Absent from the WTA Tour for almost a year, French tennis player Océane Dodin has gone through a complicated period, having undergone ear surgery to treat a vertigo-related problem that forced her to stop competing for several months. It was an issue she had been dealing with for ten years and finally managed to overcome — but it also gave her the chance to address another matter she had postponed for some time: breast implants.
She admits the idea had been on her mind for a while, but the need to stay active in competition always made her delay the procedure. When the ear surgery came — which would require a long recovery anyway — she decided to take the opportunity.
“It’s something I’d wanted to do for a long time. I took advantage of this break to do it, because if I had to stop for two months because of the operation, it wouldn’t have been possible during the season. I told myself, ‘If I’m stopping for six months, I might as well do something I want.’ And I’d rather do it now than when I’m 40, when I’ve already retired. I’m really happy I did it, I don’t regret it, and it doesn’t bother me,” the 28-year-old player told RMC Sport, adding that she had to overcome criticism from people around her who disagreed with her choice.
“Everyone told me I wouldn’t be able to play… as if I were putting in melons (laughs). They’re not small, but they won’t bother me when I play. There are sports bras that adapt,” the Frenchwoman noted, also referring to the case of Simona Halep, the Romanian player who was once forced to undergo breast reduction surgery.
“It’s a different case,” Dodin explained. “Hers were big, really big, and that affected her. But yes, I must be the first player to play with implants. Someone had to be the first!”
Currently ranked No. 363 in the world — she reached a career-high of No. 46 in 2017 — Dodin has recently returned to competition, finding some success in smaller tournaments that she’s using to rebuild rhythm ahead of the next season. Her goal is to enter the Australian Open qualifying draw to kick things off.
