At 33, Benoît Paire does not shine as much as he would like on the tennis courts. Beaten in the first round at Wimbledon against Quentin Halys, the tennis player spoke with a journalist from La Dépêche du Midi about this defeat. A much darker interview than expected since, as Benoît Paire points out, he is at his worst: “It’s more of a mental state that I’ve had for a while. A dislike of tennis. I see people for thathe said. I felt the need. I discuss with specialists in this field, I make a rejection of this sport.“
The ex-companion of Shy’m evokes “anxiety balls” when arriving in the tournaments: “I’m trying to progress, to get rid of this thing, because I liked tennis before, I liked those moments of tension, being on a court, but now I’m really not very good about myself and I try to get better.” What about the origin of this malaise? Benoît Paire claims to be working on it with “shrink and hypnotist“: “I’m not necessarily happy in my life right now. […] It’s a set of things that cause me to have bad feelings in my head when I enter a court. […] Every week, it hits me hard every time. Roland-Garros, it was too much.”
His main motivation for now remains money: “For an exhibition at 60,000 euros, frankly, I come, whatever happens, even if I’m advised not to go.“Benoît Paire therefore takes it upon himself each time to pocket a salary and stay the course, despite all the mental effort that it requires of him:”It disgusts me when I go on the court. Lately, whenever I set foot on it, I felt like running away so there was no point in going there. That’s why since Roland-Garros, I really haven’t played much.“
As the champion that he is, Benoît Paire does not give up: “I try to work mainly for the future, to try to find just a little bit of pleasure on a short” he continues. “Tennis is the sport I love the most in the world, but it’s the one I hate the most right now” he concluded. Let’s hope for him that the pleasure returns and that in the very near future, Benoît Paire finally brings his cup home.