Well-known table tennis player in Seine-et-Marne, “TomTom” commented on a historic moment in French sport

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Saturday November 23, the brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun have written a new page in French sport. They have in fact become the first French table tennis players to become No. 1 in the world in doubles and to win the WTT Finals, the equivalent of the Masters in tennis, an end-of-year tournament which brings together the 16 best players in table tennis in the world as well as the eight best doubles pairs. In the final, they defeated the Japanese Togami et Shinozuka. A meeting broadcast by RMC Sporton his YouTube and Twitch channels. Commenting, Lému, a journalist accustomed to the post, but also Thomas Guignata well-known name in the world of “ping” in Seine-et-Marne.

“If I’m put in front of a screen watching ping, I’m in my element”

« Tomtom “, as everyone calls him, started table tennis at the club Vulaines-sur-Seine at 13, a late age in the world of sport. But quickly, his talent and personality will catch the eye of many clubs in the department.

In more than 25 years of career, he will go through Marolles-sur-Seine, Ponthierry, Pontault-Combaulta club which will allow him to play for a season in Pro B (equivalent to the second division), or even Chellesclub with which he reached his best ranking, namely 180^e French square. A prize list to which must be added a silver medal in doubles veterans world championships This year.

But Thomas is not only a player, for around fifteen years, he has also devoted a large part of his life to coaching, throughout the four corners of Seine-et-Marne. Today, at 40, he is a player-coach at Domatsin Yonne, but also a player, on an occasional basis, for an Italian third division club based in Rome.

A remarkable journey which has allowed “Tomtom” to create a very large network in the world of “ping”. And it is also this network which is at the origin of his recruitment as a consultant for RMC Sport.

“I was selected to be part of a team of coaches at Ping Pang Parisa club created by players from the France team. At the inauguration evening, there were lots of great players, but also Lemmawho comments on matches on RMC and who I interacted with. We got along well and he asked me if I wanted to join their team of consultants for certain competitions,” says Thomas.

In September, on the occasion of China Smashequivalent to a Grand Slam in tennis, the Seine-et-Marne table tennis player is therefore making his debut in the studios of the Twitch and YouTube channel of RMC Sportbased at Porte de Sèvres, in Paris.

“I'm an enthusiast, so if I'm put in front of a screen watching non-stop ping, I'm in my element “, he emphasizes.

An anthology match

An experience renewed for the first time at the beginning of November on the occasion of Frankfurt Championsequivalent to a Masters 1,000 in tennis, before Thomas was called again to comment on the WTT Finals de Fukuoka (Japan).

“It started off badly, because the two Lebrun brothers lost in the first round in singles. Fortunately, then I was able to commentate on their doubles semi-final against Dorr and Bourrassaud (another French pair, editor’s note) and then, obviously, their final,” he confides.

A final which made “Tomtom” and his sidekick “Lému” go through all the emotions: “They lost the first set when they should have won it. In the second set, they were down 8-3, they came back, then made an anthology point to save a set point at 11-10 to finally win the set. All this to win three sets to two and write a historical page of table tennis in France “, he rejoices.

Enough to motivate Thomas even more to resume his place as commentator as soon as the opportunity arises in 2025, since RMC Sport has retained the rights to the international table tennis circuit (WTT) for next year.

Finally, on the sporting side, the main objective of “Tomtom” in the coming months will be to get a medal at the European Veterans Championshipswhich will take place in Serbia next June.

To follow Thomas' adventures, go to his YouTube channel: @TiTomTom77

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