Félix Lebrun

Félix Lebrun (born 12 September 2006, Montpellier, France) is a French men's table tennis player. 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. As of 19 March 2024, he was number 5 in the world in the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) world rankings, 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
Born in Montpellier, Félix Lebrun and his older brother Alexis Lebrun were raised in a family connected to table tennis. 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. 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.

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

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