A meeting with a competitor
When I shot this video with Alex Brym, I found a profile that many people are familiar with from tournaments: an intense, spectacular player, capable of turning a game around with his power, but also someone who is very lucid about his own level of play. Alexandre Brym is listed as a French player on his FIP profile, and this competitive identity also comes through clearly in the interview.
What I liked was that he didn’t just talk about his strong shots. He explained how he fell into padel after tennis, almost by love at first sight, when he tested the discipline with friends. It’s easy to see that this transition wasn’t just about changing sports. There’s a real attraction to the social aspect of padel, while retaining an obsession with competition, progress and pushing back the limits.
Alex also talks straightforwardly about his memories of tournaments, his triggers, the people who helped him progress and those matches that make you realize you can go higher. That’s where Alex’s discourse becomes interesting: he doesn’t oversell anything, he doesn’t talk about a dream career, he just explains how a player builds his level, step by step, with a lot of demands.
His game, his on grit, his truths about progress
One point in the interview particularly struck me: the way he talks about intensity. Alex makes it very clear that, when his game goes wrong, the problem isn’t always technical. Often, it’s the legs, the cardio, the lack of presence on certain shots. And honestly, it’s something you find at almost every level of practice.
I also liked his take on the on grit. He doesn’t try to make grand statements, but gives concrete pointers: breathe, reset, start again on the next point. These are details, but it’s often these details that win an important game, a break point or a super tiebreak. In a sport like padel, where you also depend on your pair, this ability to stay clear in the head becomes essential.
He also insists on another fundamental subject: off-court work. Strengthening, injury prevention, regularity, discipline. Here again, his words ring true. When you see the tempo set by the world’s best players, you quickly realize that the top level is not just about a successful vibora or a well-hit bandeja. You have to hold on, repeat, take it in and start again.
Ambitions, but without forgetting real life
Finally, what I retain from this exchange is the sincerity with which Alex Brym talks about the balance to be found between sport, work, children and injuries. He’s keen to go further, to pick up FIP points, to keep progressing and even, in the longer term, to get closer to an ambitious project in the 40+ category. But he also makes it clear that all this depends on a stable living frame.
Perhaps that’s what makes this interview so interesting: behind the explosive player, there’s someone who knows exactly what it costs to progress. And that’s why his testimony speaks volumes.
