by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
It is the 36th time that Ding Ning has been listed at the very pinnacle, her first appearance at the very top being in November 2011; the listing means that she is just over half way to emulating her legendary compatriot Zhang Yining.
Between January 2003 and July 2009 Zhang Yining held the no.1 spot on no less than 70 occasions; only twice during that period of time was she not in top spot; that was in January and November 2008 when she dropped to no.2.
Meanwhile for the deposed leader; Liu Shiwen has occupied pole position on 34 occasions since first acceding to highest place in January 2010.
Notably the last time the name of either Ding Ning or Liu Shiwen did not appear in the top position was in April 2011 when colleague Li Xiaoxia was the incumbent.
Although having announced her retirement from international play, Li Xiaoxia appears once again at no.3 followed by Zhu Yuling to give China as before the top four places.
Next in line is Kasumi Ishikawa who changes places with Singapore’s Feng Tianwei; Germany’s Han Ying remains at no.7 with Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching once again in the no.8 spot.
Chen Meng returns the list at no.9 having being away from the international scene in recent months; Japan’s Ai Fukuhara and Mima Ito alongside Wu Yang, like Chen Meng from China, complete the top 12 names; each drops one place.
A return to the Women’s World Rankings for Chen Meng, it is the same for colleagues Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong; Wang Manyu appears at no.61, Chen Xingtong at 67.
Highlights from the recent 2016 ITTF World Tour China Open
Both are impressive young players who could well make their mark on proceedings in the not too distant future. It is also the same for Singapore’s Zeng Jian, Saki Shibata and Kyoka Kato who all achieve the highest status of their careers.
Zeng Jian moves from her previous best of no.27 to no.18, likewise Saki Shibata from no.75 to no.59; as for Kyoka Kato, her previous highest listing was no.93 on October 2014. She advances from no.96 to no.85.
A change at the very top of the Women’s World Rankings; that is not the situation in the leading positions for the age group orders of merit.
Zhu Yuling retains top spot on the Under 21 Women’s World Rankings, followed by Mima Ito and Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem. Similarly, Mima Ito retains her top billing on the Under 18 Girls’ World Rankings, colleagues Miu Hirano and Hina Hayata are the next in line.
Japan to the fore; it is the same on the Under 15 Girls’ World Rankings; Miyu Nagasaki and Miyuu Kihara remain in the respective top two places but one place below there is a change.
Russia’s Mariia Tailakova climbs two places to no.3, Hitoe Asai remains at no.4; whilst Crystal Wang of the United States fall two places and now occupies the no.5 position.
Thursday 29th September: Latest World Rankings