Talking to Paige Lorenze and Tommy Paul about their new sport-focused foundation
The Kids Outdoors Foundation will host tennis clinics and after-school programs to help children with less resources get outdoors and involved in a pricey sport.
After teasing the news on Instagram earlier this month, Paige Lorenze and Tommy Paul announced today the launch of their new charitable endeavor, The Kids Outdoors Foundation.
“We’ve always wanted to do something together and now we’re in a position where we can dedicate time to giving back to what gives to us,” said Lorenze over the phone from Miami, where she was in town for a photoshoot before heading to join Paul for the first Grand Slam of the year in Australia.
“Tennis is an amazing sport, but it can be expensive and hard to get into if you don’t already have a foot in the door. A lot of kids with real talent don’t have a shot at it between court time, rackets, and travel,” Paul wrote via email from Australia where he’s been playing in the Adelaide International. “The foundation is about breaking down those barriers so more kids can just get on the court and see where it takes them.”
Many tennis players set up charities in their name, with varying degrees of direct involvement, including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, and Elina Svitolina, to name a few. While it’s common for players’ partners to take part in these foundations—Djokovic’s wife Jelena is a co-founder and CEO of The Novak Djokovic Foundation, while Nadal’s wife Mery Perilló is the Director General of The Rafa Nadal Foundation—it’s rare to see one with dual star power.
In fact, for those outside the tennis world, it’s likely Lorenze who they’re more familiar with. While she is technically considered a WAG, the influencer had a large following long before they started dating a few years ago and has carved out a path that—while overlapping at times with tennis—is also distinctly separate from his. She founded the clothing and houseware brand Dairy Boy and has become something of a modern Martha Stewart, vlogging and posting about the daily meals she cooks fresh from the garden, refurbishing her home in Connecticut, and saving a local farm stand that was on the verge of closing.
On paper, Paul—who grew up in Greenville, North Carolina and spends his downtime fishing in Bass Pro Shops hats and camo hoodies—might seem at odds with such New England-core. But according to Lorenze, who grew up ski racing and horseback riding, sport is one of the things that brought them together. “We have such different careers, but what inspires us and what’s made us who we are is similar, and that’s sports and spending time outside,” she said.
It’s those two themes that the foundation—a sponsored program of the Social Impact Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization—is centered on. The overarching goal is to make it easier for children to get outside and play sports, said Lorenze, especially those without the means to take part in expensive activities like tennis and horseback riding.
The first phase of the foundation will be heavily inspired by Paul’s roots in North Carolina and Florida. They’re even enlisting Paul’s mom, Jill MacMillan—who had a front row seat (the driver’s seat, really) to Paul’s emergence in tennis—to help out because, as Paul explained, she has a direct understanding of what local kids and families need.
“I was lucky to have people and programs that believed in me early on, and I know how much that support matters,” he said. “I want kids in the same places I grew up to feel like they have a real shot too.”
Below, I spoke to Lorenze about how their different upbringings inspired the foundation, the types of programs it will offer, how it’s being funded, and more.
Can you tell me a bit about what inspired you both to launch this foundation together?
Since being with Tommy, I’ve gained so much from tennis. It’s not only inspired me as a true fan of the sport, but I’ve also professionally and personally gained a lot from it. Visibility aside, I do a lot of brand partnerships around tennis tournaments—the US Open is one of the busiest two weeks of the year for me as a creator—but I’m also creating collections for Dairy Boy that are inspired by tennis. I think that it’s really important for me to give back to what is giving to me and the most meaningful way to do that, in my opinion, is through what you’re passionate about. The last few years have been a whirlwind, I was very focused on my business and really had no time for anything else. But now I have a little bit of breathing room where I feel like we can really do a foundation properly and help fund projects that will help children get outdoors and build confidence through community and sport.
We’re also getting married this year, so it felt like the right time to do this. Tommy and I are both very mission driven, boots on the ground kind of people, and we like giving back in ways that feel like they’re impacting our community. We want to offer the things that made us who we are to children who don’t have access to them because, nowadays, it’s become a privilege to be outdoors—not everyone has that opportunity.
You’ve mentioned sharing that athletic drive and loving the outdoors from a young age. How else did your upbringings inform this foundation?
Tommy and I had very different upbringings. I grew up in the mountains [of Vermont] and he grew up in North Carolina and Florida. But it’s crazy because, [despite] growing up so differently and playing different sports, we still have the same understanding of what drives us. We’re very similar in so many ways, and I think playing sports so young has given me a competitive edge in my business and [helped me build] confidence as a person. It’s the same for Tommy.
He grew up in North Carolina, where tennis isn’t a huge sport, and he didn’t have many resources. So in order for him to play tennis at the level that he wanted to, he had to leave North Carolina and play with the USTA in Florida. Because of that, he’s really excited to put on clinics [through the foundation] in North Carolina and do some after school programs in Florida.
