How and where did you start table tennis?
With my family because my whole family plays table tennis at CTT Bruille. 

Which coaches did support and inspire you?
My parents. 

How many training sessions per week do you complete (Table Tennis, Fitness, others)?
Nine table tennis sessions per week plus three physics sessions per week. 

Your aims for this season or short- middle- and long-term?
This season, to go up to national 1 with my club, and champion of France minimes and to take part in the CEJ. Medium term: win the cadet EY. Long term: to win the Olympic Games.

This boy is one of the greatest European talents, a real gem. And he trusts in DONIC.

 Flavien Coton, European Champion U15, comes from a French table tennis family with a long tradition. Already his grandpa was chairman of the CTT Bruille, both parents and also his two brothers play table tennis. 

Thanks to the outstanding performances of the just 14-year-old Flavien, the club managed to be promoted to the French 2nd division, Pro B, in May 2022. In the decisive match, he won his double and two singles, including one against the internationally established Indian Soumyajit Ghosh, who has after all already competed twice at the Olympic Games.

He is very much looking forward to playing in the 2nd division now, said Flavien, but he also leaves no doubt that this should only be a transit station for him.

"Aiming high."

He already has his next goal firmly in sight: In the medium term, the young Frenchman would like a place in the Bundesliga team of the TTF Ochsenhausen, where he has already been supported for a while now as a guest in the training centre. His coach there, Bogdan Pugna, describes him as " a passionate player and very mature for his age". Flavien Coton is ready to go beyond his limits to become a real top player, and that is precisely his declared goal: "Olympic champion and number one in the world" is what he wants to become. 

Certainly, thousands and thousands of boys worldwide dream of such successes, but Flavien's preconditions are much better than those of most others. He started playing table tennis at the age of three. He has been training every day since the age of eight, and as an eleven-year-old he won the French U13 championships for the first time, in singles and doubles. At the 2022 European Youth Championships in Belgrade, he won gold not only in the singles, but also with the team, and silver in the doubles as well. And this although he will be able to compete in this age group in the coming year, too. He is part of the European talent development programme Compass. 

At DONIC, they have been convinced of the young man for a long time, the traditional German brand has been accompanying his path for more than two years. "We rarely sign players at such an early stage," says Florian Schier, DONIC's expert for the French region, but Flavien Coton is something very special. 

He currently plays with a DONIC RELEVANT blade and DONIC BLUESTORM PRO rubbers on the forehand and backhand. The backhand is also his special strength but considering his age Flavien Coton's playing style is already quite complete - there are no real gaps or major technical weaknesses to be seen in his game. 

After his triumph at the European Youth Championships, he was ranked 7th in the U15 world rankings, however it will become much more difficult to reach the top of the men's rankings. The way to the top is long and full of obstacles, thus there will still be a lot of work ahead of the 14-year-old, however talented he is. But he also has a strong and reliable partner who accompanies him through all the ups and downs: DONIC.