Ma Long & Liu Shiwen End 2015 as World Number Ones

Chinese superstars MA Long and LIU Shiwen have ended 2015 as the world’s top ranked table tennis players after both having an amazing 2015, which saw them both being crowned the 2015 ITTF Table Tennis Stars in December.

MA Long had the year of his career winning the Qoros World Championships, Liebherr Men’s World Cup and GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals, which made him undoubtedly the best table tennis player on the planet.

2015 marks the sixth anniversary that MA Long first ended the year as world number one back in 2010 and December was the 41st month that the 27-year-old has occupied the top position of the world ranking.

Ma Long powered his way to his 18th World Tour victory at the Kuwait Open.

On his achievement, MA Long stated: “I am very happy to end 2015 as the World number one again! I am looking forward to showing even better performances in the 2016 Olympic year.”

Chinese teammates FAN Zhendong and XU Xin finished the year at number two and three respectively, followed by Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. Olympics champion ZHANG Jike, also from China, is at number five just ahead of Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI.

Japan’s Yuya OSHIMA had the biggest rise in the world ranking in a breakthrough year. At the start of 2015, the now 21-year-old was listed as 71 in the world, moving on 12 months and the rising Japanese superstar is a lofty 18th in the world, and closing in fast on the world’s top 10.

LIU Shiwen managed to overcome her bitterly disappointing loss in the Qoros 2015 World Championships final to DING Ning, to finish the year as the world’s number one women’s table tennis player.

On her way to finishing world number one for the third time in her career, LIU Shiwen won a record equalling fourth Women’s World Cup in a highly successful year for the Chinese player.

World Champion DING Ning finished the year in second position on the back of her victory at the year ending GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals.

Liu Shiwen regains top spot in the world after Women’s World Cup victory

Compatriot ZHU Yuling finishes the year in third ahead of Japanese superstar Ai FUKUHARA. China’s CHEN Meng is next in line at number five, above China’s Olympic Champion LI Xiaoxia and Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA.

14-year-old sensation Mima ITO finishes a remarkable year, which saw her crowned as the 2015 ITTF Breakthrough Star as the 12th best table tennis player on earth.

After a short break for the festive season, the world’s best players get back into action at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open, which begins on 20 January 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.

Check out the full year end world rankings here — > ITTF.com/ittf_ranking/

Ma Long Becomes Most Successful World Tour Grand Finals Player Ever

After 22 World Tour events in 2015, the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals champions are MA Long and DING Ning, after an action filled event concluded today 13 December in Lisbon, Portugal.

MA Long became the most successful ITTF World Tour Grand Finals player, winning his fourth title in dramatic circumstances in the final match of 2015.

The world champion, who has only lost one match in 2015, had a titanic battle with his team mate, 18 year old FAN Zhendong, in one of the most exciting finals in history. The world number one raced to a 2-0 lead only for FAN Zhendong to win the next three games and looked like he was going to do the unexpected of to beat the world number one. However he was left heartbroken, as MA Long closed out the match 12-10, 12-10, 11-13, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Ma Long celebrates his victory at the Liebherr 2015 ITTF Men’s World Cup

The newly crowned champion stated: “We had a tough match, the feeling wasn’t the best for both of us, and neither of us could lead in the match. I had to just stay calm, as I knew I would have a chance to win the match if I just kept my level high.”

“I am very happy to beat my ex-captain WANG Liqin’s record of World Tour Grand Finals victories. He is a well respected athlete, so I’m happy to have made this history.”

“I wasn’t thinking much about the records, but just played the best I could.”

2015 World Champion DING Ning won her first World Tour Grand Finals, after losing four of her previous finals. Despite being exhausted after a packed year, DING made it fifth time lucky and defeated her team mate CHEN Meng, who earlier beat world number one LIU Shiwen en route to the final.

The 25-year-old was pushed by her younger team mate but her experience that has lead her to two World Championships titles led to her victory: 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7.

A relieved DING stated after the match: “I have made it to the World Tour Grand Finals Singles final for the past 4 times, but lost all 4, this is my fifth attempt.”

