‘Tennis is not my priority for the moment,’ Benoit Paire faces heat after his controversial remarks
Follow Us
Benoit Paire
Frenchman Benoit Paire has had the worst possible start to the season. He has had 4 first round exits in 5 tournaments. His lone victory in 2021 was a straight sets win over world No.1165 Nicolas Jarry in Cordoba.
He has admitted the lifestyle of travelling between bubbles for ATP tournaments has affected his desire to compete, saying advancing to later rounds each tournament was not his priority.
The French world no.31 has been defeated in seven of his eight singles matches in 2021, including a first-round exit at the Australian Open and two ATP Cup losses.
Getting out of the bubble is the only goal I have at every tournament: Benoit Paire
Paire recently spoke to French newspaper L’Equipe that his desire to compete had waned amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I lost in the first round, it’s better, I will be able to get out of the bubble fairly quickly and enjoy a few days before Miami,” Paire said.
“Tennis is not my priority at the moment. Getting out of the bubble is the only goal I have at every tournament.”
“Those who love only tennis, who think just about that, training 24 hours a day, are still happy,” he added.
“The bubble life is nothing new for them. But those who love life, the freedom, enjoying, eating, are going through tough times. This tour is not for us.”
The Frenchman’s statements are very controversial and strike the debate over the finances of tennis and credibility of some players in the COVID times.
Also read: ‘I worked a lot to get to the top,’ Daniil Medvedev reflects on his childhood
Stay Updated!
Lakshya Chopra
(2626 Articles Published)