Bienvenue to compass, Alyssia!
She is nine years old and trains around 15 hours a week. At the 2024 Euro Mini Champs, she finished in eleventh place among players who were two years older than her. Meet Alyssia Bataille from France, the latest compass supported table tennis talent.
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Alyssia Bataille, welcome to compass! Photo: Jens Fellke
It is not surprising that Alyssia Bataille plays table tennis. She was born into a table tennis family – both her parents, Jérôme and Céline, and her older sister, Luana, play. So naturally she followed them to the training hall of the Lers Club, located near Lille in the north of France, on the border with Belgium. The club has around 150 active players. And after the French bronze medal in the team competition and Felix Lebrun’s bronze medal in the individual competition at the Olympic Games, many young children want to start playing table tennis at Lers.
“I liked being in the hall,” Alyssia remembers. “The people there were friendly. It was a nice atmosphere. In the beginning, I used to run after the balls and collect them when someone was doing a multi-ball training session”.
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A very young beginner. Photo: Private
A racket in her hand at two
“She picked up a racket at the age of two and started playing with ball and racket,” says Alyssia’s father Jérôme Bataille. “When she was three she started training more regularly and when she was six she was playing three or four times a week.”
Last year, the amount of training increased to about 15 hours a week. And the school is very understanding of Alyssia’s ambitions to develop her game.
“The school allows her to leave about two hours before the others,” continues Jéròme. “That means she can play between 4pm and 6pm – and then have the evening off”.
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Alyssia at four years old. Photo: Private
Already in the top three of the U11 in France
Her development is rapid. At the moment, she is one of the top three U11 girls in France, although she is only nine years old.
So what is your favourite shot, Alyssia? “Forehand loop!”
And in terms of results, what do you consider to be your best tournaments so far? “Euro Minichamps in August 2024. I was eleventh in the U11.”
78 girls took part in Euro Mini Champs in the U11 category. It was impressive for a nine-year-old like Alyssia to reach the knockout stage. And there she managed to beat Oleksandra Bahatko from Ukraine in the first round. Alyssia then lost to Bianca Toma from Romania, who finished third in the tournament. Finally, Alyssia defeated Valentina Ignat from Romania in straight games for the 11th or 12th place.
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Alyssia Bataille does her favourite stroke – forehand loop. Photo: Jens Fellke, compass
Will Alyssia do a Bernadette?
But Alyssia still has two years to play in the U11 event at Euro Mini Champs. She says her role model is Bernadette Szöcs from Romania, one of the best players in Europe and one of the best in the world. Szöcs also played Euro Mini Champs when she was young. At the age of 10, Bernadette reached the semi-finals of the U-11 Euro Mini Champs.
Next August we will see if Alyssia can catch up with her idol.
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Alyssia at the compass camp in Saarbrücken in August 2024. Photo: Jens Fellke, compass
Bienvenue to compass, Alyssia!
Bienvenue to compass, Alyssia!
She is nine years old and trains around 15 hours a week. At the 2024 Euro Mini Champs, she finished in eleventh place among players who were two years older than her. Meet Alyssia Bataille from France, the latest compass supported table tennis talent.
none
Alyssia Bataille, welcome to compass! Photo: Jens Fellke
It is not surprising that Alyssia Bataille plays table tennis. She was born into a table tennis family – both her parents, Jérôme and Céline, and her older sister, Luana, play. So naturally she followed them to the training hall of the Lers Club, located near Lille in the north of France, on the border with Belgium. The club has around 150 active players. And after the French bronze medal in the team competition and Felix Lebrun’s bronze medal in the individual competition at the Olympic Games, many young children want to start playing table tennis at Lers.
“I liked being in the hall,” Alyssia remembers. “The people there were friendly. It was a nice atmosphere. In the beginning, I used to run after the balls and collect them when someone was doing a multi-ball training session”.
none
A very young beginner. Photo: Private
A racket in her hand at two
“She picked up a racket at the age of two and started playing with ball and racket,” says Alyssia’s father Jérôme Bataille. “When she was three she started training more regularly and when she was six she was playing three or four times a week.”
Last year, the amount of training increased to about 15 hours a week. And the school is very understanding of Alyssia’s ambitions to develop her game.
“The school allows her to leave about two hours before the others,” continues Jéròme. “That means she can play between 4pm and 6pm – and then have the evening off”.
none
Alyssia at four years old. Photo: Private
Already in the top three of the U11 in France
Her development is rapid. At the moment, she is one of the top three U11 girls in France, although she is only nine years old.
So what is your favourite shot, Alyssia? “Forehand loop!”
And in terms of results, what do you consider to be your best tournaments so far? “Euro Minichamps in August 2024. I was eleventh in the U11.”
78 girls took part in Euro Mini Champs in the U11 category. It was impressive for a nine-year-old like Alyssia to reach the knockout stage. And there she managed to beat Oleksandra Bahatko from Ukraine in the first round. Alyssia then lost to Bianca Toma from Romania, who finished third in the tournament. Finally, Alyssia defeated Valentina Ignat from Romania in straight games for the 11th or 12th place.
none
Alyssia Bataille does her favourite stroke – forehand loop. Photo: Jens Fellke, compass
Will Alyssia do a Bernadette?
But Alyssia still has two years to play in the U11 event at Euro Mini Champs. She says her role model is Bernadette Szöcs from Romania, one of the best players in Europe and one of the best in the world. Szöcs also played Euro Mini Champs when she was young. At the age of 10, Bernadette reached the semi-finals of the U-11 Euro Mini Champs.
Next August we will see if Alyssia can catch up with her idol.
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Alyssia at the compass camp in Saarbrücken in August 2024. Photo: Jens Fellke, compass
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