(by Steve Hopkins)
Little has changed atop the World Rankings. Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong have maintained their top positions. Hugo Calderano is in third – the Brazilian isa the top non-Chinese player. Liang Jingkun is No. 4 followed by Europe’s top ranked player, Felix Lebrun. Ma Long is 6th, then Lin Yun-Ju, Lin Gaoyuan, Tomokazu Harimoto, and Patrick Franziska finish out the Top 10. The top North American player is Canada’s Edward Ly at No. 35. For US players, Ma Jinbao is No. 64 and Kanak Jha is No. 70. After those two, Jishan Liang is 145, Nandan Naresh is 191, and others are outside of the Top 200.
China holds the top four positions in the Women’s rankings – Sun, Chen, Wang Manyu, and Wang Yidi. Hina Hayata of Japan is No. 5. The top player from outside of Asia is Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico at No. 11. The top European player is Bernadette Szocs of Romania at No. 13. Lily Zhang is No. 28, and Amy Wang is No. 34 – two strong numbers for our top Americans.
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