Maxime Deloyer: from the break to the return, the winning bet of the Belgian number 2

Present at FIP Silver of Narbonne , Maxime Deloyer is one of those players whose career hasn't followed a linear path. At only 22 years old, the Belgian number 2 , behind Clement Geens Deloyer has already experienced a meteoric rise on the FIP circuit, a voluntary break, and then a return with a completely different vision of competition. Between his YouTube channel, the French circuit, and his new international ambitions, Deloyer seems to have rediscovered what he was missing: the joy of playing.

A meteoric rise… then a sudden halt

The Brussels native makes his debut on the international circuit alongside Clement Geens For their first tournament together, a FIP Star in Doha The two Belgians reached the final. A result that immediately propelled Deloyer up the world rankings.

"My very first tournament was a FIP Star in Qatar. Clément and I made it to the final and I immediately climbed in the rankings."

The ascent is rapid. He reaches the 140th place in the world , trains in particular in the M13 next to Juan Lebrón and goes on to play in a series of international tournaments.

But behind the results, the reality of the circuit catches up with him.

“At first, I was a little starry-eyed. Then I had to travel every week, constantly changing partners. Since I didn't speak Spanish and I was Belgian, many ultimately preferred to play with a Spaniard.”

This is a situation that many non-Spanish players have experienced on the FIP circuit.

Maxime Deloyer: from the break to the return, the winning bet of the Belgian number 2

A year away from the circuit

Tired of this lifestyle, Deloyer decides to take a break.

For almost a year, he devoted himself to coaching in Belgium, where he trained both experienced players and young players.

"I love coaching. I enjoyed it immensely."

But at only 22 years old, staying home every weekend eventually made him want to get back into competition.

The turning point came from a project he hadn't necessarily considered: YouTube .

Inspired by several content creators, he launched his own channel to show behind-the-scenes footage of his tournaments.

“In Belgium, nobody did that. You win a tournament, people just see a photo and say, ‘We didn’t even see the match.’ I thought it would be nice to share all of that.”

Three months later, the initial feedback is already very positive.

"It's not at all in my nature to do this, but today I'm having a blast. Even at the P1000 races in France, people come up to me because they follow my videos."

The French circuit, an ideal playground

For several months, Maxime Deloyer has been making numerous appearances on the French circuit where he notably won the P1000 de No Ad Padel Club alongside by Adrien Maigret.

A logical choice for the Belgian.

"From Brussels, it's often a three or four hour drive. The atmosphere is great, and I treat these tournaments like a weekend with friends. I work during the week, I go to play on Friday evening, I create content, and if I win, it's even better."

Throughout the tournaments, he shared the court with several French players such as Adrien Maigret ou Eliot Deknuydt , whom he has known since his years on the international circuit.

This return to France also fuels a new objective: to gradually resume FIP tournaments.

"I would like to offer more content on FIP. Today I am around 900th in the world rankings, so there's a long way to go, but I hope to climb back up quickly."

Maigret and Deloyer solid to win the title at the P1000 No Ad Padel Club

An unexpected partnership with Jerzy Janowicz

In Narbonne, Deloyer plays alongside the former 14th ranked tennis player in the world , Jerzy Janowicz .

An association that owes nothing to chance.

The Pole had already tried to convince him to play with him when he was in the world's Top 150, without success due to prior commitments.

This time, the planets aligned.

"I was looking for a partner and Jerzy is someone I get along with very well. He's a very funny guy, we have a great time off the field."

On the track, Janowicz's profile inevitably changes habits.

"He's a big smasher. He sometimes makes a few mistakes, then he unleashes two missiles. I like playing with this type of player because opponents fear him and it leaves me more room to attack."

Belgian padel continues its growth

While the development of padel in France remains a benchmark, Deloyer observes a real acceleration in Belgium.

"There are a lot of indoor clubs opening. With our weather, we're almost forced to play indoors. Many tennis clubs are gradually transforming into padel clubs."

According to him, the main obstacle remains the organization of Belgian padel.

The rankings are not harmonized between the national, Flemish and French-speaking circuits.

"Clem is number one in Belgium, I'm number two. But when we play in Flanders, they don't take the national ranking into account. We're not even seeded."

From a sporting perspective, Deloyer believes that Belgium still lacks depth.

"There are some very good young players coming through, but we still need to develop the training structures. In four or five years, I think we will have reached a new level."

The World Championships are in sight.

At the end of the season, Maxime Deloyer hopes to represent Belgium in the World's Championships .

But nothing is certain yet.

The Belgian team will first have to go through a qualifying phase.

"We haven't qualified yet. Last time, we finished around 11th place, and this time we'll almost certainly have to go through qualifying."

With Clement Geens He will once again form the backbone of the national team.

"The problem is that we still lack a large core of professional players. Today, many nations have players who compete on the FIP circuit all year round."

Belgium: this country which deserved better at the Euro

Rediscovering pleasure above all

Although he has ambitions to climb back up the world rankings, Deloyer no longer wants to relive the pressure he put on himself during his first experience on the circuit.

His priorities are now different: developing his YouTube channel, gradually regaining the Top 200 worldwide and continue to enjoy it.

“Before, it was very much about performance. Now, people tell me they can see I'm having fun on the field and in the videos. That's exactly what I was looking for. I hope I can continue like this for as long as possible.”

Maceo ZERHAT

Maceo Zerhat discovered padel in 2020 in Savigny-sur-Clairis, Burgundy. He contributed to the club's expansion by bringing his energy and curiosity. Padel Magazinehe transmits his Padel"mania" by skillfully bouncing on all the latest news about your favorite sport!