Interviews with Pierre Paganini

"Federer forces me to always be creative"


Federer physical trainer for seventeen years, Pierre Paganini recounts how and why the champion has returned to the top. Exclusive interview.



Pierre Paganini is a successful fitness coach. Marc Rosset, Ana Ivanovic, Stan Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Swiss Davis Cup team, Swiss Tennis aspiring champions: all have benefited from his work to maximize their potential. Image: Twitter (@rogerfederer)


Par Daniel Visentini - 15 avril 2017
24heures.ch


The man is tight-lipped, his word is rare. To the media brouhaha that surrounds the icon, Pierre Paganini prefers the sweaty silence of the private sessions. This is not the price to pay for being Roger Federer's fitness trainer for seventeen years, it's just his nature. As the best player of all time takes a pause after a phenomenal return to the top this year, he recounts. How and why is this all possible for the 35-year-old Swiss champion? He speaks as much about the past, the dark year of 2016, as about the present and the future. As well as about Stan Wawrinka, the other "monster" that he trains.


Frankly, Pierre Paganini, did you think Roger Federer was able to win the Australian Open on his return to competition after a six-month break?

No. I thought he could play well and I was convinced, like the rest of the team around him, that it was good to resume the competition at the start of the season. It basically meant he was like other players. Except that the others had stopped for a month and he, six months. But he is so strong at coming up with solutions that when he has to find his bearings, he does it faster than everyone else.

Warming up before playing #tennis
pic.twitter.com/9pGV0CA4P3

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) March 11, 2016

Tell us about this radical decision that was taken by Federer last year, this six-month break ...

We are a team, we are lucky to be with him for a long time. Even Ivan Ljubicic knew him before. So we exchanged opinions with Rodge so he could make his decision. In fact we are all interested in the same thing. Each one brings, to the discussion, what he thinks is good for Rodge.


What was your opinion?

It's not important. In fact, everyone gives his opinion according to his field of action. The physiotherapist will think according to his specialty, the tennis coach will speak according to the game, the return to the game. And I will express myself more according to the time required for the athlete to become again the athlete he must be to return to the courts. It's for this reason that it must be discussed in group before taking such a decision.


When Federer decided in favor of a big break, did that surprise you?

No. When you do something, you have to do it thoroughly. Including in this case. When he finally decided about this six-month break, we were actually all happy to have time in front of us. Because we needed it. Because we needed to put all the chances on our side for Roger. If a champion like Roger Federer decides of such a break, then we had to take this time he was giving us to offer him the best conditions, all fields confounded. So that he returned to the top after. All this was logical.


At that time, how did you organize yourself, with the staff around him, to set up the program of his return to the courts?

We proposed a longer periodization, first close to a rehabilitation. With his physiotherapist, exercises. After, he gradually moved to me, for the athletic side. And in such a context, we had to count on more sessions than usual. Because we had the time. But especially so that Rodge regains the form that he had before his problems. While making sure that he does not get hurt. Because he was there precisely because of an injury. So there were two trains starting: one that had to prevent the injury and one that wanted to bring him back to the top level.


Were you afraid that he would get injured during the preparation, precisely?

If there isn't a bit of fear, if there isn't this kind of tension, this adrenaline, it's not good. There is always some kind of risk, and actually it's the player himself that assumes it. But we are here because we have convictions. That's why I particularly appreciated the fact that the team got even closer during those months. We saw each other a lot, more than usual, with Rodge, in two's, in three's or more. With hindsight, it's easy to say that it was the right approach since he made the return that we all know. But it was important. And exciting.


But how was he able to subject himself to so much exercising to get back to the top, he had already won everything?

Passion. It is a simple word, which many use. Except that him he does what goes with it. Passion is a philosophy of life, every day, that allows him to live tennis while breathing life. He found a harmony between the two. It is the same person that lives, it is the same person that plays, it is the same person that trains. So he never needs to adapt. For him, it's natural.

Trying to be man. at it! pic.twitter.com/0CvCzDZobY

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 23, 2016

Has there not ever been a day in those seventeen years, or in recent months, when he came to training dragging his feet?

Not one! There were days when he told me at the beginning of the session that he was a little tired. But in fact, when he said that, in the end he worked even more than usual, he forgot the fatigue of the beginning. At this level, it is exceptional. Stan Wawrinka is the same in this regard. These are two champions unique in their professional involvement. I'm lucky.


