ATP players sound off in support of Tommy Paul

On Tuesday, the US Open announced the 2019 wild card selections. To many's surprise, Tommy Paul was not on the list. Paul currently sits at a career-high No. 112 in the world, making him the highest-ranked American not to gain direct entry into the main draw.

When wild card recipient Denis Kudla was moved into the main draw after Juan Martin del Potro withdrew, a wild card was given to world No. 191 Christopher Eubanks. Other main-draw wild cards went to Jack Sock, Ernesto Escobedo, Marcos Giron, Zachary Svajda, Bjorn Fratangelo, Frenchman Antoine Hoang and Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

It is important to note that the tournaments own these wild cards, and can do with them whatever they desire.  Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman said on Twitter, “A wild card is a gift, if you receive one, you say thank you… no one is entitled to gifts.”

That may be true, but it didn't stop several notable ATP players including Andy Murray, Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka in sounding off their overwhelming support of Paul, or “TP” as his friends and family call him.

Opelka piggybacked off the Fritz tweet on his own Instagram, stating, “This ain’t right… the highest ranked guy of them all doesn’t get in.”

It’s easy to see why Paul's peers are upset. This April, Paul went 12-1 on the ATP Challenger circuit to win the USTA Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge. In Paris, he pushed Dominic Thiem to the brink, winning a set over arguably the world’s second best clay court player. He followed up his strong clay season with a second-round appearance at the Citi Open, where he tested world No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas, serving for the second set before ultimately succumbing, 6-3, 7-5. Paul also pushed world No. 10 Fabio Fognini in Montreal, serving for the first set before eventually losing, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Brad Gilbert thought Paul’s absence from the main-draw wild card list was an oversight.

Even Murray publicized his support of Paul. He commented on the US Open's wild card post on Instagram asking the question, “Can someone explain to me why Tommy Paul wasn’t given one?"

It seems Murray genuinely wants answers, and not just because his mother Judy is a big Paul fan.

It will be interesting to see if the outcry has grown loud enough to elicit a response from the Grand Slam. If Murray wants answers, he usually gets them; he is a knight after all. In any case, Paul will compete in the US Open qualifying draw, which begins next week.

In such an individual sport, it is rare to see players vocalizing their support of fellow players in such a passionate manner. While the player support is unlikely to change anyone's mind, it does raise questions about the degree of subjectivity inherent in tennis, which is undoubtedly higher than most other sports.

Voicing opinions on social media typically does not solve any problems, oftentimes only creating more. One thing we can be sure of is wild cards may be a gift, but so are friends who stick up for you, and Paul clearly does not lack in that department.

Follow Cale Hammond on Twitter: @Cale_Hammond