A Perth father-of-two narrowly escaped death when a glass wall shattered during a padel game in Bali, leaving him with deep cuts and embedded shards. Dee Saban crashed through the panel while playing at Amare Padel in Canggu on February 12. He underwent surgery in Perth after initial treatment in Bali.
Dee Saban, a father-of-two from Perth who has been living in Bali with his wife Susan for two years, was playing padel with three friends at Amare Padel in Canggu on February 12. While sprinting for the ball, he collided with a three-metre glass wall at the back of the court, causing it to shatter over him.
CCTV footage captured the moment the glass panel broke as Saban fell to the ground. He initially went into shock and only realized the severity when seeing his friends' reactions. "It was only when I saw my mates' faces as they ran towards me that I realised it was serious. I could have died, there was blood everywhere," Saban told the Daily Mail. The incident left him with cuts across his shoulders, back, and legs, some up to 5cm deep, and he lost a significant amount of blood. "The level of injuries on my legs are bad," he said.
Saban described the scene as looking like a "crime scene." He noted it was lucky he did not hit the wall face-on, which is common in padel. An ambulance rushed him to a hospital in Bali, where scans revealed glass shards deeply embedded in his shoulder and legs. The medical response in Bali was prompt and effective, according to Saban.
That same evening, he flew back to Perth for emergency surgery to remove the shards. This was Saban's first match since winning the Bali Padel Academy tournament in December. After video of the incident circulated online, Saban learned of similar accidents at the venue, allegedly occurring seven times previously.
With a background in building, Saban suggested the glass was tempered but unsuitable for a padel court, where collisions with perimeter walls are common. The padel community, friends, and even Bali's sports minister offered support, with over 400 messages received. However, Amare Padel has not responded to Saban or media inquiries.
