(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT)
No changes in the Women’s Top 5 this week with Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, and Chen Xingtong forming a wall of Chinese dominance over the rest of the world. At No. 6, Mima Ito is once again the top non-Chinese player in the rankings. China’s Qian Tianyi is up a spot to No. 7 this week followed by Shin Yubin, Hina Hayata, and Yan Han. Bernadette Szocs is 11th, and Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz is No. 12. Xiaoxin Yang, Cheng I-Ching, and Zhang Rui round top the top 15.
On the strength of the Pan Am games, Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi moved up 13 places to No. 24. And based upon her performance in the same event, USA’s Amy Wang has jumped up 37 spots to World No. 31. With that jump, Wang is now USA’s top ranked woman, having hopped over Lily Zhang (now No. 35). Leaving the rivalry between the top two Americans aside, this is the perfect time to have two women high in the rankings as a number of high profile events are on the horizon (including the Olympics). As most team events base seeding on the top three players, it is also important to note that USA’s Sara Jalli is currently World No. 95.
The Men’s Top 25 players have remained the same – though No. 7 and No. 8 (Gaoyuan is now No. 7 moving ahead of Lin Yun-Ju) switched positions, and last week’s No. 18 (Quadri Aruni) is now No. 16. Fan Zhendong is No. 1 with 7105 points, Wang Chuqin is second with 6285, and Ma Long is third with 4145.
Tomokazu Harimoto is the top non-Chinese player at No. 4. Hugo Calderano is fifth (and the top non-Asian player). Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan add two more great Chinese players to the Top 10 (at No. 6 and No. 7). Ling Yun-Ju is No. 9 and the top European player is Dimitrij Ovtcharov at World No. 9.
A few other points to note – the top two Penhold Players in the world, Dang Qiu and Felix Lebrun are right next to each other at World No. 14 and No 15. Germany, who at points this year had four players around the Top 10, currently have only three players in the top 25 (Ovtcharov at 9, Qiu at 14, and Franziska at 24). Sweden now has the second strongest team position behind China with Moregard at 12, Falck at 20, and Kallberg at 22. Korea, Taipei, and France are all now very close for third position (Korea has 13/17/26, Taipei has 8/28/30, and France has 15, 18, 27). Japan has had little help for Harimoto in recent years, but ahead of the Olympics Shinozuka has risen to No. 34 and Togami is at No. 41, and Uda is at No. 45, so perhaps by next year they’ll be a top seed as well.
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