What Tommy Paul packs to stay top of his game | Hilton | My 9 Things

Meet Tommy: The pressure of tennis Pressure is a privilege, and I like to kind of live by that. I think when you're in those situations on the court, telling yourself, “This is what you trained for, this is exactly where you want to be, you wouldn't want to be anywhere else.” Positive self-talk is so important in those situations, but I really think that pressure is what we play for. The Ray Hotel Delray Beach, Curio Collection by Hilton Hey guys, I'm Tommy Paul. These are the nine things that I pack for my stay at the Ray Hotel Delray Beach, Curio Collection by Hilton. Come on in. Passion for sports I'm a professional tennis player. I always knew I was going to be in sports. I love sports. Tennis was kind of the one that I was best at, and I also played a lot with my sister and we were super competitive, so that kind of drove me to keep getting better. For me and tennis players in general, we travel so much throughout the year, staying at so many different cities and so many different places, and to come back to a place that you know is going to be exactly the way that you want it, that's super important for me. Off-season adventures When I'm off from tennis, I'm off. I'm usually outside doing stuff with my friends and my team, like we like to find the good restaurants in different cities and try new things. I'm a pretty beachy person and The Ray is especially great for that. Being within a mile of the beach, it's nice for me to come to a hotel that feels green and feels fresh. Being able to go to the pool or go get a nice meal downstairs, The Ray really does that. Tennis racket All right. Moving on to my first item, without a doubt, the most important item that I travel with. This is my tennis racket. This is what pays the bills so this is coming with me. Tennis over the past 30 to 40 years has evolved a ton. Whether it's the rackets, the strings ... also the game styles have changed so much. I have become a little bit of a student of the game. I love going back and watching the matches from the '70s and '80s, just to see how these players played and how they would hide their holes in their game and, I mean, they would play with a little wooden racket, so to go out there with this, it feels like it should be easy ... but it's not always easy. But I've really enjoyed it, it's made tennis a lot more fun for me. So item number two. Sunscreen This is sunscreen. We are always playing in the sun and I don't go anywhere without this. I like playing in the hottest conditions because I take pride in my fitness, and I like to think that I will outlast whoever I'm playing against in the hottest conditions. Pillow My third item is my pillow from home. To have your pillow from home makes everything so much more comfortable. It really makes being away from home so much easier for me because even though the beds are super comfy here and I always have a great night's sleep, this really makes me feel like you know, I'm connected to home. The best tip for battling jet lag is you do not nap during the day. Yeah, I mean lots of coffee ... lots of coffee gets me through those days. Protein powder Item number four. This is my protein powder. I take my fitness and my recovery very seriously. So this I definitely do not travel without. Right when I finish my workout, I go right to the powder, shake it up and down the hatch. I'm not like a health freak by any means, but for the most part, I don't really like too many unhealthy foods, so I keep a pretty clean diet. We like to go out and try new restaurants, and normally when we're out to eat, we eat a lot of steak or pasta. We're thinking mostly about what will be good for me the next day, whether I need to get protein for recovery or whether I need to carbo-load for a long 3- to 5-set match. And just being able to go to bars or go get a nice meal downstairs right around the hotel, it's very much up my alley. We go out for sushi quite a bit, but when I'm home and I'm catching my own fish, definitely eating those. Headphones My fifth item is my headphones. We travel a ton. These are very nice for airplanes, for pre-match. I'll sometimes lay in my bed and put my headphones on just because it sounds a little bit better. I listen to country music mostly, but, I mean, I mix it up with a little bit of everything, some classic rock, some rap when I'm really feeling it. Watch So item number six is my watch. This watch has gone everywhere with me (and at) every match I've played. I've stayed at Hilton hotels so many times I can't even keep count. Every hotel room I've been to, this watch is always with me. I'm always early. Always early, I don't know, They drilled that into my head when I was younger: If you're five minutes early, you're on time, so that's kind of how I live. I live by that. Hats All right, my next item are my hats. I'm a big hat guy for anybody that knows me. I usually travel with 4 or 5 hats. You know, you got to be able to have all the colors for every outfit, of course. And then sometimes we get a little superstitious, and if you play really well when you're wearing one hat for the day, you kind of keep it going. When I'm not wearing tennis clothes, I'm pretty much always in a T-shirt and flip-flops. Sometimes I'll mix in a pair of jeans here and there, especially if we're going out for dinner. Workout shoes Item number eight. These are my workout shoes. We kind of go straight from the court to the gym, and I take my fitness very seriously. So I have (put) a lot of hard miles into these shoes right here. We travel a ton and we work out a ton, so having a nice gym is pretty important to me. I mean, I like to think that the stuff that you do off the court, pushing yourself mentally and getting through those tough situations, I think that is super important in moving forward, but, I think there's always space to keep working on your mental game. Sunglasses My ninth item here are my sunglasses. These are actually my fishing sunglasses. They're polarized so you can see through the water a little bit better with them. All my hobbies are pretty much outdoors. Tommy Paul’s peaceful place The off-season is without a doubt the most fun. I love being outside and I grew up fishing in North Carolina a ton. I love being out on the boat. It's kind of like my peaceful place. I like to use my hobbies to really clear my mind and relax and get on the water and completely disconnect from the stress of the tour and the stress that the tour puts on your body, and going out there ... it just relaxes the mind for me. And that's why I love staying at The Ray so much because of all the partnerships and all the amazing things that you could do within a mile of the hotel, it's super nice to come back to. Off to the beach All right guys, thanks for helping me unpack my nine things. I'm going to hit the beach, I'll see you all later.