China's Ma Long and Liu Shiwen retain their top places on the respective Men's and Women's World Rankings; on the listings issued by the International Table Tennis Federation on Friday 3rd January 2014 they are once again at the very pinnacle.
It is the seventh consecutive month that Ma Long has appeared in the top spot and the 29th time during his career.
Meanwhile, for Liu Shiwen it her fifth month in succession in first place and it is the 14th time overall.
It is the seventh consecutive month that Ma Long has appeared in the top spot and the 29th time during his career.
Meanwhile, for Liu Shiwen it her fifth month in succession in first place and it is the 14th time overall.
First Place Four Years Ago
Ma Long first assumed the top spot exactly four years ago in January 2010, he maintained that position throughout the year; in January 2011 he fell one place to no.2 but then regained the no.1 spot in October 2011.
He remained at the top of the tree for eight months, being replaced by Zhang Jike in June 2012; in March 2013 he changed places with Xu Xin and held the top spot in April before again alternating with Xu Xin.
In July 2013 he returned to the top of the list and he has been there ever since.
Two Stints
A total of four stints in top place for Ma Long, it is two for Liu Shiwen; she owned first position for nine months in 2010 from January to September, before in September 2013 replacing Ding Ning in first place.
Leading Names Unchanged
Top place retained by Ma Long and on the Men's World Rankings the leading names all remained unchanged.
Xu Xin continues in second place followed by Chinese National Team colleagues Zhang Jike, Wang Hao and Fan Zhendong. Once again Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov is at no.6 one place ahead of Yan An, also from China, and German compatriot, Timo Boll.
Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan is stationary at no.9 with Vladimir Samsonov at no.10, followed by China's Ma Lin and Wang Liqin who complete the top 12 names.
One Change of Note
No change amongst the highest echelons of the Men's World Rankings and only one for the women.
China's Wu Yang and Singapore's Feng Tianwei change places; Wu Yang is now at no.4 and thus enjoys the highest status of her career and the highest achieved by a defensive player since Korea's Kim Kyungah occupied the same status from August to October 2010.
Ma Long first assumed the top spot exactly four years ago in January 2010, he maintained that position throughout the year; in January 2011 he fell one place to no.2 but then regained the no.1 spot in October 2011.
He remained at the top of the tree for eight months, being replaced by Zhang Jike in June 2012; in March 2013 he changed places with Xu Xin and held the top spot in April before again alternating with Xu Xin.
In July 2013 he returned to the top of the list and he has been there ever since.
Two Stints
A total of four stints in top place for Ma Long, it is two for Liu Shiwen; she owned first position for nine months in 2010 from January to September, before in September 2013 replacing Ding Ning in first place.
Leading Names Unchanged
Top place retained by Ma Long and on the Men's World Rankings the leading names all remained unchanged.
Xu Xin continues in second place followed by Chinese National Team colleagues Zhang Jike, Wang Hao and Fan Zhendong. Once again Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov is at no.6 one place ahead of Yan An, also from China, and German compatriot, Timo Boll.
Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan is stationary at no.9 with Vladimir Samsonov at no.10, followed by China's Ma Lin and Wang Liqin who complete the top 12 names.
One Change of Note
No change amongst the highest echelons of the Men's World Rankings and only one for the women.
China's Wu Yang and Singapore's Feng Tianwei change places; Wu Yang is now at no.4 and thus enjoys the highest status of her career and the highest achieved by a defensive player since Korea's Kim Kyungah occupied the same status from August to October 2010.
Liu Shiwen remains at the top of the list for the fifth consecutive month
Photo by Ry Gros
Remain the Same
Otherwise amongst the elite there is no change; China's Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia remain at no.2 and no.3 respectively with colleagues Chen Meng, Zhu Yuling and the now retired Guo Yan being in immediate pursuit of Feng Tianwei.
Japan's Ai Fukuhara remains no.9 one place ahead of colleague Kasumi Ishikawa with Guo Yue, also from China and Korea's Seo Hyowon once again completing the top 12 names.
Highest Career Status
A career high for Wu Yang and lower down the order in the top 100 names there are several ladies who enjoy the most illustrious status of their careers.
In the top 50 names, Germany's Han Ying moves from a previous best of no.19 in December 2013 to no.21; likewise it is consistent progress for Hong Kong's Lee Ho Ching and Korea's Jeon Jihee. Lee Ho Ching climbs from no.23, a position she also owned in September 2013, to no. 21, whilst Jeon Jihee advances one place to no.24.
She was listed at no.25 in December 2013, as she was in January and February 2012 and in September 2013.
Similar Scenario
Likewise, China's Hu Limei, Gu Yuting, Liu Gaoyang and Zhao Yan enjoyed the highest rankings of their young careers.
Hu Limei improves on her last December best of no.29 and is now at no.27; Gu Yuting who previously shared the no.51 spot with Liu Gaoyang is now at no.32 alongside Zhao Yan.
The previous best for Gu Yuting was no.38 in September 2010, for Liu Gaoyang no.46 in October 2013; whilst for Zhao Yan, her highest was month ago in December 2013 when she stood one place lower than at present at no.36.
It is continued progress for Lee Ho Ching, she is now at no.21 on the Women's World Rankings
Photo by Karson Chan
Also New Heights
Likewise, in the top one hundred Hong Kong's Doo Hoi Kem, Romania's Bernadette Szocs and China's Li Xi alongside the Japanese duo of Mima Ito and Miu Hirano all enjoy career high rankings.
Doo Hoi Kem moves from no.77 to no.53 and improves on her earlier best of no.75 in October 2013; whilst for the other four notable names they advance from what was their previous highest career status.
Bernadette Szocs climbs from no.71 to no.51, Mima Ito from no.63 to no.60 and Miu Hirano from no.78 to no.69; whilst Li Xi is now at no.99; prior to the January listing she was at no.99.
Similar for Men
Similarly for the men there are those amongst the top one hundred enjoying new heights and improving on their earlier best in December 2013.
Portugal's Marcos Freitas moves from no.17 to no.15, China's Zhou Yu from no.18 to no.17; whilst Japan's Masataka Morizono moves from no.92 to no.76.
Downward Trend
Progress and of course there are those who must make way and drop down the list.
Notably for the men Japan's Yuto Muramatsu drops from no.86 to no.70 and China's Xu Chenhao from no.91 to no.99.
Meanwhile for the women, Sweden's Matilda Ekholm is now at no.51 having been at no.43; whilst China's Gu Ruochen descends from no.65 to no.71 and Japan's 14 year old Miyu Kato from no.75 to no.87, no doubt on the next World Rankings it will be a move in the opposite direction, Miyu Kato has time on her side.
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