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Félix Lebrun

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Félix Lebrun
Lebrun at the 2022 European Championships (with his older brother Alexis Lebrun)
Personal information
Born (2006-09-12) 12 September 2006 (age 18)
Montpellier, France
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Table tennis career
Playing styleRight-handed penholder
Equipment(s)F. Lebrun Hyper Carbon (blade), Hybrid K3 max (rubber)[2]
Highest ranking4 (12 November 2024)[3]
Current ranking6 (22 April 2025)
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Team
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2024 Busan Team
Bronze medal – third place 2025 Doha Doubles
European Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Team
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Linz Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Munich Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Malmö Team

Félix Lebrun (pronounced [feliks lə.bʁœ̃] ⓘ; born 12 September 2006) is a French table tennis player and 2025 French national champion.[4] He was a gold medalist at the 2023 European Games and reached the top ten list of the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) world ranking for the first time in October 2023.[5][6] As of 12 November 2024, he was ranked number 4 in the world in the ITTF world rankings,[3] making him the top-ranked French and European player. Stylistically, he plays with a penholder grip (with a reverse penhold backhand), which is a rarity among top players today.[7] He won two bronze medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics, one in individual and one in team, thus becoming at 17 years the youngest ever medalist in those events, and also the youngest male medalist in Olympic table tennis.[8][9] In October 2024, he became the first French player to win a WTT Champions tournament in Montpellier.[10][11] By the end of 2024, he also became world's top ranked doubles player along with his elder brother Alexis Lebrun. In March 2025, he became the French national table tennis champion by defeating Alexis in the final.[12]

Career

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Born in Montpellier, Lebrun and his older brother Alexis Lebrun were raised in a family connected to table tennis.[4][13] Their father, Stéphane, was ranked as high as number seven in France, while their uncle Christophe Legoût represented France at three Olympics. Like his brother, Félix Lebrun began his table tennis career at the age of three.[2] He was inspired by Chen Jian, a penhold player from China who trained in Montpellier and Istres, leading him to adopt a penhold grip at the age of four.[14] The Wall Street Journal compared Lebrun's playing style to that of "an old Chinese man", with American player Lily Zhang describing Lebrun's play as "very refreshing".[15]

2023

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In 2023, Lebrun won gold at the European Games by defeating Marcos Freitas in a seven-game final.[5] Three months later, he won WTT Contender series event in Antalya.[16] A series of successes propelled him into the top ten of the ITTF world ranking in October.[6]

2024

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Lebrun won his second WTT singles event at the WTT Star Contender Goa in 2024.[17] He continued to help the French men's team advance to the final of the 2024 World Team Championships.[18] This marked the French team's first final appearance at the World Team Championships since 1997.[19][20]

In March, Félix Lebrun became one the youngest players to reached the top 5 of the WTT rankings.[21][22]

He won the bronze medal at the men's singles table tennis event of the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 against Hugo Calderano.[23][24]

In October 2024, he became the first French player to won a WTT Champions tournament in Montpellier.[25][26] In November 2024, Félix and his brother Alexis become world number one in doubles after their victory at the WTT Finals in Fukuoka.[27][28]

2025

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In March 2025, Felix became the French National Table Tennis Champion by defeating his elder brother Alexis.[12]

Singles titles

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Year Tournament Final opponent Score Ref
2023 European Games Portugal Marcos Freitas 4–3 [29]
2023 WTT Contender Antalya Germany Dimitrij Ovtcharov 4–3 [30]
2024 WTT Star Contender Goa Brazil Hugo Calderano 4–2 [31]
2024 WTT Champions Montpellier Japan Tomokazu Harimoto 4–1 [32]
2025 WTT Contender Tunis Denmark Anders Lind 4–0 [33]

See also

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  • Alexis Lebrun, Félix's elder brother and three-time French national champion in table tennis

References

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  1. ^ "Félix Lebrun professional player profile". tibhar.info. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Félix Lebrun". tibhar.info. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Ranking History". results.ittf.link. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Félix Lebrun". fftt.com (in French). Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Lebrun brothers dominate men's table tennis singles tournament". european-games.org. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b "ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking Men's Singles 2023 Week #43 – October 24th". ittf.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  7. ^ Woo, Stu. "There's a LeBron of Table Tennis. His Name Is Lebrun". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Félix Lebrun écrase Hugo Calderano et décroche le bronze aux JO de Paris 2024". L’Equipe. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Les frères Alexis et Félix Lebrun et Simon Gauzy en bronze aux JO de Paris 2024 après une longue bataille face au Japon". L’Equipe. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  10. ^ https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis-de-table/Actualites/Felix-lebrun-remporte-le-wtt-champions-de-montpellier-et-entre-dans-l-histoire-du-tennis-de-table-francais/1516668
  11. ^ https://worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?eventId=2940
  12. ^ a b "France: First National Title for Félix LEBRUN". European Table Tennis Union. 2025-03-25. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  13. ^ "Félix and Alexis Lebrun: The teenage French brothers ready to conquer the table tennis world, 500 days out from Paris 2024". olympics.com. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  14. ^ "2023 World Table Tennis Championships: Why does Félix Lebrun play with a pen grip?". olympics.com (in French). 24 May 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  15. ^ Woo, Stu. "There's a LeBron of Table Tennis. His Name Is Lebrun". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Felix! – Lebrun's Turkish Delight". butterflyonline.com. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  17. ^ "WTT Star Contender Goa: World No. 8 Lebrun, Cheng I-Ching crowned champions". The Morung Express. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Led by Félix Lebrun, France achieves the feat of qualifying for the final against the Chinese". Point Actu : Actualités France et Monde en Direct. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  19. ^ "France reached the final at the World Championships, ending almost three decades of drought". ettu.org. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Silver and bronze medals for France at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Busan". ettu.org. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Félix Lebrun atteint la 5e place mondiale". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  22. ^ "World Table Tennis". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  23. ^ "Félix Lebrun écrase Hugo Calderano et décroche le bronze aux JO de Paris 2024". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  24. ^ "Félix Lebrun secures bronze at Paris 2024: A rising star in table tennis - We Are Wearside". 2024-08-04. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  25. ^ https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis-de-table/Actualites/Felix-lebrun-remporte-le-wtt-champions-de-montpellier-et-entre-dans-l-histoire-du-tennis-de-table-francais/1516668
  26. ^ https://worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?eventId=2940
  27. ^ https://worldtabletennis.com/description?artId=4468
  28. ^ https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis-de-table/Actualites/Les-freres-lebrun-titres-aux-finales-du-circuit-wtt-et-deviennent-numero-1-mondiaux-en-double/1522184
  29. ^ "Men's Singles Results" (PDF). european-games.org. 27 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  30. ^ "WTT Contender Antalya 2023". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  31. ^ "WTT Star Contender Goa 2024". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  32. ^ "WTT Champions Montpellier 2024". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  33. ^ "WTT Contender Tunis 2025". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
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