“Before the match, I have a strong desire for victory, and break the ‘curse’. Since I started playing in the ITTF World Tour, every time I qualified for the Grand Finals, I could always reach the final, so I really hoped to win. Now that I have won, I feel really happy about it.”

Masataka MORIZONO & Yuya OSHIMA became the first ever Japanese pair to win the World Tour Grand Finals Men’s Doubles title. In the process, the young Japanese duo broke the hearts of the capacity Portuguese crowd, beating local favorites Tiago APOLONIA &Joao MONTEIRO 11-6, 8-11,13-11, 12-10, 11-8 in a thrilling gold medal match.

The women’s defending champions, 15-year-olds Miu HIRANO & Mima ITO could not make it two doubles victories for Japan, losing to the Chinese pair DING Ning & ZHU Yuling 11-5, 11-3, 11-9, 11-4 in a one sided final.

Yuya OSHIMA added a second gold medal to his collection, by winning the men’s under 21 title. OSHIMA, who had a breakthrough year winning two under 21 events and a senior World Tour event in 2015, beat ZHAI Yujia (DEN) 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3, 11-8 to secure the title.

Singapore’s LIN Ye won her second under 21 title by defeating Yui HAMAMOTO (JPN) 12-10, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 in the women’s under 21 final.

Ma Long celebrates becoming the most successful World Tour Grand Final player in history

The GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour was the year-ending finale to the US$3,000,000 ITTF World Tour, whereby the top 16 singles and 8 doubles pairs qualified through collecting #Race2Lisbon points throughout the 2015 ITTF World Tour.

The GAC 2015 ITTF World Tour is split into three tiers (highest first): Super (6 events), Major (6 events), Challenge (11 events). The higher the series, the more prize money, world ranking points, Race to Lisbon points and higher quality of competition on offer.

Players Announced for the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals

The qualified players for the lucrative GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals have been announced after a record-breaking end to the regular World Tour season, which consisted of 22 stops.

The final World Tour event of 2015 was played out in Sweden on the weekend, where the world’s best table tennis players fought it out for the final positions on the standing list at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals, which will take place on 10-13 December 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Only 16 men and 16 women were able to secure their golden ticket to Lisbon, as well as eight men’s and women’s doubles pairs, and eight men’s and women’s under 21 players.

World Champion and World number one MA Long (CHN) topped the Race to Lisbon standings after another very consistent year on the tour winning two Super Series titles. Japan’s Ai FUKUHARA finished number one on the women’s charts after winning three World Tour titles in 2015.

MA, who won both the 2015 World Championships and the recent 2015 Men’s World Cup stated “Happy to have qualified after missing out last year, and I look forward to capping off a dream year with another big title!”

The pair who battled it out for gold at the end of season Swedish Open men’s singles final, XU Xin (CHN) and FAN Zhendong (CHN) were the next two on the men’s list, just ahead of JUNG Youngsik (KOR) and Maharu YOSHIMURA (JPN) who both had a breakthrough season on the GAC Group 2015 World Tour.

China Open Champion ZHU Yuling (CHN) and 15 year old Japanese sensation Mima ITO followed FUKUHARA on the women’s charts and will be heading to Lisbon looking for World Tour Grand Final glory.

The World’s best will fight for glory at the year ending ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Lisbon!

Despite having the second half of her reason ruined by injury and sickness, World Champion DING Ning (CHN) did enough to book her place in Lisbon, as did World number one and World Cup Champion LIU Shiwen (CHN).

The local Portuguese fans will have a player in every event to cheer for in Lisbon. They will be led by World number seven Marcos FREITAS, who had a strong year on the tour to finish seventh on the Race to Lisbon standings and will be looking for glory in front of his home fans.

The US$3,000,000 GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour, consisted of 22 events split into three tiers based on prize money and the quality of the event: Super Series (six events), Major Series (five events) and Challenge Series (11 events).

From these events, players earned Race to Lisbon points to qualify for the prestigious GAC Group 2015 World Tour Grand Finals, will be held at the Pavilhão Multiusos De Odivelas Lisbon, Portugal on 10-13 December 2015. To qualify, players had to play in a minimum of five events.

