Winner of the Women’s Singles title at the Japan Open in Kobe on Sunday 4th July 2010, Singapore’s Wang Yue Gu is the player to make the most notable strides amongst the elite on the Women’s World Rankings issued by the International Table Tennis Federation on Thursday 5th August 2010.

Previously at no.9, the 30 year old Singaporean climbs to no.6.

Thus she equals her previous best ever World Ranking.

In 2008, she occupied the no.6 spot for four months from January to April.

Defensive Play Lives
Progress for Wang Yue Gu and there is also progress for Korea’s 33 year old Kim Kyung Ah, she changes places with China’s Ding Ning and occupies the no.4 position, to secure her highest ever place on the ITTF Women’s World Ranking list.

The previous best for the Korean was on the two previous rankings issued this year when she occupied the no.5 berth; for those who bemoan the demise of the defensive player, Kim Kyung Ah is flying the flag for the backspin artiste.

Youth Leads
Progress for two very experienced players but youth still heads the women’s list.

China’s 19 year old Liu Shiwen retains the top spot followed by Singapore’s Feng Tianwei and Liu Shiwen’s compatriot, Guo Yan.

Casualties
The progress made by Kim Kyung Ah and Wang Yue Gu means there must be casualties.

China’s Gu Yue and Li Xiaoxia both fall one place; the former is now at no.7, the latter at no.8 with Hong Kong’s Jiang Huajun one place below.

She is now at no.9 having previously stood at no.7 alongside Li Xiaoxia; Japan’s Ai Fukuhara retains her place to complete the top ten.

Incredible Progress
A drop down the rankings for two Chinese stars in the guise of Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia but for the next generation it is meteoric progress.

Good performances on the ITTF Pro Tour and on the ITTF Junior Circuit in July see five Chinese teenagers all make massive strides.

Zhu Yuling climbs from no.105 to no.25 and also she claims the no.1 spot on the ITTF Under 18 Girls’ Rankings and Under 15 Girls’ Rankings. On the former she is ahead of compatriot Wu Yang and Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa; on the latter ahead of colleagues Gu Yuting and Liu Xi.

Previously Zhu Yuling stood at no.7 on the Under 18 list with Wang Yang at no.1 and Kasumi Ishikawa at no.2; whilst on the Under 15 Rankings she was at no.2 with Gu Yuting at no.1. Liu Xi enters the rankings for the first time.

Similar
Similarly, there is progress for Yi Fengxian; she climbs from no.135 to no.44 on the women’s list with Zhao Yan, Sheng Dandan, Gu Yuting and Liu Xi all making quite remarkable progress.

Zhao Yan moves from no.132 to no.61, Sheng Dandan from no.100 to no.62, Gu Yuting from no.93 to no.68 and Liu Xi from no.146 to no.93.

Good Performances Rewarded
Equally, there is progress for those who excelled on the ITTF Pro Tour in July.

Kasumi Ishikawa, the winner of the Women’s Singles crown in Morocco climbs from no.34 to no.29 with compatriot, Yuka Ishigaki, the victor in Egypt, advancing from no.43 to no.33.

In a similar vein, Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching climbs ten places to no.50 with Reiko Hiura and Misaki Morizono, also from Japan, advancing.

Misaki Morizono moves from no.129 to no.98 whilst Sara Ramirez, a Women’s Singles semi-finalist in Morocco, is now at no.96. In the July list she was at no.101.

No Change
Meanwhile, on the Under 21 Women’s Rankings, there is no change; China’s Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning and Feng Yalan continue to occupy the top three places.

Source: www.ittf.com

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