Aurélien Canot, Media365, published on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM
For his debut in the WTT Champions in Chongqing on Tuesday in China, Félix Lebrun had no trouble brushing aside Nigerian Quadri Aruna (11-5, 11-5, 11-3), whom he had struggled against in the same tournament last year. The Frenchman will face South Korean An Jaehyun for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Strong start for Félix Lebrun at the WTT Champions in Chongqing. This Tuesday in China, the Montpellier native faced off against Quadri Aruna (37 years old), whom he had already faced at the beginning of the tournament last season. In 2025, the youngest of the Lebrun brothers, then 17 years old and ranked 5th in the world, had a tough time getting rid of this same opponent, who had pushed him to his limits and forced him to play five sets before finally securing his spot in the 2nd round after a final set where the Frenchman left no chance for the experienced Nigerian (11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-3).
On Tuesday, for the reunion between the two players and once again at the debut of the 6th world ranked player, the double bronze medalist from the 2024 Paris Olympics had an easy victory this time around (11-5, 11-5, 13-11) against the former 11th ranked player who has since dropped to 48th.
Against Poret’s conqueror in the next round
If the match lasted long, it was solely due to a few interruptions linked to technical issues but also to a change of referee during the match (at the start of the 2nd set). In terms of actual playing time, “Féfé” was very efficient, with Aruna only scoring 5 points in the first two sets that were clearly dominated by the semi-finalist of the Grand Smash in Singapore last week, and a third set, much more contested, but also won by the former Top 5 player, particularly impressive on Tuesday behind his serve (83% of points won when serving).
Qualified for the 2nd round, the top French player will face South Korean An Jaehyun. The latter proved on Tuesday that he can cause trouble for our representatives. His first victim in this WTT Champions in Chongqing is Thibault Poret, beaten 4-1 (11-13, 11-5, 2-11, 11-8, 11-1) by the 19th ranked player and next opponent of Félix Lebrun.
