Alexis Lebrun has advanced to the second round of the China Smash in Beijing, a major table tennis tournament often compared to the Grand Slam events in tennis. He will now face the Indian player Manav Vikash Thakkar, who made a surprising run by defeating the French player Simon Gauzy. Five French players initially competed in the first round, and three have now progressed to the next stage. Felix Lebrun and Flavien Coton have also reached the second round, and they will face each other in the upcoming matches. Simon Gauzy and Thibault Poret were eliminated after their respective matches. The elder of the Lebrun brothers, Alexis, who is ranked 8th in the world, faced the Polish player Milosz Redzimski, ranked 54th. They had previously met twice in 2024 and 2025, with Lebrun winning both matches. This time, he continued his winning streak with a four-set victory: 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-2. The match lasted 24 minutes, with Lebrun dominating the first set, taking it 11-7. In the second set, Redzimski led 3-2, but Lebrun came back to win it 11-8. The third set was closer, with Redzimski leading most of the time, but Lebrun managed to tie it at 9-9 before losing the next two points. A fourth set was needed, and Lebrun won it decisively 11-2. Thakkar, the Indian player ranked 50th in the world, caused a surprise by defeating Simon Gauzy, ranked 28th. The match was tightly contested, with Gauzy winning the first two sets, 11-9 each. However, Thakkar made a strong comeback, winning the third set with a 5-0 run from 5-5 and the fourth set by leading most of the time. The final set was extremely close, with Gauzy leading 9-7 before Thakkar equalized at 10-10 and ultimately won the last two points. This result was a big disappointment for Gauzy, who had seemed to be in a strong position. Thibault Poret, ranked 21st in the world, was defeated by Peng Xiang, ranked 34th, in a match that lasted 33 minutes. Poret won the first set easily, but Peng Xiang made a strong comeback, winning the second set with a 5-0 start. Peng Xiang dominated the third set and took the fourth set after a hard-fought battle. Poret managed to take a brief lead in the fourth set but ultimately lost to Peng Xiang. On the women's side, Charlotte Lutz, ranked 72nd in the world, advanced to the second round by defeating the Australian Minhyung Jee, ranked 62nd. The match was a straightforward victory for Lutz, who won 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 in 24 minutes. Lutz will now face the 14th-ranked player Honoka Hashimoto. It was a successful day for Lutz, as she and Prithika Pavade had previously qualified for the women's doubles quarterfinals against the German pair Kaufmann/Mittelham. They won their match 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 11-8. However, they now face the top-ranked Japanese pair, Harimoto/Hayata, in the next stage of the competition.