For months (years?), we’ve been watching surreal matches of #Paire, where for an hour and a half (when it’s good) we witness the celebration of non-tennis. First of all, the signals this player sends: he’s a bad example for the kids who watch him, and an inconsiderate figure for those many players lower in the rankings who struggle to make a living from this sport. I arrive, I play, I lose, I take the prize money, and go to the next tournament. Protected rankings allowed this to happen and, let’s be honest, this attitude is awful. It’s not good for tennis.

However, we want to try to deconstruct a thought that many people have about Paire: “He’s talented, he’s a potentially phenomenal player, if only he had the head!”

First: the fact is that, in an individual sport, the mind is essential, much more than in team sports. Being good at the forehand and backhand is not enough to be a great player. The mind, the mentality, is what makes the difference.

Second: in tennis, either you win easily, or you lose easily, or you fight. When you win or lose by a large margin, usually the technical and tactical gap is so big that the match goes by easily. But when you’re in a battle, two things can happen:

  • Both players play to win; one loses, and this hurts tremendously.

  • One player gives up, loses, and this doesn’t hurt at all.

Giving up is a great “solution”, of course! It’s much less painful for the one who loses compared to fighting on every 15 until the end, but above all, giving up always leaves an excuse for the one who loses: “If only he had the head…” Those who lose by giving up end up believing that the defeat happened because they chose to lose and make others believe it too. There will always be that small excuse that makes people say, “Well, he didn’t really try, but if he had, who knows how it would have ended!”

Losing by trying or losing by refusing to fight are the two extremes of how tennis can be understood, and this is what makes all the difference in the world. Lately, too often in world tennis, we see players who are technically phenomenal (and this is identified as talent), but who, for years, have not played a match where they fought from start to finish: either they win easily or lose easily. Well, this is not talent.

Oh, let’s be clear, Paire is world number 33, and we are sitting on the couch writing about him, so dear Benoit, you’ve already won. But we’ve really gotten tired of hearing people labeled as “lost talents” when they don’t know how to fight.

“If only he had the head…” and instead, dear tennis fans, the reality is that this guy always gives up; this is the excuse that keeps his talent alive. Deep down, many of us believe that if Paire played with Nadal’s determination, he would be a champion. But the truth is, if this never happens (except in rare occasions), it’s because he doesn’t know how to do it.

Fighting, for us, is a talent, much more than knowing how to hit a powerful forehand or backhand. The fight must be accepted, that fear of trying and realizing that, even after giving 100%, you still go home empty-handed must be faced, or else we live off excuses.

“If only he had the talent…”