Nominees for 2015 Male & Female Table Stars Announced

The International Table Tennis Federation is excited to announce the nominees for the 2015 Male & Female Table Tennis Stars to be crowned at the 2015 ITTF Star Awards in Lisbon, Portugal on 9 December 2015.

The 2015 ITTF Star Awards, which will be in its third edition, will be held at the Lisbon’s emblematic city landmark – Patio da Gale, to celebrate the world’s best table tennis players’ achievements in 2015

The nominees in the running for the 2015 Male & Female Table Tennis Star Awards are:

Ma Long edges closer to his Grand Slam dream after 2015 Men’s World Cup victory!

Male Table Tennis Star presented by Seamaster, as nominated by the ITTF Athletes’ Commission:

FAN Zhendong (CHN) – 2015 Asian Champion
MA Long (CHN) – 2015 World Champion & 2015 Men’s World Cup Champion
Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) – GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals Champion
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) – 2015 European Games Champion, 2015 ITTF-European Cup Champion & 2015 ITTF-European Championships Champion
Nomination video: https://youtu.be/khkMkpxmbpU

Ding Ning (CHN) QOROS 2015 World Table Tennis Championships Winner photo credit ITTF Media

Female Table Tennis Star presented by Nittaku, as nominated by the ITTF Athletes’ Commission:

DING Ning (CHN) – 2015 World Champion
Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) – GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals Champion
LIU Shiwen (CHN) – 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup Champion
Petrissa SOLJA (GER) – 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup bronze medalist
Nomination video: https://youtu.be/jzI2KZufOEg

Upon the nomination, world number one Ma Long shared, “It’s an honor for me to be nominated this year, and I’m glad that my efforts are being seen and recognized by the ITTF. 2015 has been a fruitful year, and I hope to keep up with my good performance this year in the future!”

Fans can now vote for their star player of 2015 athttp://bit.ly/15StarAwardsVoting. Voting will end on 25 November 2015.

Fans’ voting results will be combined with the judging outcome by an expert panel which will include their peers and the media to determine the Table Tennis Stars of 2015!

In addition to the Male and Female Table Tennis Stars, 6 other awards will be handed in Lisbon:

Male Para Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue
Female Para Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International
Table Tennis Star Coach presented by Butterfly
Table Tennis Star Point presented by DHS
Table Tennis Breakthrough Star presented by TMS International
Table Tennis Fair Play Star
The nominees for these awards will be announced in the coming weeks.

Liu Regains Top Spot on ITTF World Ranking After World Cup Victory

LIU Shiwen has regained the top spot on the ITTF World Rankings after her victories at the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Polish Open and ITTF Women’s World Cup in October.

LIU’s 4th success in 4 attempts at the Women’s World Cup has not only put her name on par alongside the legendary ZHANG Yining, but also helped put her back to the no. 1 spot in the world.

The 24 year-old Chinese shared “I’m happy to be back on the number spot. I certainly hope to maintain the current good form I am in now and continue working hard to achieve more!”

LIU has replaced her compatriot, 2015 World Champion DING Ning, who had overtaken her since October, to occupy the top position for a 23rd time. Dislodged from her no. 1 spot, DING now occupies the third spot on the ranking, which is her lowest position in four years, the last time she was third in the World was in September 2011.

Despite her quarterfinal defeat to Netherland’s LI Jiao at the Women’s World Cup, 20 year-old ZHU Yuling has reached her career’s highest, advancing to second in the world, with the help of her success in the doubles event at the Polish Open.

Other star players at the ITTF Women’s World Cup earlier last weekend in Sendai, Japan, also saw ascending of their world rankings in November. Surprise semifinalist after upsetting 2 top 10 players in a row, Germany’s Petrissa Solja saw meteoric climb from no. 26 to no. 14 to reach her career best. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Dina MESHREF climbed to no. 100 after becoming the first African player to ever qualify for the main draw of the Women’s World Cup.

Liu Shiwen regains top spot in the world after Women’s World Cup victory

Meanwhile, 2015 World Champion and Men’s World Cup Champion, MA Long continues to dominate the Men’s World Ranking for the 39th time in his career. 18 year old FAN Zhendong overtakes 2015 Mixed Double World Champion XU Xin to finish second in the world after claiming victory at the Polish Open, and taking the 2nd place on his Men’s World Cup debut in Halmstad.

