(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF)
Wang Chuqin has ended 2024 in the same position where he started – atop the ITTF Rankings. Chuqin’s 8300 points is a sizeable lead that will give him a big advantage well into the Spring of 2025. Lin Shidong has finished his incredible year, climbing from outside of the Top 25 all the way to World No. 2 – and his lead over third place is 2000 points, more of a separation between No. 2 and 3 than there is between Chuqin and Shidong.
Tomokazu Harimoto has jumped up to World No. 3 – a strong finish for a year where he was outside of the Top 10 for many months. Felix Lebrun is the top European player at No. 4. Liang Jingkun and Fan Zhendong are No. 5 and No. 6 – for Zhendong, he has not played since winning the Olympics, so 2025 may be a reset for a well-rested Fan.
Hugo Calderano is No. 7, followed by a retired Ma Long (whose ranking points will slowly diminish over the next 6 months). Truls Moregard and Lin Gaoyuan are the 9th and 10th players in the rankings. Germany has four players in the Top 20, but none of them are in the Top 10 – Qiu at 11, and Franziska at 12, and then Duda at 17 and Ovtcharov at 19. The other Euros in the Top 20 are Darko Jorgic at 13, Alexis Lebrun at 16, and Anton Kallberg at No. 18. Jang Woojin is at No. 14, and Lin Yun-Ju is No. 15, and the last player in the top 20 is Omar Assar of Egypt. USA’s Kanak Jha is currently at No. 61, just after England’s Liam Pitchford and ahead of Manav Thakkar of India and Mattias Falck of Sweden.
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