The French brothers Felix and Alexis Lebrun have been crowned champions in the doubles category for the first time in their career in a Grand Smash, the highest level of the WTT international circuit, after winning the final of the Singapore tournament on Saturday. The 19 and 22-year-old Montpellier natives, reigning European champions, displayed a flawless performance (3-0) against the Chinese pair consisting of world No. 3 Lin Shidong and Huang Youzheng (56th): 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 in less than 20 minutes.
As former world No. 1s in doubles, Felix and Alexis Lebrun had already won the WTT Finals at the end of 2024, where the best players in the world rankings compete to close the season. However, they had never previously succeeded in winning a Grand Smash – equivalent to a Grand Slam tennis tournament. They are also the first French players to win this event.
Facing the Chinese pair, they were hardly ever in danger. This was evident in the third decisive set where they were initially trailing by two points before showcasing their superiority. They eventually clinched victory following a serve from Felix Lebrun. The tournament is not over for the Lebrun brothers yet, as Felix will also try to reach the singles final on Sunday. He secured a spot in the semi-finals by defeating Lin Shidong again on Saturday (4-2).
In the semi-finals, he will need to deliver a remarkable performance against the Chinese world No. 1 Wang Chuqin, whom he has never beaten on the circuit, earlier in the morning. Their last encounter took place in a Grand Smash in China last year, where Wang Chuqin dominated with a 4-0 victory.