Runner-up at the Polish Open, Austria’s Stefan FEGERL also saw a major jump from no. 42 to no.23 after surprising reigning Olympics Champion ZHANG Jike in the semifinals to prevent an all-Chinese Final.

Check out more on the November ITTF World Rankings on ITTF.com/ITTF_Ranking

12 Year Old Japanese Becomes Youngest Ever Qualifier for ITTF World Tour Main Draw

Japan’s Tomokazu HARIMOTO is now the youngest ever player to qualify for the main draw of an ITTF World Tour event at the age of 12 years, 3 months and 26 days, after topping his group at the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Polish Open qualifications.

HARIMOTO accomplished the achievement after beating Croatia’s TAN Ruiwu 4-3 (8-11, 16-14, 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 13-15, 11-9) in an intense 7-game thriller in the qualifications stage. Earlier yesterday, he beat Czech Republic’s Tomas POLANSKY 4-0.

“I’m happy that I’m the youngest to ever make it to the main draw,” shared an elated Japanese. “I started playing table tennis when I was only 2 years old, because of my parents. They were table tennis players too, and they inspired me to play. When I was a little boy, I would sit on a chair and try to play table tennis, now, I practise 9 hours every day!”

“Now I will join my idol FAN Zhendong in the main draw, and I hope I can win as many matches as I can here in Warsaw! Regardless it’s junior or senior level, I want to play my highest level.”

Tomokazu Harimoto becomes youngest ever qualifier for main draw of an ITTF World Tour event

“Even though I won against TAN Ruiwu, and finished first in my group here, my block is still not perfect, and it’s one area that I will have to improve on.”

Qualified for the men’s singles main draw, HARIMOTO will now face 2015 World Champion, MA Long in the Round of 32 tomorrow. Main draw for the Polish Open will begin from 23 Oct – 25 Oct, with the final battle for gold on Sunday, 25 October.

Ma Long is the Liebherr 2015 Men’s World Cup Champion

2015 World Champion MA Long is now the 2015 Men’s World Cup champion after a devastating performance at the Liebherr 2015 ITTF Men’s World Cup that concluded today in Halmstad, Sweden.

In a highly anticipated final, world number one MA accounted for 18 year old compatriot FAN Zhendong 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8) for a convincing victory.

MA is now well on track towards a table tennis Grand Slam (World Championships, World Cup, Olympic Games) dream, after winning two major World Titles events consecutively in 2015.

The 26 year old, who will be able to celebrate his victory with his birthday on Tuesday stated “2015 has been a fruitful year for me. The World Championships victory earlier this year definitely made me stronger mentally and skills-wise, giving me more confidence to win this event.”

“I played really well today, Sweden has been a lucky place for me, I won the World Tour Swedish Open in 2011, and the Men’s World Cup today. It feels great here!”

Dimitrij OVTCHAROV made up for his crushing defeat by MA Long in the semi final to clinch third place. The German resumed his long running battle with Jun MIZUTANI, which dates back to 2005. OVTCHAROV was too strong on this occasion, powering his way to a 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory to claim his second Men’s World Cup bronze medal.

“It was a great match against Jun, really difficult, long rallies”, said Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. “I’m really tired, I’ve played 18 matches since the start of the European Championships, I now need two days to recuperate before I play in the Polish Open in Warsaw, Poland, that will start on 21 Oct.”

The surprise of the tournament was Brazilian Gustavo TSUBOI, who made several massive upsets to become the first Latin American player to make the Men’s ITTF World Cup quarter final since 1989!

All eyes now turn to the 2015 ITTF Women’s World Cup, which begins 30 October in Sendai, Japan.

18 year old Fan Zhendong Dominates Asian Table Tennis Championships

18 year old FAN Zhendong is the king of Asian table tennis, winning every possible title on offer at the Suzuki 2015 Asian Table Tennis Championships, which concluded today in Pattaya, Thailand.

