Félix Lebrun
| Félix Lebrun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Lebrun at the 2022 European Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 September 2006 Montpellier, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table tennis career  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing style | Right-handed penholder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equipment(s) | F. Lebrun Hyper Carbon (blade), Hybrid K3 max (rubber)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 5 (19 March 2024)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 5 (19 March 2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Félix Lebrun (born 12 September 2006, Montpellier, France) is a French men's table tennis player.[4] He was a gold medalist at the 2023 European Games and reached the top ten list of the ITTF world ranking for the first time in October 2023.[5][6] As of 19 March 2024, he was number 5 in the world in the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) world rankings,[7] 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.
Career[edit]
Born in Montpellier, Félix Lebrun and his older brother Alexis Lebrun were raised in a family connected to table tennis.[4][8] 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.[9]
In 2023, Félix 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.[10] A series of successes propelled him into the top ten of the ITTF world ranking in October.[6]
Lebrun won his second WTT singles event at the WTT Star Contender Goa in 2024.[11] He continued to help the French men's team advance to the final of the 2024 World Team Championships.[12] This marked the French team's first final appearance at the World Team Championships since 1997.[13][14]
Singles titles[edit]
| Year | Tournament | Final opponent | Score | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | European Games |  Marcos Freitas
|
4–3 | [15] |
| 2023 | WTT Contender Antalya |  Dimitrij Ovtcharov
|
4–3 | [16] |
| 2024 | WTT Star Contender Goa |  Hugo Calderano
|
4–2 | [17] |
See also[edit]
- Alexis Lebrun, Félix's elder brother and three-time French national champion in table tennis
References[edit]
- ^ "Félix Lebrun". tibhar.info. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Félix Lebrun". tibhar.info. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Ranking History". results.ittf.link. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Félix Lebrun". fftt.com (in French). Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Lebrun brothers dominate men's table tennis singles tournament". european-games.org. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ a b "ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking Men's Singles 2023 Week #43 - October 24th". ittf.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "ITTF TABLE TENNIS WORLD RANKING: Men's Singles: 2024 Week #12 - March 19th". Ittf.com. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Felix! – Lebrun's Turkish Delight". butterflyonline.com. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "WTT Star Contender Goa: World No. 8 Lebrun, Cheng I-Ching crowned champions". The Morung Express. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Led by Félix Lebrun, France achieves the feat of qualifying for the final against the Chinese". pointactu.fr. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "France reached the final at the World Championships, ending almost three decades of drought". ettu.org. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Men's Singles Results" (PDF). european-games.org. 27 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "WTT Contender Antalya 2023". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "WTT Star Contender Goa 2024". worldtabletennis.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
External links[edit]
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