Timeless Timo back inside top 50
23 January 2024
Week 4 of the ITTF Table Tennis World Rankings have dropped and there is plenty to take in. While the season is only just getting started, we already have headline making wins, incredible stats and new names taking WTT titles. Check out below the movers and shakers who are standing in the spotlight this week.
Timo Boll (GER) | Men’s No.45 (+140)
It's safe to say the comeback is well underway for Timo Boll. With injury sending the veteran out of the Top 100 in 2023, Boll started his climb up the ladder with a wildcard to WTT Champions Frankfurt last year. The long awaited return got off to a rocky start, with each of Frankfurt, WTT Star Contender Lanzhou and Doha delivering relatively lacklustre performances for Boll's standards. Then along came this month's WTT Contender Doha event. The lefty found his groove and a spot on the top of the podium. It was a massive turnaround with Boll in fact winning more matches in Doha than he did in the five WTT events he played back in 2022. The win in Qatar not only sent Boll back in to the Top 50 but also in to the record books. With 8026 days between his first international title and most recent victory, the legend's title winning career spans more time than any player in the history of the sport.
Doha last week provided Jeon Jihee with her first Women's Singles final in seven years. She made it a special homecoming, picking up the WTT Contender title along with 400pts. It is by long mile her best run this ranking period, and she has a large sample size to go by, with 17 WTT Series appearances in the last 12 months. Jeon still has some way to go before she can get back up to her career high of No.10. Opportunity however is quick to knock, with a showing at WTT Star Contender Goa on the books this week. A repeat of her Doha performance in India could start making the Top 10 return a reality.
Other notable movers:
- Shin Yubin (KOR) | Women's No.8 (+1)
- Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) | Men's No.9 (+2)
- Edward Ly (CAN) | Men’s No.37 (+140, career best)
- Orawan Paranang (THA) | Women’s No.39 (+14, career best)
- Yang Wang (SVK) Men's No.57 (+22)
View the complete ITTF Table Tennis World Rankings here.