Following an incredibly busy month for ITTF events, with no less than eleven Competitions in March valid for World Ranking points across all age categories, there have been some dramatic changes. Focusing on the men’s and women’s singles we will take a closer look at the impact of the senior events from March.

World Rankings take into account the top eight results from events in the past twelve months, as well as the latest World Championships team and individual events. For the April rankings the impact from March 2017’s points expiring was minimal among the top ranked players, meaning they were able to take full advantage of competitions taking place throughout March 2018.

WR#6 Ma Long (CHN) +3

Ma Long’s win at the German Open earned him the maximum possible points at a World Tour Platinum event, 2250 points. This was possible because Ma Long had only seven results under his belt for the ranking period. The increase boosted him from WR#9 to WR#6 where he is hot on the heels of teammates Lin Gaoyuan and Xu Xin.

WR#12 Hugo Calderano (BRA) +3

Runner Up at the Qatar Open, Hugo Calderano moves to a new career high. While 15^th to 12^th does not seem a huge leap it gives Calderano a firm foundation to stand on. Calderano will appear next at the World Team Championships, where Brazil will compete in the Championship Division after finishing 26^th in Kuala Lumpur two years ago. In 2016 he won eleven matches in Division 2, earning 1375 ranking points. Wins are worth more points in the highest division but still Hugo Calderano will have to perform well to maintain his current world ranking.

WR#20 Mattias Karlsson (SWE) +11

An impressive performance in March, reaching the last 16 in Qatar and the quarterfinal in Germany, Mattias Karlsson defeated Japan’s Koki Niwa, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, and France’s Simon Gauzy to attain high highest ever world ranking. This bodes well for Sweden in the lead up to Halmstad with two players now in the top 20, teammate Kristian Karlsson sitting at WR#19.

WR#10 Liu Shiwen (CHN) +10

Returning to winning ways Liu Shiwen took home the Qatar Open title and rose no less than ten places, followed by compatriot Ding Ning directly below at 11^th. Beginning in the qualification stage they added points earned from group wins to their earnings, elevating them further than otherwise.

Senior Events in March 2018:

• 2018 Qatar Open – World Tour Platinum
  • Men’s Singles Winner FAN Zhendong (CHN), Women’s Singles Winner LIU Shiwen (CHN)
• 2018 German Open – World Tour Platinum
  • Men’s Singles Winner MA Long (CHN), Women’s Singles Winner ISHIKAWA Kasumi (JPN)
• 2018 Polish Open – Challenge Series
  • Men’s Singles Winner LIM Jonghoon (KOR), Women’s Singles Winner YANG Haeun (KOR)
• 2018 Spanish Open – Challenge Series
  • Men’s Singles Winner KIM Minhyeok (KOR), Women’s Singles Winner SHIBATA Saki (JPN)
• 2018 ITTF Africa Cup – Continental Champs/Cup
  • Men’s Singles Winner ASSAR Omar (EGY), Women’s Singles Winner MESHREF Dina (EGY)
• 2018 ITTF Oceania Championships – Continental Champs/Cup
  • Men’s Singles Winner YAN Xin (AUS), Women’s Singles Winner LAY Jian Fang (AUS)
• 2018 Latin American Senior Championships – Other Event
  • Men’s Singles Winner JOUTI Eric (BRA), Women’s Singles Winner TAKAHASHI Bruna (BRA)

4/2018 – General List – Men

View comprehensive men world ranking data.

4/2018 – General List – Women

View comprehensive women world ranking data.