Today’s highlight from the Orléans Masters has been Brice Leverdez’s match. This was the French player’s last time on court in his professional career.
The second day of the Orléans Masters Badminton presented by VICTOR 2023 is in full swing. The highlight of today has definitely been a match that many French fans were waiting for.
Just some months ago, Brice Leverdez announced that he’d be retiring and that he would be doing so in the Super 300 tournament. “It was a weird feeling because these last two days I wasn’t really thinking that this was going to be my last match. Today, coming to the hall, I saw the matches going on and then I thought ‘Okay, this is really going to be my last match on court’. I started feeling a bit nostalgic,” said the French player.
Leverdez faced Spaniard Luís Enrique Peñalver, to whom he has lost, 21-17 21-11. The Frenchman is happy to close this chapter with today’s performance. “I had a good game. I tried a lot of things and I enjoyed it on court. I made too many mistakes, but I tried so many things so, of course, I’m making mistakes and I’m not at 100% of my capacity. I even dove and won some fun points. I tried, and it was okay to finish like this.”
Pure joy
For such a special moment, to close his professional career, Leverdez describes what it was like today in Orléans. “When I went on court, it was just joy. I wanted to get some good points, and make some good shots, and that’s what I tried.”
It was even more special with the warmth of the support from the home crowd and family members. “My family were my first supporters since I was a child. I wanted to finish in France because I wanted my family and the crowd that cheered me up for so many years to be there, to see me in France one last time. That’s why I decided to finish in Orléans. It was pretty obvious to finish here.”
Big, exciting plans on the horizon
So, what’s next for the former French player? “I already started my online academy where I teach badminton. I have my students and I have already done workshops. I’m moving to Bali. I will try to teach badminton over there and bring French people to Indonesia as well. I also plan to build a badminton hall in Paris and maybe launch my brand again,” stated Leverdez.
The Frenchman has given the fans from Europe and all around the world some memorable moments on court, from the legendary win against Lee Chong Wei in the 2017 World Championships to his silver medal in the 2019 European Games and the bronze in the 2018 European Championships, amongst many other titles. Leverdez wanted to give some last words to his fans in the post-match interview after his goodbye to the elite circuit.
“The only thing I can say is that I really enjoyed spending time with all of them on court. I really wanted to thank them for cheering for me for so many years. We had ups and downs, but I think we had a good journey altogether.
However, this goodbye is not forever, we will definitely be seeing more of Brice Leverdez but for now, he had some inspiring words for all those that love our sport as much as he does: “Just go with the feeling and enjoy badminton.”