Alexis Lebrun
Alexis Lebrun is a table tennis French, born on à Montpellier (Hérault) and double French champion in 2022 and 2023. In August 2023, he became 18e world player and 2e French2.
He is the elder brother of Félix Lebrun, 15e player - and 1er French - au world ranking on the same date3. Alexis is described as a "phenomenon of French table tennis" along with his younger brother4.
Biography
Alexis Lebrun discovers table tennis very young from the age of 3 by his family environment. His father, Stéphane Lebrun, is a former French No.7 and French doubles champion.5,6 Similarly, his uncle Christophe Legoûtis a three-time French champion, 5e at the Athens Games in 2000, and former 14e global7. During his childhood, he played basketball and then tennis until the age of 10, when he finally opted for table tennis.8.
He developed a number of growing pains throughout his teenage years. Between the ages of 10 and 17, he suffered recurrent injuries, particularly to his elbow and knee, which slowed his progress.9,10.
Along with his brother, he has had an atypical career. In fact, they never went through the very high-level federal structures such as theINSEP or the Pôle France in Nantes. They have been training at the Montpellier Pôle Espoir since they started out and have never left.10.
They have a whole staff around them, with Nathanael Molin, their coach, and Jérémy Surault, their physical trainer. As Jérémy Surault puts it: "We're inspired by the Chinese, but we can't copy a country with such a different culture, where people eat with their hips open... We have to find another way of doing things.10.
Career
Young people's pathway
He ranks among the best in his age category at national and European level. He won the Eurominichamps in 2014 and 2015.11,12.
It becomes twofold French champion junior table tennis in 2020 and 2021 in singles13.
Year 2021
At French table tennis championships senior, he won the doubles title with Esteban Dorr. He was defeated in the singles semi-final by the French No.1 Simon Gauzyfuture winner of the competition14,15,16.
Year 2022
He reached the singles semi-finals of the WTT Contender at Doha and the WTT Feeder from Düsseldorfin March and May 2022 respectively17,18,19. He and his brother also won the Feeder doubles competition. He became world no. 44 and world no. 1 for youngsters in May 2022.20,21,22,23.
He became French singles champion in 2022 after defeating Simon Gauzy in the final24. He also won the mixed doubles title with Camille Lutz25. In August 2022, he was beaten in the singles final of the WTT Contender in Tunis by the Brazilian Hugo Calderanoafter beating Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto and the 2019 vice world champion Mattias Falck in the previous round26.
He lost in the men's semi-final of the European Championships 2022 with his brother Félix Lebrun against the pair Gardos-Habesohn. As a result, he won his first bronze medal at European level.27.
Selected for the French national team alongsideEmmanuel Lebesson, Félix Lebrun and Jules Rolland to world team championships in China, in Chengdu, they lost in the quarter-finals, on the brink of a medal, to the German team28.
Year 2023
In March 2023 he retained his French champion beating his younger brother Félix in the final29.
In April 2023, he won in five sets (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9) against the world number 1 and Olympic vice-champion, China's Fan Zhendong in the quarter-finals of the Macau3.
Le he failed to reach the semi-finals of the European Games à Krakow being beaten by Portugal's Marcos Freitas by 4 sets to 2. He won the bronze medal after his opponent forfeited the match. Andrej Gaćina30. On 1 July, it won the bronze medal in the team competition, comprising Félix Lebrun, Can Akkuzu, Simon Gauzy against Portugal31.
In September 2023, at European team championships à Malmöhe won a bronze medal with the French team32. Their journey ended in the semi-finals with a 3-1 defeat by Sweden, the host country and eventual winners of the competition.
Then in October, at the WTT Star Contender in Lanzhou with his brother FélixHe won the men's doubles title at the tournament. This was the pair's first victory on the international circuit, and it enabled them to move up the rankings. 5e worldwide33.
Club courses
He spent a short time at AS Pontoise Cergy TT at Pro A as a medical joker for the 2021-2022 season. He wins games against good players like Omar AssarNo. 1 in the championship34,35,36. He plays in Pro B for the 2022-2023 season, after winning the National 1 title with the club from Montpellier table tennis37.
He became French champion of pro B with his club for the 2022-2023 season. The Alliance Nîmes-Montpellier has thus reached the pro A38.
