During a year away from competition, Léonice Huet has had to rediscover how to stay visible, express herself and rebuild her identity — on and off court. The French athlete talks about using social media to share more than results while fighting her way through recovery. 

The 26-year-old is quite active online, especially on Instagram. Huet shares not only glimpses into her everyday life, but also shines a light into topics that matter to her. She has always been one to express herself to her audience. 

After suffering an injury and spending a year in recovery, that period away has given her time to reflect even further on who she is beyond badminton. 

“When you are injured, you are aside from badminton courts and people might forget you.” 

A year away 
In 2025, Huet kicked off the year by finishing runner-up at the VICTOR Swedish Open and reached the round of 16 at the European Championships. Just like this year, she competed at the Denmark Challenge and that would be the last event we saw her at before injury forced her away from competition. 

Huet was set to stay off court for a while, and she knew she didn’t just want to stay quiet while in recovery. “I was like, how can I still be present without being on court?” 

The French athlete underwent hip surgery and spent one year away from tournaments. Injuries are a major blow, both physically and mentally. For professional athletes, to suddenly be removed from competition and forced to stop is something we have heard many badminton players describe as extremely difficult. 

She has made her comeback In May at the I FEEL SLOVENIA LI-NING Open 2026, where she faced a tough first opponent but still fought for three games. We catch up with Huet at the STATE Denmark Challenge 2026 presented by RSL, an International Challenge tournament, around two weeks after her return. 

Injuries can be more than a physical setback. Especially during a one-year period away from competition, it becomes a moment of pause and self-reflection. 

“You have time to be back on yourself and to jot down some thoughts about what you want to achieve, how you want to come back, with who.” 
 
“You have to rewrite your history” 
Right now, Huet sits at 484 at the world ranking. “I just feel like it’s a blank page,” she admits, but not with defeat. She sees this as a new opportunity. “You have to rewrite your history.” 
Huet explains that she felt sad once she realised she would have to undergo surgery and be away for a year, but she is now back with a new perspective and, as she describes it, a new body. Her former career almost feels distant, and everything starts again. “Your past career is like non-existent anymore. You have to restart from zero, like literally.” 

And yet, she is not starting quite from zero. Huet has had a career high of 43 in the world rankings. She has been a regular in the French squad in continental team events, and has competed in three European Championships and two World Championships. This is a new beginning, but her experience and strength are still there, even through her raw and honest reflections on starting over after injury. 
 
Owning your story 
Huet is one of the players on the tour who shares regular video updates on social media, especially on Instagram. Her videos and photo posts on her recovery, fashion — she runs a separate Instagram account dedicated entirely to her passion for it — and her opinions on a wide range of topics are all a way for her to express herself. “It was really important for me to share my story in this period.” 

We are seeing more and more athletes sharing raw moments with their audiences. The age of social media has allowed fans to see their idols like never before. Unfiltered in a way, although still edited to a certain extent, one can, as Huet describes it herself, turn on the camera and film themselves. 

She still has a very relatable, human reaction to this. “It’s kind of difficult to put yourself on social media sometimes because you have fear of what people would think of you.” 

But she still hits record on her phone because she knows how important having a platform and using it can be. 
 
The importance of showing up 
Social media has allowed for increasing representation and visibility of those who might not have been given the same platform before. Media has had to catch up. Athletes are now seen not only on their own platforms, but also on post-match interviews and press conferences, speaking up beyond their results.  

Whether it is racism, sexism, mental health or athlete empowerment, there are more and more topics that have now become part of the wider conversation, with big figures speaking openly about their struggles and opening the door to dialogue, acknowledgment and slowly, change.

“As a female athlete… it’s really important to show up.” Huet points to two big figures in this space, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, who have both been very vocal.

Players like them, and those who are even younger and still training to become professional, now have strong figures to look up to. Others can look up to Huet, too. She interacts with her followers and explains that young athletes have asked her for tips. This pushes her even more to be vocal on social media. “It’s interesting for the young ones to have people who express themselves.” 
 
Be proud
We catch her at a moment where she is not expressing herself via her phone, but on court. Huet had just earned her first win after her comeback, a solid win in straight games in the first round of qualification at the Denmark Challenge.

How would she describe her comeback in one word? “It’s pride,” she says with a smile. Her focus is on enjoying her time on court, on just “being happy again” when playing, as she describes it. And she certainly looks so. “Be proud of who you are and be proud of coming back.” 
 

Off Court is a new Badminton Europe series exploring the stories, identities, and journeys of the people in badminton, beyond the results and beyond the court. 

Follow Léonice Huet’s journey on Instagram here.