Dorian De Meyer: “I thought the padel was over, but…”

Dorian De Meyer is back on the slopes. The Chingotto of padel French, former French No. 10, was launched at full speed to try to obtain a place within the France team. But his physique did not hold: the fault hip pathology that had to be operated.

After his operation, he will try to come back to the fore in 2023, and it starts from the first P2000 of the season at 4PADEL Bordeaux .

He tells us.

The same pathology as Andy Murray

“I am very happy to be able to say that I am doing well. I had been discovered the pathology of the “hip conflict” few months ago. It is a pathology which is not very well known, even if it has been brought to light by the Andy Murray documentary, which I recommend to everyone.

I had decided to have surgery to try to resolve the conflict: they planed my femur with a milling machine (like at dentists). A priori, I now have a “healthy” hip according to my surgeon.

The pains were radiating in the groin on certain supports, it was like a huge electric shock. Also, after playing, if I stayed in a seated position for a few minutes, I couldn't walk when I got up because the pain was so intense.

Having surgery was inevitable. After the operation, I was initially on crutches for a week and the pain was 'acceptable'…”

Roller coasters

“Then followed months of roller coaster galleys, days when I was in a lot of pain, I thought the padel was over and the tears were welling up because my surgeon had warned me of the risks that the operation would do nothing… And days when things were better and I was then overwhelmed with a terrible hunger to return to the field; then the pains came back and it started again...

I thank everyone around me for the support but especially my friend Lisa for carrying me throughout these months, she never stopped encouraging and consoling me, it is an indescribable happiness to feel supported like that and I can never thank her enough. »

Rehabilitation like the professionals

"I had never 'injured' myself until then, I was aware that I needed a physiotherapist capable of taking charge of the rest of the events but above all capable of understanding that I needed to come back as soon as possible. at my level.

I then met the best physiotherapist in France (under the advice of the second best physiotherapist Fabien Le Seaux), Sébastien Oria, who works in the Bordeaux region. Sébastien took care of me like a real professional athlete and that's exactly what I asked for. I did two hours of physio a day for three months, alternating hip mobility, muscle strengthening, treatments, etc. : I spent more time in the practice than with my friend Lisa (laughs). The physio was a central player in my return to the field. »

A player of padel at the ESRB, a first

“I also joined the Sports Rehabilitation Center in Capbreton (CERS) for a three-week stay at the professional sports center. I had the chance to “reathletize” myself alongside very great athletes such as Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, Francois d'Haene or even Jean-Baptiste Gros and it is an experience that I will never forget! I especially thank Thibaut and Gustave, the two physiotherapists who took care of me for their kindness and above all their professionalism. A professional player of padel at the ESRB, it was also a first for them. »

Thomas Vanbauce: friendship first

“I'm very lucky. Thomas Vanbauce is above all one of my best friends, we met eight years ago in mathematics license, we were training partners in tennis, we even tried beach tennis (not long) before to put us at padel.

All this to say that he made the choice to put friendship first and to “wait for me” so it's with him that I'm starting this new season. »

"However, we do not live in a world of care bears, if the results do not follow, if the agreement on the ground deteriorates or if my level of play is not up to par, we will be able to put an end to our binomial. However, we decide to give ourselves the chance to achieve our goals and we will do everything to make it work.

The story of our pair is beautiful, we started the padel together and we reached the top 10 together, it's unheard of in France and the idea would be to continue on this path. Stopping now would have felt unfinished. »

A new start

“I resumed training three weeks ago at home, at the Big padel from Mérignac, with my coach Jean-Thomas Peyrou. I'm not at zero in terms of pain, but with Sébastien, we decided not to be alarmed by pain that fluctuates between 0/10 and 3/10 so “we're moving forward, if we wait to be at zero, you will never play with this type of pathology again”, as he says. »

“There are days when I don't feel anything and days when it pinches a little but it has nothing to do with what I experienced five months earlier, so I already consider it an achievement.

There is no longer any risk for the right hip (operated) because it is supposed to be healthy now, it just remains to continue to heal it well.

However, I also have a conflict in the left hip because the problem is anatomical, from birth, so it is not unthinkable that one day I will have to treat the left. Right now, she's not bothering me, so I'm moving on. »

Claim a selection in the France team

“These five months have been very difficult but also monumentally rich. I took the opportunity to do some deep work on myself with the help of a professional. I had the opportunity to unravel strong psychic wounds that clearly impacted the person I was in life but also on the court.

I therefore have at heart to come back by trying to put in place everything I learned, by trying to do more things on the court, to be much more aggressive and to no longer let myself be dominated by limiting beliefs. . I consider this as my first objective.

Then, more concretely, I would like to join the world's top 200 as soon as possible in order to claim one or more selections for the France team. The work will be long and intense but it is this life and no other that I have chosen.

In the short term, I am restarting this weekend at home at P1000 from 4PADEL Bordeaux with a view to the P2000 the following week (unless a wild-card au Premier Padel of Doha is conceivable… hahaha). »

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.