The 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion beat world number two XU Xin in an epic men’s singles final to add to his men’s doubles, mixed doubles and men’s team gold medals that he won earlier in the event.

FAN looked to be cruising to his fourth Asian title, as he jumped to a 3-0 lead against his close friend XU. XU responded with some breathtaking shots to level the match at 3-3, before FAN proved to be too strong, clinching the title 12-10, 11-2, 12-10,7-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-9 in front of the capacity crowd.

After becoming only the second man ever to complete the gold medal sweep at the Asian Championships, after his team mate MA Long, FAN stated: “Playing in 4 events has been a great challenge for myself, it has been tiring, but also very rewarding!”

“Of course I’m very excited to win 4 medals here at the Asian Championships, especially in the men’s singles! I have lost to XU Xin several times after playing full 7-games matches in international tournaments, so I had a lot of desire to win this match against him.”

“It was a difficult match, even though I was well prepared and was able to carry out my strategies. I had the chance to end the match in the fourth, fifth and even sixth game, because I was leading, but I guess I became more reserved when I was close to winning, and that caused me those three games.”

The Women’s Singles final was as dramatic as they come. CHEN Meng was started to mount a comeback against ZHU Yuling, who led 2-1, until injury stuck the 2011 Junior World Champion.

Fan Zhendong celebrates after his clinching his 4th Asian Championship title!

CHEN collapsed to the ground grasping her upper leg in agony and was unable to continue the match, which made ZHU Yuling the 2015 Asian Champion! The 21 year old needed to be stretchered off the court and taken to hospital, which also ruled out of the women’s doubles semi final the following day.

“When I was leading 3-1 in the fourth game, she suddenly couldn’t stand properly when trying to get the ball back, I didn’t know what happened”, said ZHU Yuling. “Initially I thought it was a muscle strain but she just squatted there and couldn’t get up. When I went over to her, she told me she pulled her muscle on her upper leg, it was numb and she couldn’t even move or stand up”, added the newly crowned champion.

The finalists from the men’s singles final, XU Xin and FAN Zhendong joined forces to win the men’s doubles crown, defeating the Korean duo of JUNG Youngsik &LEE Sangsu 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.

DPR Korea won only their third ever Asian Championships gold medal, as KIM Hye Song & RI Mi Gyong become the women’s doubles champions. The DPR Korea pair defeated the dynamic 14 year old duo of Miu HIRANO & Mima ITO 11-3, 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 to win an emotional title.

CHEN Meng will be heading back to China on crutches, but also with the mixed doubles gold medal, which she won with the man of the tournament FAN Zhendong. The Chinese pair were too good for Singapore’s YANG Zi & YU Mengyu, winning the final 11-8, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9.

China again reigned supreme in the teams event earlier in the week, defeating Japan in both the men’s and women’s team final to defend their titles

Star Studded Field Set to Compete at ITTF World Tour China Open

A repeat of the epic 2014 Men’s World Cup Final clash between MA Long and ZHANG Jike will not be possible at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour China Open, as they have been drawn in the same half.

Despite this, fans in Chengdu, China will be treated to one of the strongest World Tour tournaments in recent history, with nine out of the top ten men, and eight out of the top ten women all competing in the sixth and final Super Series event of the year.

Qualifications for the main draw starts today, 5 August 2015, with players battling to join the world’s best players in the main draw, which starts Friday, 7 August, with the medals being handed out on Sunday, 9 August!

If current World Champion MA Long, is to win a record fourth China Open title in a row and sixth overall, he will have to overcome players he has had tough battles with in the past. The world number one is due to play FANG Bo, whom he defeated earlier in the year in the World Championships final, and face his archrival ZHANG Jike in the semi final.

Fan Zhendong (CHN) .QOROS 2015 World Table Tennis Championships,26 Apr 2015 – 03 May 2015, Suzhou, CHN credit ITTF Media

“I always enjoy playing in front of my home fans.” stated MA.”It would mean a lot to me to win my sixth China Open title. It won’t be easy as the world’s best players are here, but I will try my best to be the champion!”

