"I promised Babolat I would stop breaking racquets" says Benoit Paire

Benoit Paire has had a very tough 2021 with the Frenchman struggling with motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Frenchman found some inspiration during the North American swing with fans back in attendance scoring some great wins. Before that, Paire looked like a shell of himself playing very uninspiring tennis with many accusing the Frenchman of not trying hard enough. He would also lose his cool quite often smashing his racquet regularly.

That prompted Babolat, the maker of his racquet, to invite them to their facilities to help adjust the racquet. Paire accepted and posted a photo of himself working on the racquet with the caption:

"After the rain comes the good weather! I would like to show my gratitude to Babolat who faithfully supports me and to all the people who work on a daily basis so that I can play in the best conditions. Great experience for me to have spent time in the Babolat premises, and to have contributed to all the stages of preparing my equipment. PS I told them I was going to stop breaking rackets."

Paire most recently played at the Sofia Open where he bested Davidovich Fokina in the first round while losing to James Duckworth in the 2nd round. Paire had his moments in that match but he did not break a racquet as promised despite getting a code violation for ball abuse.