Benoît Paire Opens Up about Love-Hate Relationship with Training and Work Ethic

Benoît Paire, one of the most eccentric players on the circuit, has revealed his love-hate relationship with work in training during his career. Paire, who now lights up the UTS Tour with his brilliance and on-court stunts, has long been known to have incredible talent that isn’t being tapped to its full potential.

However, during a recent conversation with Patrick Mouratoglou, founder and president of UTS, and his compatriot Gaël Monfils, as part of the second episode of the UTS podcast “All on the Table”, the 34-year-old explained that he had never had the opportunity to work harder.

Pair puts hard work above skill

During his sixteen-year career, Benoît Paire has racked up more than $10 million in earnings, winning three titles at Bastad (2015), Lyon (2019) and Marrakech (2019), for a career-best world ranking (18th ).

However, as the Frenchman shared with Mouratoglou and Monfils, outsiders often comment that he could have achieved so much more, if only he worked harder on the tennis court.

“People say to me: ‘With your talent, you could have…’ Man, if I had worked harder, to get a little more, I would have stopped”, explained the French player. The effort that all the players make… It’s beyond my skills”.

Before continuing: “Take me for an hour of hard work, my quick feeling will be: ‘I’m going to stop, and I’m going to stop now.’ I don’t think I can repeat that every day.”

Despite his controversial approach to the game, the 34-year-old continues to be one of the biggest attractions on the UTS Tour. He recently wowed crowds in Los Angeles by smashing several racquets, climbing onto the umpire’s chair and ripping his outfit.

David Ferrer, a model for Pair

Despite his own work ethic, Benoît Paire explained to Monfils and Mouratoglou that some of the players he admires the most on the tour are the ones who work the hardest.

“I’m a fan when I watch hard-working players. When I see the other players at the gym, working out to gain muscle. These guys have my absolute respect,” Paire said.

One such role model for Paire is David Ferrer, often considered the best male player not to win a Grand Slam in the modern era. Ferrer has played in the shadow of the big three for most of his career, winning 27 titles and reaching a career-high third place thanks to his incredible fitness and stamina on the tennis court.

“One of the players I liked the most was David Ferrer. He was my absolute opposite. When I saw him work, I thought it was wonderful. That’s the whole point,” Paire continued, referring to the Spaniard’s widely recognized work ethic. “I can not do that. I can’t.”

We’ll never know what Paire could have accomplished had he managed to combine hard work with his exquisite skills on the court, but tennis fans can still appreciate his explosive style of play while it lasts. The Habs will be in Frankfurt for the next edition of the UTS (September 15-17).