It won’t be just these players threatening MA Long’s quest for a 20th World Tour title. Top stars such as XU Xin, FAN Zhendong, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, Timo BOLL and Marcos FREITAS will also have their eye on securing the prestigious China Open title.

Anticipation is high for the women’s event as well, as a rematch of one of the most dramatic World Championships finals in history between DING Ning and LIU Shiwen is on the cards on Sunday.

After the draw, the world number one stated: “I know everyone is looking forward to watching me play LIU Shiwen again. However, this competition is very strong, with many top players, so I will have to play well just to get to the final, as will LIU.”

As stated by DING, the field here in Chengdu is very strong, with ZHU Yuling, CHEN Meng, FENG Tianwei, Ai FUKUHARA, Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Mima ITO all looking to make sure that a repeat of the 2015 World Championships final does not come to fruition.

14th stop of the US$3,000,000 GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour, the China Open is also the sixth and final Super Series event of the year, which is the top tier on the World Tour. The rest of the World Tour events are split into Major series (6 events) and Challenge (11 events).

All players will be pushing for Race to Lisbon points in a bid to qualify for the World Tour Grand Finals. The top 16 singles and top eight doubles pairs on the Race to Lisbon Standings will be invited to the prestigious 2015 World Tour Grand Finals to be held in Lisbon, Portugal on 10-13 December 2015.

The GAC Group 2015 World Tour is offering a record US$3,000,000 in prize money, and will also be the most viewed in history, with more events shown live throughout the world on television, and all the events being shown live on ITTF’s live streaming platform, ITTF.com/itTV

Feng Tianwei Breaks Chinese Winning Streak To Claim First Ever Asian Cup Gold

Singapore’s FENG Tianwei made history on 15 March 2015, as she upset the top seed, LIU Shiwen (CHN) at the GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup held from 13 – 15 March 2015 in the Indian city of Jaipur.

The GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup is the continental qualification for the Men’s & Women’s World Cups later in the year, with the top three placed players gaining direct entry to the prestigious events.

In the Women’s Singles gold medal match, FENG overcame world number three LIU 4-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-1, 12-10) to claim her first ever Asian Cup gold, breaking China’s streak of eight consecutive gold in the Women’s Singles category.

Earlier in the group stage, 28 year old FENG also defeated the other Chinese female player in action, ZHU Yuling, in 3 straight games (11-7, 11-5, 11-5), which is her first win in nine encounters with ZHU on the international arena.

After her triumph against the world number three in the final hurdle, an excited FENG shared “I never thought I would win! In the sixth game I knew I had a chance, I wanted to win so much, I was so nervous!”

In a tense final against compatriot FAN Zhendong (CHN), World number 2 XU Xin (CHN) came back from 1-3 deficit to win 4-3 (11-8, 11-13, 11-13, 5-11, 11-8,11-4, 11-7, taking his third Asian Cup Men’s Singles crown.

Despite winning in the 7-games thriller against the reigning Youth Olympic Champion, XU stated, ‘I won the first game quite comfortably, and I believed that I could win. However, I made some mistakes during the match and lost the next three games. After losing the fourth game, I tried to stay calm.”

Feng Tianwei made history by winning the Asian Cup in India.

“FAN Zhendong played well, he was very positive. It was just as hard today as two years ago in Hong Kong” added the 25-year-old.

In the bronze medal match, Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI & China’s ZHU Yuling secured the third ticket to the Men’s & Women’s World Cups respectively. MIZUTANI had accounted for TANG Peng (HKG) 4-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8), while ZHU defeating Ai FUKUHARA (JPN) 4-1 (11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9), to gain direct qualification from the Asian Cup.

With the conclusion of the GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup, all eyes now turn to the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour German Open that starts 18 March in Bremen, Germany.

Qualifications for ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cups:

NN Table Tennis Club 2015 ITTF-Europe Top 16 Cup: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER), Marcos FREITAS (POR), Panagiotis GIONIS (GRE), LIU Jia (AUT), Petrissa SOLJA (GER), Irene IVANCAN (GER)
GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup: XU Xin (CHN), FAN Zhendong (CHN), Jun MIZUTANI (JPN), FENG Tianwei (SIN), LIU Shiwen (CHN), ZHU Yuling (CHN)

MA Long Moves Back to World Number One

Ma Long.

