Can Felix Lebrun become the third Frenchman to lead the World Rankings?

After a glorious run at the Europe Smash, 19-year-old Frenchman Felix Lebrun has reached the number two spot in the World Rankings, sitting only behind reigning World champion Wang Chuqin. The youngest of the Lebrun brothers has the potential to overthrow the Chinese superstar and take the World No. 1 spot. At least for a while.

With the beginning of the 21st century, leading European players have only rarely been able to get ahead of the Chinese superstars and take the title of World No. 1. Werner Schlager, Timo Boll, and Dimitrij Ovtcharov had their moments of glory, but those were rather short-lived successes compared to the European table tennis superstars of previous decades.

Lebrun’s rise to the leading positions in the World Rankings isn’t a completely new or unusual storyline for French table tennis. Back in 1976, the legendary Frenchman Jacques Secrétin won the European Championships in Prague, added two Pro Tour titles to his account, and deservedly secured the World No. 1 spot. His successor in the French national team, Jean-Philippe Gatien, became the World champion in the singles event in 1993, and this was enough for him to reach the top of the World Rankings.

The youngest of the Lebrun brothers is slowly building an all-time great résumé. He is already a two-time European champion, as well as an Olympic Games and World Championships medalist. If he is able to excel at the 2026 European Championships in Ljubljana, it would make his potential World No. 1 ranking even more valuable. It’s one thing when a player reaches this spot through Pro Tour success, and something completely different when World or European Championships success is attached to it.

1976 TOP 10 PLAYERS IN WORLD RANKING

1993 TOP 10 PLAYERS IN WORLD RANKING

At this point, Lebrun is one successful tournament away from the No. 1 spot, but only if Wang Chuqin fails to reach the semifinals at the upcoming major tournaments. If the Chinese superstar maintains his usual level of performance, in the longer run, Lebrun will need to win at least a gold medal at the European Championships, as well as another title or two at WTT Champions and WTT Smash tournaments. Which is a doable task for the talented Frenchman.

Lebrun is gonna be the main favorite at the European Championships, but there will be plenty of players who have the ability to stop Felix on the way to the final. Back in 2024, the young Frenchman lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual finalist, Benedikt Duda. Aside from the German, world-class players like Alexis Lebrun, Truls Möregårdh, Dang Qiu, Vladimir Sidorenko, and Darko Jorgić are gonna have a good shot at winning the title. The tournament in Ljubljana will bring plenty of intrigue.

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