2025 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals: Lebrun Brothers Land in Same Section, Potential Round of 16 Clash Ahead.
Top seed and world number one Lin Shidong will face England’s Liam Pitchford in the opening round of the 2025 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) Finals, with a potential quarter-final clash against fellow Chinese star Liang Jingkun.
French brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun could meet in the Round of 16 in Doha later this month, after being drawn in the same eighth of the men’s singles bracket. Sixth seed Félix and ninth seed Alexis—who also compete together in men’s doubles—will need to navigate several hurdles to set up the all-family showdown.
Alexis opens against Togo’s Kokou Fanny, then faces either Eric Jouti (Brazil) or Lin Yen-Chun (Chinese Taipei) in the Round of 64. A third-round clash with 17th seed An Jaehyun of South Korea could follow.
Félix begins his campaign against Slovakia’s Ľubomír Pištej. If he advances, he will meet the winner of Tiago Apolonia (Portugal) and Manush Shah (India), with South Korea’s Oh Junsung likely awaiting in the Round of 32.
In the men’s doubles, the Lebrun brothers, seeded first, received a bye to the second round, giving them a lighter start to their campaign.
Elsewhere, Lin Shidong is set to meet Pitchford again in mixed doubles. Pitchford and his partner Anna Hursey (Wales) will face Lin and Kuai Man in the opening round of that draw.
Second seed Wang Chuqin, also from China, begins against USA’s Nandan Naresh, while Brazil’s Hugo Calderano—fresh off his World Cup victory and seeded third—takes on Mexico’s Rogelio Castro.
In the women’s singles, top seeds Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu received byes to the Round of 64. With all four Chinese women seeded in separate quarters, early intra-team matchups have been avoided. However, third seed Chen Xingtong could face compatriot and 16th seed Shi Xunyao in the quarter-finals.
Paris 2024 Olympic mixed doubles champions Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, seeded second in Doha, will face the U.S. pair Jishan Liang and Amy Wang in the first round. If they and Brazil’s Calderano / Bruna Takahashi both advance, an exciting second-round encounter awaits.
