Scandal! Scandal pro with next scandal

The French scandal pro Benoit Paire has once again caused a stir. At the ATP Challenger in Rennes, the 35-year-old lost clearly after only 37 minutes of play. After the match, he could not resist a gesture towards the audience.

That goes quickly! After just over half an hour, the 1:6, 0:6 defeat against the Briton Jacob Fearnley was official and Paire was visibly fed up. After a double fault on match point, the Frenchwoman was booed by the spectators. He reacted by sarcastically blowing hand kisses towards the stands as he went to the net to high-five his opponent.

Tournament director Nicolas Mahut, once a tennis professional himself, said: “I saw four matches and quickly understood that there was no point in staying too long. I think it would have been better for him and the public if he had withdrawn.”

Shortly after the match, Paire posted on social media. On X, he posted three laughing smileys.

It is the next polarizing appearance of the former world number 20, who is known among many tennis fans for his behavior.

Paire has already won three individual titles in his career, but he has attracted far more negative attention than any other Russian.

Two years ago, at the Estoril Open, the 35-year-old pulled down his pants as he left the court after a loss and showed the crowd his butt – which was still wearing boxer shorts. He also reacted in this way to boos from the stands.

A year earlier, Paire deliberately made two double faults after an argument with the umpire. His second serve was played when a ball boy was still visible on the court.

Last year, the scandal-ridden professional was sharply criticized by the media and tennis fans after a lackluster performance in Malaga. After losing the first set against Pedro Martinez 0-6, hitting even simple balls out of bounds in an amateurish manner, Paire gave up in the second set at 2-4. The Frenchman subsequently indicated that he was suffering from psychological problems.

At the 2022 US Open, Paire packed his bag during his first-round match against Briton Cameron Norrie: with the score at 0:6, 6:7 and 0:5. In the same year, he raged against the chair umpire at the Challenger in Matsuyama, Japan, and used the wrong tone, calling him “F*** your mother.”

In 2020, Paire humiliated a ball boy with a drinking bottle in a match against today’s world number one Jannik Sinner in Rome. After a break, Paire deliberately left a drinking bottle on the court and wanted to humiliate a ball boy and force him to pick it up, reported the tennis portal Breaking pointWhen the referee reprimanded him, he angrily smashed the bottle away with his racket.

While Paire’s tournament in Rennes ended with 1,200 euros in prize money, Fearnley, who comes from Scotland and is seeded eighth, will face Frenchman Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg in the next round.