One often has the temptation to believe that everything is easy on a court for Roger Federer. He dances, he is aerial. But we never see the hard-working Federer that trains with you...

He is hard-working since the beginning, even if you can't see it. But then you talked about the fact that he dances on a court. So imagine when you go to see a ballet: you do not see the physical effort. But there is an incredible training behind. So if Rodge manages, with his  potential, to make us forget the effort, it proves how much he sweated before. Because we know very well that talent without effort is not enough. And Rodge understood that before he was 20 years old.


Where does your work method come from?

First, I had the chance to meet Jean-Pierre Egger in Macolin at the time. It is someone who has always used a field language to talk about theory. He has always sought to find a close connection between physical exercise and the sport for which you needed to perform this exercise. Initially, I wanted to be a physical trainer for soccer. And then somewhat by chance, I fell into tennis and I immediately adored it. Because I could think of a preparation related to the athlete, with his abilities, in relation to his sport and therefore personalized. And here is the beginning of a method, that I have been developing continually for thirty-four years.


So, it's global and individualized at the same time?

I can train someone to have endurance, or resistance, or jump high. But that does not mean that he will use these qualities in the right way for tennis  if I don't make the connection between the person in front of me and the specific sport, tennis in this case.


Does that mean that you do not necessarily apply the same patterns of work to Federer than to Wawrinka?

The training philosophy does not really change, because the common denominators for tennis are endurance and responsiveness. In tennis, you have to be reactive on the "stop and go" for a long time. It does not change, it's the goal for any player. But the way to get there differ. The personality of the player, his strong points, and his lesser ones, it differs. The playing paths too are not the same. The way to train is not the same, you have to adapt to the characteristics of the player each time.


Does Federer have exceptional abilities compared to other players, in the exercises you impose on him?

Yes, it is someone who has enormous potential. He has an athlete coordination that is phenomenal. That doesn't mean that he needs to work less. On the contrary, as it is a strong point, he must work on it even more to make a difference. In all areas.


Does Roger Federer still surprise you when you propose a complicated reactivity exercise to him that he completes quickly?

Yes, there is still some kind of surprise. But I'm used to, since all that time. So when he surprises me, I'm almost no longer... surprised. Because I know he understands and realizes things so fast. He handles the complexity of certain physical exercises so well that, in fact, it forces me to be constantly creative. You always have to increase the demand for him to be stimulated.


You fonction through work modules, which can last a few days or a few weeks. Can you tell us about that?

There are phases of base preparation, periods of intensity, others of maintenance and it is spread over the year. It depends on the time available. But what is crucial is to do things at the right time and for the right reasons.


Roger Federer said he would not play until Roland-Garros: have you planned training modules with him?

Yes, phases are planned. There is a block that can be called a reprise. Another will focus on the intensification of athletic work. Afterwards, there will be a mix between physical work and practice on the court, gradually, more and more. If it is confirmed that he will not play again before Roland-Garros, the work will begin soon and will be spread until Paris.


How do you explain that at 35, Federer seems to be as strong, or even stronger than he was ten years ago?

Stronger, less strong, I always have a little trouble with that. For me, Roger Federer is Roger Federer, point. He was just as strong when certain people wanted to bury him because he was playing Grand Slam finals but not winning them. What we can just see in his career, past and present, is that Rodge always manages to find solutions, to handle situations, to dominates problems. He has been able to manage his longevity, he has been able to progress in his creativity. His athletic form is still there and his state of mind is that of a player who is beginning his career. He embodies his own success.


Does the age influence the way you work with him?

Yes. But not just the age. There is also everything he has done before. The traces of 1350 matches. Some say he has a more economical game than the others. No doubt. But in reality, he has done much more than the others in the field of creativity, on a court. And that also costs energy contrary to what one might think. Because he works harder upstream, in training, in order to be able to produce this creativity on the court.


Will his organism allow him to play for a long time still?

It's his head that will answer this question. And it's the organism that will be at the service of his head. But when one sees what shines in his eyes, since the beginning of the year, when one sees that he rejoices like a kid, it is beautiful. There is still a lot of freshness in him...

Cromar wrote:Always interesting to hear from Paganini

"He has been a mainstay of Roger's capability, and the full flowering of his ability, and the lastingness of his desire and joy in the game".