August Rankings: Xu Keeps Top Spot
(by Steve Hopkins/Photo by ITTF)
The ITTF August rankings are out and Xu Xin has held on to the top spot. Fan Zhendong moved up a spot to No. 2, and Ma Long has jumped up two spots to No. 3. Lin Gaoyuan has slid two spots to No. 4. The rest of the Top 10 are Harimoto, Calderano, Falck, Boll, Liang, and Niwa.
Kanak Jha is the top ranked player in North America (No. 33). Jeremy Hazin of Canada is second at No. 172. The top four Latin American players are all from Brazil (Calderano, Tsuboi, Jouti, and Monteiro).
There are changes in the women’s rankings as well. Chen Meng has held on to the top spot, but Ding Ning, Zhu Yuling, and Wang Manyu have all moved up one space (now No. 2, 3, and 4). Liu Shiwen has fallen from No. 2 to No. 5. The rest of the Top 10 are Ishikawa, Sun, Ito, Cheng, and Hirano.
Canada’s Mo Zhang remains the top ranked woman in North America (No. 27), but she is followed closely by a pair of Americans: Jennifer Wu (No. 35) and Lily Zhang (No. 66).
There are two tour events in August which have the potential to affect the top players. The Pan Am Games are also set for early August, so that could affect the North American and Latin American players’ rankings as well.
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