French players and the home crowd had plenty to celebrate at the Orléans Masters Badminton 2026, with strong performances and two all-European finals to end the week.

In mixed doubles, top seeds Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue faced Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje, second seeds, in a clash between two of Europe’s strongest pairs. The head-to-head was 5-3 in favour of the French and they added yet another win with a victory in straight games, 21-19 21-13.

The first game was close throughout but from 14-14 onwards Gicquel/Delrue managed to create a gap and take control. In the second, they were clearly on top, building a bigger lead to then secure the title.

“It’s always the same feeling. When you win, you are really happy, really proud, and especially at home, it's an even more special moment. We are really proud.”

Delrue pointed to the mental aspect as key in the final. “I think today the difference was mentally. Especially in the final, we need to have more focus. We need to want to win more than them and I think we did that today.”

The French pair grew into the match backed by the loud home crowd. “I think in the final, the first set is really important. Then we can bring the crowd with us in the second game. When you have the lead, and then you have the crowd with you, it's difficult for the opponent,” Gicquel added.

“It was a really hard week for us. We played a lot of three sets. Mentally, we fight a lot, so we were really proud of everything this week,,” Delrue concluded.

There was also an all-European – and all-French – final in men’s singles, with fourth seed Toma Junior Popov facing the defending champion, Alex Lanier.

It was a repeat of the 2025 European Championships final, also won by Lanier, although Popov had won their other meeting in 2025 at the China Open. This time, however, Lanier was in control from the start, with a strong performance, 21-11 21-13.

“I tried also to go on court with anger and also this mental toughness that I was maybe missing the last few tournaments. I think also about the emotion, I'm a little bit less emotional on that one. Also, I feel especially on that final, I feel that I've done the job, I've done a pretty good match.”

Lanier’s approach and preparation paid off. “I think I needed to be a bit more, 100%, even more than 100% mentally. I think that changed also quite a lot the game.”

Winning on home soil added another layer to the achievement. “In general, it's a tournament, but it's a special one. It's definitely very good and I'm proud to deliver a second title here.”

There were also great performances from other European pairs, with Christian Faust Kjær/Rasmus Kjær reaching the semifinals in men’s doubles, together with Rubén García/Lucía Rodríguez in mixed doubles, both earning important points on the World Tour.

With several strong results, the week in Orléans has given us many exciting moments ahead of the 2026 European Championships, now just around the corner.