36 year old Benoit Paire is ranked 917 in the world and would appear to be at the finish line of his excellent professiona career which was highlighted by three ATP singles titles, a no. 18 in the world ranking, and over $10m in career earnings.
The flashy Frenchman appeared to quit in September of last year when he lost in the first round of the Orleans Challenger, his sixth first round loss in a row. His ranking at that time was 680 and he only earned about $25,000 in prize money last year.
But no, Paire has decided to resume – or revive – his career this week at the Quimper Challenger where he is battling on court right now and down a set and break to Benjamin Bonzi 46 35. The match has drawn a full house crowd in the stadium which has bleachers on both sides.
In the last game the wildcard entry Paire squandered a 40-15 lead with a couple of double faults and aces. The last point was a weak overhead that Bonzi hit into the open court. Paire and Bonzi embraced at net and Paire then departed the court quickly.
If I were to guess, he’s playing for a Roland Garros wildcard to say goodbye to professional tennis.
ATP Challenger · Benoit Paire · Quimper
Steve · January 27, 2026 at 6:55 pm
I hope Benoit Kenobi does get a wild card to the French. Great serve, great backhand, great drop shot, great beard.
What about Lucas Pouille? Dood was 10 in the world at one time.
Scoop Malinowski · January 27, 2026 at 7:28 pm
Paire looked ok today. Kind of sluggish and no spirit at the end, like his confidence tank is rusted dry. He also looked slower and stiffer. First match since Sept this is to be expected. He’s lost 1R in seven straight Challengers. The writing is on the wall. Will he pull a Bianca and drop down to ITFs?
Steve · January 28, 2026 at 6:34 am
He must really love the game. It’s hard to tell sometimes who really loves it early on.
Scoop Malinowski · January 28, 2026 at 8:15 am
Right, some or many of them don’t love it anymore. I remember seeing Sharapova say that, it just became what they do. She said this in her book. I will try to find that segment. Also Spadea said the hard thing about resisting retiring is when it’s finally over, the public perception of you changes, his words were memorable, “You’re not ‘the man’ anymore.”