Felix Lebrun
France
France
Felix's journey in table tennis has been nothing short of remarkable. He often watched his older brother play, along with clips of his father, and soon became interested in the sport himself. With the support and encouragement of his family, he started training seriously and honing his skills on the table.
Over the years, Felix's dedication and hard work have paid off. He has won several national and international titles in his age group. He has even competed against much older opponents, holding his own against some of the best players in the world.
Let's take a closer look at the life and career of this young talented table tennis player.
Quick Facts
Biography
Lebrun Felix is a French table tennis player born September 12, 2006. Felix was born into a household that revolved around table tennis. This helped fuel his hunger, drive, and love for the sport. Lebrun Stephane, his father, also played professionally for the French clubs Montpellier TT and Istres Tennis De Table. He participated in the Champions League and won the ETTU Cup twice before retiring. Stephane famously used sandpaper rackets and competed in the 2013 World Ping-Pong Championship in London, where he advanced to the 1/8 finals. Legout Christophe, his uncle, was much more well-known; as a member of the French national team, winning a silver medal at the 1997 World Table Tennis Championships.
Felix is the last born of a family of four; he has two older sisters and an elder brother. Although his sisters don't play table tennis, his brother, Alexis, also plays table tennis professionally. This similar passion along with various training facilities, helped Felix stay on top of his game. It would help to check out the best ping-pong paddle holders. This review provides a list of the best table tennis holders to help you keep everything organized, especially if you own a ping-pong table.
Felix didn't have a perfect start to his career. Shortly after becoming a professional athlete, the young protege suffered an injury that caused him to miss nearly 2 years of play. Still, he recovered and racked in a few accolades on his return. Felix's rise was quite rapid and instantaneous as he quickly made headlines for some of his victories in various tournaments.
As a member of the French national squad, he won the bronze medal in the 2019 Youth World Cup. Also, while playing for the French junior team, he won the mixed doubles title at the 2021 European Youth Championship, as well as team silver and an individual bronze. In his relatively short career so far, he has played for France's junior, senior, and current national teams, winning the men's doubles bronze medal at the 2022 European Championship in Munich.
He's a five-time tournament champion and became the cadet men's doubles champion at the 2021 Youth World Championships. 2020 Cadet Champion of Europe Youth Top-10. Two-time event champion and four-time European Youth Championships champion in 2018 and 2021. Winner of the French National Table Tennis Championship four times in a row.
Personal Life
Felix has two older sisters and an older brother, Alexis, who also plays table tennis professionally.
Social Media
Felix doesn't have an active presence on any social media platform.
Career
Early Age
Growing up in a sports-inclined household had a massive impact on Felix. He started playing table tennis at a very young age. At the age of three, his father put him down on the table and gave him a racquet so he could begin practicing. He and his brother spent 20 to 25 hours a week studying under their father's coaching and guidance.
Junior Career
After Felix's initial hand injury, his start at the youth level was nothing short of a success. And in no time, he was already raking in prizes from his youth team competitions despite his young age, winning awards in the French competitions he could compete in. Right away, he won the French mini cadet pairs championship in 2016! Later that year, he competed for the first time in the Euro Mini Champ's 2016 event. Despite being 11 years old, he finished fourth in the division one year older than him. He won the men's singles and doubles titles as the vice-champion of France among mini cadets in 2017. In the same year, he competed in the Mini Champs-2017 again and, this time, managed to win it.
In both men's singles and doubles, he won the French championship for cadets (under 15) in 2018. He soon started competing in ITTF youth tournaments, where he finished as a finalist in the team category at the 2018 Belgium Junior and Cadet Open, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2018 Slovak Cadet Open in singles, and won the bronze medal in men's doubles at the 2018 Hungarian Junior and Cadet Open. He competes in the European Youth Championship for the first time at Cluj Napoca, Romania, and finishes in the 1/32 finals. But his rapid development didn't just end there.
In 2019, he once again won the French Under-15 Cadet Championship in both men's singles and doubles. He finished third in the men's doubles at a competition in Italy, and he won the men's doubles and earned the bronze `medal in the singles competition in Spain. He also competed at the 2019 European Youth Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic, where he secured two bronze medals in the team and men's doubles events. In the singles competition, he fell short in the quarterfinal round.
Felix finished with the silver medal in the 2020 French Junior Championship after losing to his elder brother Alexis Lebrun in the championship match. But this didn't deter Felix as he continued to work hard to win the competition the following year. As fate would have it, he came across his elder brother Alexis Lebrun in the final 2021 French Junior Championship, which began to look like a deliberate sibling rivalry.
This time, he defeated his brother to claim the title of France's junior champion. He won the U17 category in the event of the new WTT young series in Havov (Czech Republic) and finished in the top three in the U15 category. And then later went on to win the men's singles, team, and doubles competitions at the 2021 European Youth Championship in Varadin (Croatia) to make it three wins.
Senior Career
Felix then made his senior debut at the WTT Contender Novo Mesto 2021 in November. He paired up with his brother Lebrun Alexis to reach the quarter-finals, losing to Chinese team members Lin Gaoyuan and Zhou Qihao. At the year's end, he participated in the 2021 World Youth Championships in the junior and cadet categories, winning a bronze medal for the doubles and becoming champion in the singles, respectively. He managed to reach the quarterfinals in the team category among juniors but failed to win a medal in this category. In December of that year, at his first France national championships in 2021, he became a bronze medalist in mixed doubles.
At 15, Felix eventually won his first senior title at the WTT Feeder Düsseldorf, I-2022, becoming the men's doubles champion with Dorr Esteban. He repeated this achievement, winning the title with his brother Lebrun Alexis. The Lebrun sibling partnership continued to blossom as the brothers achieved more feats. During the WTT Youth Star Contender Otočec-2022, he again became the junior men's doubles champion with his brother. At the WTT Contender Zagreb-2022 tournament, they became bronze medalists in the men's doubles.
Playing Style
Felix is a right-handed table tennis player who fancies the pen hold grip technique. The Chinese player Chen Jian greatly influenced Felix in his playing style. Chen Jian was the French national team's sparring partner and played for the same club as his father. Felix thought his pen-playing technique was excellent and decided to emulate it while using the racket grip. If you wish to take your table tennis playing to the next level, consider checking out our analysis of the best ping-pong paddles for penhold to acknowledge a similar playing style to Felix Leburn's.
European Championships
- Winner of the men's singles, team, and doubles competitions at the 2021 European Youth Championship in Varadin (Croatia).
- Bronze Medalist at the European Championship in the men's doubles held in Munich 2022 (Germany).
ITTF World Youth Championships
- Finalist in the team category
- Gold medal in Cadet boys' doubles at the 2021 Vila Nova de Gaia.
- Bronze medal in Junior boys' singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and teams events at the 2022 Rades.
European Youth Championships
- Bronze medal at the 2018 Hungarian Junior and Cadet Open.
- Two bronze medals in the team and men's doubles events at the 2019 European Youth Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
- Silver medal at the French Junior Championship.
- Gold medal in the 2020 Berlin Cadet boys' singles.
Felix Lebrun Equipment
Videos
Final Thoughts
Felix Lebrun is the perfect example of a young table tennis player with remarkable talent and dedication to the sport. And this is evident in his numerous achievements at such a young age, including impressive tournament results at the youth and senior levels. Beyond his technical abilities, the player's work ethic, focus, and determination set him apart from his peers and even those older than him. His commitment to his training programs and his willingness to learn and adapt has undoubtedly contributed to his success. For an up-and-coming table tennis player, Felix has reached heights that many professionals only wish to attain.