Cool, so it’s tied very organically to his roots. You touched on clinics and the after school program, but can you go into more detail about what the foundation will offer or fund?
Definitely. I think the most genuine, meaningful way that we can give back immediately is through Tommy putting on clinics. North Carolina is a big focus because it’s very near and dear to Tommy’s heart, but we’d also like to do something during the US Open for lower-income kids. Those will be a few times a year—one per Slam would be amazing. And then we’re developing an after school program in Florida which we’re really excited about. Tommy will be able to take part in it whenever he’s home.
I think us showing up and hosting these events is really important, but we want to offer money too. A lot of these individual sports have a high barrier to entry so offering actual money is super important to us. Ultimately that’s what a lot of these kids need, it’s what Tommy needed when he was younger.
It will evolve and develop as we go. Tommy’s always wanted to do a wooden racket tournament in Florida, so we have ambitions of doing something like that with a bunch of pro players to raise money. And because Tommy and I have all these other interests, whether it’s horseback riding, fishing, or skiing, there are so many other areas that we can tap into. But tennis was the most obvious way to give back first.
I love the wooden racket tournament idea, please do that. So how exactly is the foundation being funded?
I’m going to be personally donating a portion of the money that I make around sports to this foundation. That was really important to me, because I realized that, transparently, I’m making a lot of money from tennis and from sports, and I wanted to find a way to thoughtfully give back. Tommy and I will match each other’s donations.
Will you accept donations at all from other tennis players or companies who want to contribute?
We’re still figuring that part out. We’re in a position where we can front the initial funding to get things off the ground and to put our money where our mouth is. Eventually we will probably allow outside donations, because there are so many people and brands that would want to get involved. A lot of Tommy sponsors, like New Balance, are already offering product—they’re donating sneakers which is amazing.
Going back to what you said about wanting to also offer money on top of hosting events, does that mean you envision funding individual players?
Absolutely, that is something we’ve talked about a lot and it would be incredible. We’ve also discussed bringing kids and their families out to the US Open because that experience can be really inspiring for young people. So it’s definitely something that we are talking about and looking into, we just want to be really meaningful about it and make sure that we’re also being fair. Because, you know, obviously we can’t do that for everyone, but I think that that would be incredible.
Even Tommy offering mentorship, I don’t want to speak on his behalf, but he loves kids and he already gives back a lot in tennis in ways that I think people don’t always see. He’s the guy who’s staying after to hit with kids, and it’s just such a part of who he is. I think people know that he’s quite humble and is a good guy, but I hope that this foundation can highlight that side of him too. It’s so important to him to give back to the sport because it’s given him so much. Like so many people in tennis, Tommy has an interesting story, but he’s not very self promoting so I think this is a good way for him to speak about what he cares about.
Yeah, this seems like a nice vehicle for him to bring his story forward without it being about him, if that makes sense.
Totally. I think right now the climate around charities [started by public figures] can be tough. Anyone giving back is great, but I think it’s made it challenging to figure out like, does this seem performative? Or is this celebrity or professional athlete doing this out of genuine love and support? So that’s why we’ve taken our time with this and why I feel so good about it, because it comes from a really genuine place.
So you both obviously lead very busy lives. Are you hiring a separate team to help run this, or will it be an extension of, say, your Dairy Boy team or his management team?
My agency, WME, has been a huge support in helping us get the foundation off the ground. They have an entire division that helps talent with charitable work. Again, this isn’t something that we wanted to just slap together—we wanted it to be super legit and set up properly so that it can make a real impact. And Tommy’s mom is actually going to be helping us with it too. But I also have so many resources through my company, we now have around 20 employees, so I’m definitely relying on them as well. For example, we’re going to be making hats and shirts for the events, and I have a whole production and design team that can help me with that. Everyone’s very excited to help because what we’re doing is meaningful and fun, and seeing how it will impact kids is just going to be the best.
I know you recently helped save a farmstand that was going to close near you in Connecticut and you have a love of cooking and gardening. Is that an element you want to bring into the foundation eventually as well?
Definitely, I kind of do that already through the farmstand, which is essentially a different charity initiative. I’m also involved with a barn that does trail rides and offers equine therapy. So I think finding a way to tie all of those things together would be amazing, because this isn’t only about tennis. Of course, tennis is the way that Tommy and I can give back immediately, but it’s more about getting outdoors and playing sports.
So when can we expect the first Kids Outdoors Foundation event?
It will probably be during that little stretch around the Delray Beach Open. We really want the first event to be in South Florida, because that’s where Tommy grew up playing, and that’s the next time we’ll be home together.