Wang Chuqin started 2025 as the top-ranked player, about 2,500 points ahead of second-place Lin Shidong. Come 2026, these two players will be in the same position (with roughly the same points split between them). The next five players are also the same, although their positions have shifted (and have shifted consistently throughout the year). Hugo Calderano, Tomokazu Harimoto, Truls Moregard, Felix Lebrun and Liang Jingkun were all in the No. 3-7 positions a year ago and they are in those positions today (in order).
A year ago, Lin Gaoyuan was ranked No. 8 in the world, and he has faded beyond the Top 20 (likely replaced by Xiang Peng as the fourth Chinese player with potential to compete internationally – Peng is currently No. 11). The fortunes have changed somewhat for Germany – where a year ago they had Qiu and Franziska at Nos. 9 and 10, followed by Duda at 15 and Ovtcharov at 17. A year later, they still have two players near No. 10 (Qiu is No. 10 and Duda is No. 12), but Franziska has dropped to No. 20 and Ovtcharov is no longer in the Top 20.
Alexis Lebrun has risen to No. 9, following his younger brother into the Top 10 – and France now has Simon Gauzy at No. 17, giving them one more Frenchman in the Top 20 than a year ago. Lin Yun-Ju, Darko Jorgic and Jang Woojin are all consistent through the year and in the bottom half of the Top 20. Top African players OMar Assar and Quadri Aruna who were both in the Top 20 a year ago are now lower in the rankings (perhaps that is cyclical and we will see more movement in that region as the next Olympic cycle approaches).
The new players in the Top 20 this year (who were not present a year ago) are Sora Matsushima (No. 8), Xiang Peng (No. 11), An Jaehyun (No. 15), Anders Lind (No. 16), Simon Gauzy (No. 17) and Shunsuke Togami (No. 19).
The WTT calendar grew in 2025. If we include the Champions, Star Contenders, Contenders, Feeders and Youth events, there were 225 WTT events last year. These include the Singapore Smash, United States Smash, Europe Smash and China Smash – all four of these events are already scheduled for 2026 (Singapore starts on February 19, the US starts on June 25, Europe starts on August 13 and the China Smash starts on October 1).
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