First place in the world for table tennis men's singles born in the 2000s, ranked by Wang Chuqin | World Ranking | Men's Singles

After becoming the world number one in men's singles for 142 weeks, the name of the world number one changed from Fan Zhendong to Wang Chuqin.

On July 4th, the International Table Tennis Federation announced the 27th week of 2023 world rankings. Wang Chuqin surpassed Fan Zhendong for the first time and climbed to the top position in the men's singles world. Wang Chuqin also became the first person born in the 2000s to become the world number one in men's singles.

The WTT official website wrote, "The past 12 months have been incredible for 23-year-old Wang Chuqin. His career has reached new heights, and he has quickly reached the peak in his own way."

How did Wang Chuqin shake Fan Zhendong's nearly three-year rule in men's singles? Behind it, besides the changes brought about by the adjustment of points, there is also Wang Chuqin's personal efforts and progress.

The latest men's singles world ranking.

Ranking reshuffle

When you observe the International Table Tennis Federation's release of the 27th week of 2023 world rankings, you will find that both men's and women's singles world rankings have undergone earth shattering changes.

In terms of women's singles, five of the top ten players in the world have changed their rankings compared to last week, and Wang Yidi has been promoted two levels in a row to become the world's second highest player, setting a new career high. South Korean young player Shen Yubin broke into the top 10 and ranked 9th.

If you focus on the 10-20 positions, no contestant can maintain their original position.

Yang Xiaoxin rose 6 places and ranked 12th; Meiyu Hirano rose 7 places to 14th place; Szokos rose 11 places to 17th place.

The ranking changes in men's singles are even more crazy than those in women's singles, with only the third ranked Ma Long and the fourth ranked Zhang Benzhi remaining unchanged among the top ten players in the world. All others have experienced adjustments in their ranking positions.

The latest women's singles world ranking.

The ranking of such a major reshuffle largely stems from the rules of point calculation.

According to the relevant regulations of the International Table Tennis Federation, July 4, 2023 will be a point in time when points will expire and be invalidated. On this day, world ranking points for certain events in 2021 and 2022 will be invalidated.

In this adjustment, the 2000 points earned by Fan Zhendong in the 2022 Singapore Grand Slam championship will be invalidated. Last year, Singaporean Grand Slam champion Chu Chin was eliminated from the round of 16, with only 175 points expired, narrowing the gap between the two.

At the same time, due to Fan Zhendong's failure to participate in the Hungarian Star Challenge, Championship, and Regional Tournament in July in preparation for the 2022 Chengdu Team World Table Tennis Championships last year, his points in this event were insufficient, with only 7 valid points.

Therefore, even though Fan Zhendong won the championship at this year's Durban World Table Tennis Championships and Singapore Grand Slam, he still failed to hold onto his position as the world number one in men's singles.

Growth and Transformation

Speaking and doing

In addition to the rule of zero points and insufficient number of participants, the change of ownership of the world's number one men's singles is due to the transformation of Wang Chuqin in the past year.

Last year, Wang Chuqin won three consecutive championships at the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, the WTT Macau Championship, and the WTT Xinxiang World Cup within a month, and his form was hot.

This year, Wang Chuqin defeated Ma Long to win the WTT Macau Championship in April, and then eliminated Ma Long again in the semi-finals of the Durban World Table Tennis Championships, advancing to the finals.

Excellent results have helped Wang Chuqin's ranking soar in this year, laying a solid foundation for her to become the world number one in men's singles.

But more important than ranking is Wang Chuqin's maturity in mentality.

Wang Chuqin's outburst came in early 2022, when he won his first singles championship in two years by defeating Ma Long, Xu Xin, and Lin Gaoyuan consecutively in Macau.

After the game, he sighed and said, "I'm very excited because I haven't won a singles championship in a long time. After winning my first championship in 2019, I feel like my morale has worn off a bit in the past two years."

At that time, he compared himself to a snail that could crawl forward without stopping.

Ten months later, Wang Chuqin, who had undergone the baptism of the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, won his second singles championship in Macau.

"Competitive sports is like this. After experiencing the heartbeat of the game, you can find yourself, believe in yourself, know how to play the game, and explore your own psychological bottom line. I do understand myself and the game better now than before."

After the Durban World Table Tennis Championships ended with two gold and one silver medals this year, Wang Chuqin said, "Everything is not as easy as it seems. Growing up is a difficult road."

If the speeches after each match are linked together, it can be seen that Wang Chuqin has grown in victory after victory, and the world number one ranking in men's singles is just a belated proof.

At the end of last year, Wang Chuqin reached a record high and ranked seventh in the world. At that time, he put down his bold words and said, "This is not my goal, I hope to be even higher."

Now, Wang Chuqin keeps his promises.