China’s MA Long has returned to the summit of international table tennis by becoming world number one for a 31st month.

The 26-year-old’s victory at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Kuwait Open against then number one, XU Xin, was enough to dislodge his teammate, to return to the top position for the first time since February 2014.

MA Long will be desperate to consolidate his position as number one in the world, by becoming singles World Champion for the first time at the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships to be held in Suzhou, China on 26 April – 3 May 2015.

The Chinese pair of 18-year-old FAN Zhendong, and World & Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike remain at three and four in the world respectively. Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI and NN Table Tennis Club 2015 Europe Top 16 champion Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV rounds up the top five.

Ma Long is once again officially the best on the world.

The world ranking points from winning the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Qatar Open meant that 38-year-old Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) is now back into the top 10, while fellow former world number one Timo BOLL (GER) falling off the world ranking due to inactivity over the past four months.

China’s DING Ning retains the top position on the women’s side for a 19th consecutive week, with her compatriot, GAC Group 2015 World Tour Kuwait Open champion, LI Xiaoxia moving up one place to finish off number two in the March world rankings.

LIU Shiwen (CHN) moves down to number three, just ahead of Singapore’s FENG Tianwei and Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA.

Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA’s victory at the Qatar Open pushed her back up to the 14th position, just behind Austria’s LIU Jia, who like OVTCHAROV, won the NN Table Tennis Club 2015 Europe Top 16 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The next two events offering high world ranking points are the GAC Group 2015 World Tour stops, the Nigerian Open (Challenge Series) on 10-14 March and the German Open (Super Series) on 18-22 March 2015.

See the full March World Rankings here: http://www.ittf.com/ittf_ranking/.

All Star Cast on Show to Kick Start 2015 World Tour Super Series

The who’s who of table tennis are all in Kuwait City ready for the Kuwait Open, which is the first GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Super Series of the year starting today (11 February 2015) and running until Sunday 15 February 2015.

The Super Series is the highest and most prestigious tier of the GAC Group 2015 World Tour, which attracts all the world’s best players as the most prize money and world ranking points are on offer.

120 men and 70 women will fight it out in Kuwait for six titles: Men’s & Women’s singles, Men’s & Women’s doubles and Men’s & Women’s Under 21 singles and US$300,000 prize money!

The big four Chinese super stars XU Xin, MA Long, FAN Zhendong and ZHANG Jike have all won the Kuwait Open once, but none of them have won it twice. This motivation to create history, plus the chance to get an edge over their rivals early in the season will spur on these top stars.

Stefan FEGERL (AUT) and LIN Gaoyuan (CHN), winner of the Men’s Doubles, posing for a photo with their cheque and trophy at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Kuwait Open in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Credit ITTF

The evergreen 38-year-old Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) is the other player in the field that has tasted success in Kuwait, and will again be one of the top challengers to the Chinese, beside Marcos FREITAS (POR) and CHUANG Chih-Yuan (TPE).

LI Xiaoxia (CHN) has won Olympic and World Championship gold, along with basically every title on offer in international table tennis. Despite these titles, she has never won the Kuwait Open, a glaring omission from her trophy cabinet that she is desperate to change come Sunday.

The 27-year-old is on the comeback from a knee injury which has affected her form in early 2015, but with LI Xiaoxia, you always have to assume she can beat anyone on her best day.

She will have to be at her best to defeat her world number one and two teammates DING Ning and LIU Shiwen, as well as the Olympic bronze medalist from Singapore FENG Tianwei who won three World Tour titles last year.

The 2015 World Tour is offering a record US$3,000,000 in prize money and will also be the most viewed in history, with more events shown live throughout the world on television and all the events being shown live on ITTF’s live streaming platform, itTV.

As was the case in 2014, the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour will be split up into three tiers (highest first): Super (6 events), Major (6 events), Challenge (11 events).

The top 16 singles and top 8 doubles pairs on the World Tour Standings will then be invited to the prestigious World Tour Grand Finals at the end of the year, the location to be announced later.