(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)

Wang Chuqin began 2025 as the top ranked player, about 2500 points ahead of second place Lin Shidong.  At the start of 2026, those two players will be in the same position (with about the same point spread between them).  The next five players are the same as well, though their positions have shifted (and have consistently shifted throughout the year).  Hugo Calderano, Tomokazu Harimoto, Truls Moregard, Felix Lebrun, and Liang Jingkun were all in the No. 3-7 positions a year ago and they are in those positions today (in the order noted).

A year ago, Lin Gaoyuan was World No. 8, and he has faded to outside of the Top 20 (arguably replaced by Xiang Peng as the fourth Chinese player with opportunities to compete internationally – Peng is currently No. 11).  Fortunes have shifted a little for Germany – where a year ago they had Qiu and Franziska at No. 9 and 10 followed by Duda at 15 and Ovtcharov at 17.  A year later, and they still have two players near No. 10 (Qiu is No. 10 and Duda is No. 12), but Franziska has dropped to No. 20 and Ovtcharov is no longer in the Top 20.

Alexis Lebrun has risen to No. 9, following his younger brother to the Top 10 – and France now has Simon Gauzy at No. 17, giving them one more Frenchman in the Top 20 than a year ago.  Lin Yun-Ju, Darko Jorgic, Jang Woojin are all consistent through the year and in the bottom half of the Top 20.  Top African players OMar Assar and Quadri Aruna who were both in the Top 20 a year ago are now further down the rankings (perhaps that is cyclical and we’ll see more movement in that region when the next Olympic cycle approaches).

The new players in the Top 20 this year (who were no present a year ago) are Sora Matsushima (No. 8), Xiang Peng (No. 11), An Jaehyun (No. 15), Anders Lind (No. 16), Simon Gauzy (No. 17), and Shunsuke Togami (No. 19).

The WTT calendar grew in 2025.  When including Champions, Star Contenders, Contenders, Feeders, and Youth events, there were 225 WTT events last year.  These included the Singapore Smash, United States Smash, Europe Smash, and China Smash – all four of these events are already scheduled for 2026 (Singapore starts Feb 19, US will start June 25, Europe will start August 13, and the China Smash will start on October 1).

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