2025 Hall of Fame Profile: Paul Jubb

Between winning a national championship, going on to play professional tennis, and now being inducted into the University of South Carolina Association of Lettermen’s Athletics Hall of Fame, former Gamecock standout Paul Jubb is proud of his accomplishments, but the things he misses the most about his college days are the times off the court.

“Coming out of college, you realize how good you had it with your teammates who you have a really good bond with and share so many laughs with,” said Jubb, who played at South Carolina from 2016 through 2020. “It’s all the little things where you can just walk into another guy’s room and just hang out with a group and have a good time.”

Among his accomplishments, Jubb won the 2019 NCAA Singles National Championship, which was the first in program history, after beating the No. 1player in the country in the final match.

“I remember going into it, I wasn’t feeling great,” Jubb said. “I was nervous. I remember in my first and second rounds having a few tough moments. I did the basics well to get through those matches, but I wasn’t really playing the way I know I can. I remember the dialogue between (Coach) Josh (Goffi) and me to be focused in the present and take it one match at a time. The next thing I know, I’m in the final and winning match point.”

Jubb earned First Team All-SEC honors in 2019 and Second Team All-SEC honors in 2018. He was also the 2020 recipient of the National Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership & Scholarship Award. In 2018, Jubb was an ITA Scholar All-American and was also a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. His 11 SEC wins in 2019, playing in No. 1 spot, were the most in program history. He went 38-4 overall that year, which was the fifth most wins in a single season in program history. Jubb’s 23 wins against ranked foes that year was also a program record. He was 30-6 overall in SEC matches during his career.

“I made a tremendous amount of progress when I was at South Carolina,” said Jubb, who came to Columbia from Hull, England. “I was very young when I arrived. I was underdeveloped mentally and physically in many ways. I matured a lot while I was there. My sophomore year, I made my biggest leaps progression-wise. Josh and I worked very closely on a few elements that helped me find a new dimension to elevate my game. Going into my junior year, I had that year that I did. That was a credit to those first two years where Josh took that time with me and work on my game.”

Coming to South Carolina from England wasn’t too tough of an adjustment.

“For me it wasn’t that hard,” Jubb said. “I had things I wanted to achieve while I was there, so I was pretty focused. Once I arrived, I put my head down and went to work. I wasn’t someone who struggled with homesickness. To make it even better, I had such a great group of guys welcome me once I arrived on campus, so I was comfortable from the start.”

Now living in London, Jubb has been playing professionally since graduating from South Carolina in 2020 with his degree in retail management. Travelling the world is certainly exciting but also exhausting.

“I really like Australia,” Jubb said. “That’s up there as one of my favorites. I really enjoyed playing in the U.S. Open, too. It’s definitely not all sunshine and rainbows. The tennis life can be very lonely at times. You go to all these places, but it’s not like you’re going sightseeing.

“It has always been my dream to be a professional tennis player. The fact that I am living out this dream and I’ve had the opportunity is something I cherish and I’m grateful for. It’s a huge mental sport, and it pushes me in a lot of tough mental scenarios. In all aspects of life, this is helping become a better person.”

When he received the call from Coach Goffi that he was going into the Hall of Fame, Jubb was thrilled.

“I was super-happy and ecstatic!” Jubb said. “To be awarded something like this is such a privilege. It’s something that makes me very proud.”

Jubb is one of six inductees in this year’s Hall of Fame class which will be inducted on Thursday, October 23 and the 25-year-old looks forward to being back on campus for Hall of Fame Weekend.

“That weekend for us is alumni weekend, so I’m hoping to see some of my past teammates that I haven’t seen in a while and spending time with them. I think that’s what I’ll cherish the most. We’ll have a lot of laughs, for sure.”