At 28 years, Daniel Windahl is one of the iconic faces of Swedish padel. However, in October, the player from Helsingborg surprised the entire circuit by announcing an indefinite break for prioritize your mental health. A courageous decision, which he returns to in detail in a poignant interview given to The little one Padel for Mundo Deportivo.

A sudden and invisible fall

« I wasn't dead, but almost. I was lying there and unable to get out of bed. ", confides Windahl. Behind his athletic figure and competitive temperament, there was a extreme mental fatigue, fueled by incessant travel, extreme training, lack of sleep, and constant internal pressure. Until the collapse. At the FIP Platinum in Marbella, after a victory, his body said stop. I slept for two hours... then I couldn't get up. I had to call an ambulance. »

Anxiety, panic attacks, exhaustion: symptoms too often hidden in professional sport, but which Windahl decided to confront head on.

A long road to reconstruction

The decision to stop was not easy: “ I thought I was immortal. I always wanted to improve, train harder, go further. "But at the bottom of the abyss, he understood that he could not return to the top level without first rebuilding himself mentally.

It then imposes a total rest : " Sleeping, eating, lying on the couch. Even walking for 30 minutes then required two days of recovery. » Gradually, with the help of Psychologists, its family and especially his wife, he got back on his feet.

A recovery under a new perspective

Today, Daniel is back on the circuit, but with a profoundly transformed state of mind. " My goal is no longer to be in the top 30 or 50. It's to be happy playing. "Even if the body sometimes takes time to follow, it moves at its own pace, without pressure. "I was close to the point of no return, but today I'm playing again with a smile."

The future? It looks bright but measured: Windahl to become a father and intends to put his family at the heart of his priorities. Padel is no longer my whole world. My life will be my child and my family. »

An essential testimony in professional padel

Windahl's interview acts as a real electroshock in an environment where mental health is still a marginal subject. The more we talk about it, the more we help people understand what an athlete is going through. "He emphasizes the need tointegrating mental health into sports preparation, just like the physical or the technical.

A leading figure in Nordic padel, Daniel Windahl now wants to pass on, whether on or off the field. And his message is clear: “Find what makes you happy, be honest with those around you, and never forget that you are human.”

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !

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