,000 for one season, Paul forgoes any luxury. Instead of going on a beach holiday after the season, the Graubünden player traveled to France and played league games in November. “Together with the interclub games in Switzerland, this is an important budget item,” said the Graubünden native, who also has to do without a permanent coach for cost reasons.
There are exciting weeks ahead for Paul. The anticipation for the United Cup is great: “I hope to be able to do a few training sessions with Stan and of course also play in the doubles,” says Paul with a smile on his face. Afterwards, the Australian Open is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, where he is the only Swiss to date to be directly in the main draw – in doubles.
After that it will become clear in which direction things will go for him. “If I make further progress in doubles, reach the top 50 and can safely play all the Grand Slams, then I will have to seriously consider going full-time on doubles,” said the Graubünden native. Ultimately, the financial aspect could be decisive: “I also have to earn money, and that certainly raises the question of what is more financially worthwhile.”
