Table tennis siblings Alexis and Félix Lebrun: Brothers, friends and rivals
Alexis and Félix Lebrun are the table tennis brothers who serve as France's big hopes in the sport this summer at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, which celebrates its Opening Ceremony in 100 days.
But there's an interesting habit developing: the Montpellier natives from the south of France are also budding rivals, facing off against each other in the final of the French national championships in 2023 and 2024, as well as matching up in the quarter-finals of this year's Europe Top 16 Cup in January.
The two siblings, who have won so much with each other as a doubles pairing, are beginning to play against each other more often. By contending for the same titles, participating in the same competitions and both being part of the world's top 25, their paths are destined to cross as much on the world circuit as at home.
And that usually means their entourage and those around them struggle to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
"(If they're) in the final, I'm obviously happy because they'll have reached as far as they could before meeting, but we don't enjoy it as much," the brothers' mother Dominique Legoût-Lebrun explains. "We hope for good table tennis, a show, we appreciate each point, and wish that the best wins.
"We are happy for the one who wins but sad for the one who loses. It's a mixed feeling but we're happy to see them playing together at this level."
Their long-time coach Nathanaël Molin agrees. Molin, named the ITTF's Coach of the Year in 2023, adds that when the two prodigies face off, he doesn't get involved.
"We don't prepare for these kinds of matches, they manage, it's their moment, it's their stories. This is the only time where I don't intervene at all."
Alexis and Félix Lebrun: Facing off against each other... just as they did as kids
Ask the siblings about the fraternal rivalry and they'll try to play it down. From their basement cellar at home in Montpellier to training at INSEP, France's national sports training institute, the brothers have played thousands of matches against each other.
But there's no familial ties when the time comes to face off across the table in a competitive setting. Their joint history gets put to one side.
“I try to prepare like when I play against another opponent,” 17-year-old Félix tells Olympics.com in an exclusive interview. “I watch videos of him, even though I know him by heart, just to really get into match mode in my head. We play together all the time in training, so we have to get into that mode because it's a little different.”
His big brother agrees, even though Alexis will admit these matches are "a bit special". When it comes to competition between the two, there are no thoughts of wanting his brother to succeed – only complete focus on his own game.
“When we have to play each other, we give it our all and it can become a real battle during the match - it's a match like any other; an opponent like any other. But afterwards, it goes back to the way it was before and we support each other.”
Even when it comes to competition on the table, the brothers are in agreement. Perhaps unsurprisingly so, given the deep understanding they have of each other, forged through their whole lives spent together, from primary school to the podium of the 2023 European Games.
Félix adds: “We have to try to cut a little the link we have for half an hour, for the duration of the match, because we have to be able to battle at 100 per cent.”
Which Lebrun brother has the upper hand?
Félix Lebrun currently sits a career-high world number five, the highest-ranked player not to come from traditional powerhouses People's Republic of China.
That surge up the world rankings has led to a massive increase in the sport in the Olympic host country, which now suddenly has a bona fide medal contender at Paris 2024 in 100 days.
Since 2023, the younger Lebrun brother has lost just five matches against fellow European players. Germany's Dang Qiu can claim two of those victories. Alexis is responsible for the other three, in the two national finals and the Europe Top 16 last-eight.
And that hasn't gone amiss in the Lebrun household, as 20-year-old Alexis admits.
“It's a little thing between us, a little challenge. I don't want to lose to him, he wants to beat me; that pushes us upwards. Now that he's moved ahead in the rankings, I have to find things to be able to fool him. At least then I can defend myself when he teases me,” the older Lebrun laughs. It is a laugh at the ironic situation he finds himself in: the two-time reigning French national champion, 21st in the world, and yet not even number one in his family.
Félix, though, shows no sign of frustration at continuing to struggle against Alexis. After all, this winless streak against his brother is not new to him.
“Since I was little, when I played, he was always better than me and he was always bigger. So really, initially, there was a big gap,” he explains. “The gap has narrowed a little, but he has almost always been in front, so I think it's only been two or three games that we've really started the match at '50-50'.”
While these reasons seem obvious, others are much more specific.
“He knows me by heart,” Félix points out. “One of my big strengths is the serve. I gain a lot of points with my serve and on Alexis I gain zero points.“
Both brothers are used to competing with the world's best on the World Table Tennis circuit, and Félix has shown what is possible by soaring to new heights. But the family duels will always be something special.
Especially when he finally accomplishes his long-held goal of winning against his big brother. “It's going to happen one day,” Félix said in January 2023. Nearly a year and a half later, he's still waiting. On his current path, that wait may soon be over.