Manav Thakkar withdraws from WTT Champions Frankfurt 2025 ahead of Round of 16 clash against Felix Lebrun, citing illness 

Manav Thakkar of India has withdrawn from the WTT Champions Frankfurt 2025, ahead of his Round of 16 clash, citing illness. Having won his WTT Champions debut match in Frankfurt, Manav Thakkar had advanced to the second round, where he was slated to take on Paris Olympic bronze medalist Felix Lebrun of France.

An intriguing contest was on the cards with Manav Thakkar poised to take on his former training partner and clubmate at ANMTT (Alliance Nîmes-Montpellier Tennis de Table).

However, the 25-year-old posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he was "sick" and would not be able to play further. Manav Thakkar also thanked the tournament staff for taking care of him and providing him with assistance.

"I was very happy to compete at my debut WTT Champions in Frankfurt and it was perfect for me to win the first round and go to the next. But, unfortunately, I am sick and cannot play further. I would have loved to play more matches," Manav Thakkar wrote on X. "I would like to thank the WTT staff for their expertise, for taking care of me and providing me with assistance. I would also like to wish all the players best of luck and I will be back soon after further recovering," he declared.

Owing to Manav Thakkar's withdrawal from the tournament, Felix Lebrun has advanced to the quarterfinal stage.

Despite losing the first two games against Oh Jungsung of Korea in his opening round match in Frankfurt, Lebrun manufactured a remarkable turnaround.

Midway through the third game, the Frenchman came into his own before tilting the scales completely to win three games in a row and stun the 22nd-ranked Oh, who had looked to be on the verge of causing an upset at one point.

The other seeds in the race for the title include Hugo Calderano of Brazil, who will face another Frenchman, Simon Gauzy, in the Round of 16 on Friday.

Setback for Manav Thakkar after having won his debut WTT Champions game in Frankfurt

Manav Thakkar in action in Frankfurt - Source: Getty

Manav Thakkar created a milestone of his win by winning his WTT Champions debut match when he defeated Tomislav Pucar of Croatia in a fighting see-saw contest on Tuesday.

The lad from Gujarat finally prevailed 3-2 (12-10, 3-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7), much to the delight of fans back home in India.

While Felix Lebrun would have gone into the Round of 16 encounter against Manav Thakkar as the overwhelming favourite, it would have been the perfect stage for the lad from Gujarat to have displayed his flighting skills towards the end of the season. The Star Contender Muscat is the next event on the tour calendar ahead of the elite WTT Finals.

Lebrun, who is the second top-ranked European player (behind Sweden's Truis Moregard, currently ranked fifth), won bronze medals in men's singles and the team event at Paris 2024 at the age of 17.

Manav Thakkar was the only Indian player competing in the men's singles in Frankfurt. Manika Batra, the lone Indian contestant in the women's singles, was earlier defeated by Annette Kaufmann of Germany 3-0 in the Round of 32.

Edited by Subhashish Majumdar