Anaïs Lapoutge - French Pétanque Champion | Player Profile

Anaïs Lapoutge - Quick Facts

From a Village Square to the French Championship

Anaïs Lapoutge grew up in Oursbelille, a small village near Tarbes in the Hautes-Pyrénées, and took up pétanque at age 11 after joining informal games on the village square where her father played. She earned her first license at Tarbes Courte Boule (TCB) before a spell at nearby Sarsan Lourdes, and her career took off after a move to Saint-Martory in the Haute-Garonne.

It was at Saint-Martory that Lapoutge won her first French title in 2011, a Women's Triplette crown alongside Nelly Peyré and Pascale Pontac. She backed it up the following year with the Women's Doublette title, again partnering Peyré - a pairing that would remain one of the more productive partnerships in French women's pétanque during the early 2010s.

Two Golds at European Espoirs Level

Alongside her senior success, Lapoutge was a dominant force at Espoirs (under-23) level. In October 2013 she won the European Espoirs triplette title in Düsseldorf, Germany, as part of a French squad with Morgane Bacon, Audrey Bandiera and Anna Maillard - a title regarded at the time as a return to "la première marche du podium" after France had lost recent finals in the category. She retained the title two years later, winning the 2015 edition in Nieuwegein, Netherlands, this time with Cindy Peyrot, Bandiera and Alison Rodriguez.

That same period brought international recognition at senior level: in September 2013 Lapoutge learned she had been selected for France's second team at the World Championship in Montauban, alongside Maillard, Sandrine Herlem and Marie-Angèle Germain - her first call-up to a World Championship squad. She also won the Confederation Cup triplette title in 2014.

Later Career

Lapoutge continued competing at a high level through the rest of the 2010s, winning a French Club Championship title in 2017 and a Hérault departmental championship the same year while playing for Palavas-les-Flots, before a 2019 return to the Haute-Garonne with Cazères Pétanque Club, reuniting with Cindy Peyrot and playing alongside Émilie Vignères. She reached another French final in 2022, finishing runner-up in the Women's Doublette event, and as of the 2025 season plays for Bouchon Gaves d'Argelès back in her native Hautes-Pyrénées.

Playing Style

Lapoutge plays as a middle player (milieu), the position that bridges a team's opening point and its closing shots, and is right-handed. Her long run of results across both triplette and doublette formats, and at both Espoirs and senior level, reflects the all-around versatility the middle position demands.

Achievements and Honors

• French Champion, Women's Triplette (2011, Saint-Martory), with Nelly Peyré and Pascale Pontac
• French Champion, Women's Doublette (2012, Saint-Martory), with Nelly Peyré
• European Champion, Women's Espoirs Triplette (2013, Düsseldorf), with Morgane Bacon, Audrey Bandiera and Anna Maillard
• European Champion, Women's Espoirs Triplette (2015, Nieuwegein), with Cindy Peyrot, Audrey Bandiera and Alison Rodriguez
• Confederation Cup winner, Women's Triplette (2014)
• French Club Championship winner (2017)
• French Championship runner-up, Women's Doublette (2022)
• World Championship squad member, France (2013, Montauban)

Legacy

Anaïs Lapoutge's career traces a familiar path in French women's pétanque: a village-square start in the Hautes-Pyrénées, two senior French titles alongside Nelly Peyré at Saint-Martory, and a run of European Espoirs golds that put her alongside Audrey Bandiera, Anna Maillard and Cindy Peyrot among the strongest under-23 triplettes France has fielded. More than a decade after her breakthrough, she remains an active competitor back in her home department.