(by Steve Hopkins)
As we entered 2023, China held the top three spots in the ITTF Rankings with Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Wang Chuqin leading the way. A year later, China holds the top four spots – with the same three at the top. Fan Zhendong will enter 2024 in first, with Wang Chuqin and Ma Long in second and third.
A year ago, Harimoto had just dropped two spaced to fourth, and Truls Moregard was in fifth – and Liang Jingkun was on the rise at No. 6. A year later, it is now Jingkun in fourth. Hugo Calderano and Lin Yun-Ju are the top non-Chinese players at No. 5 and No. 6. Lin Gaoyuan is 7th, followed by Europe’s highest ranked player, Felix Lebrun at 8. Lin Shidong is 9th, Korea’s top player, and Jang Woojin is 10th.
Overall, things haven’t changed that much – there are five European players in the top 15 (not 6), and there are 6 Chinese players in the top 15 (one more than a year ago). The order of the players has changed a little, with Harimoto just outside of the Top 10, Kallberg replacing Moregard as the top Swede in the rankings, and with Felix Lebrun’s rise to the Top 10 occurring a little quicker than many would have expected. But, outside of China’s continued dominance at the top, there is a balance between European and other Asian players (with Hugo Calderano, Quadri Aruna, and Omar Assar making appearances for other continents in the top 20 as well).
At the end of 2022, there were a series of major championships that had significant impact on the rankings. The schedule is a little different this year with the WTT Finals starting on January 3rd – effectively ending 2023 in 2024 (like Americans do with football bowl games). With that in mind, we can withhold final judgment on these 2023 rankings for another week – as the Rankings that will be released on January 9th with reflect all of 2023 (plus the WTT Finals).
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