Amke Fischer has returned to the top five of the Women’s Singles Rankings for the first time since October 2018.
The German former major finalist is back in the top five after winning the IWT London Open in 2021 and finishing 4th at the SWT Dubai Racketlon Classic.
Fischer’s return to the top five comes at the cost of Austria’s Bettina Bugl, who falls to No.8. Myriam Enmer is also up to a new career-high No.7 as the only other mover in the Top 10 of the Women’s Singles rankings.
Women’s Singles – Fischer Returns to the Top Five
With no tournaments in February, the departure of 2018’s August tournaments caused the changes this month. The IWT German Open and World Singles Championship were the tournaments to drop off, with Bettina Bugl the biggest casualty.
Bugl finished third in that World Championship and the loss of those points have seen her fall down to No.8 in the world, narrowly ahead of Margaux Randjbar. Amke Fischer and Myriam Enmer are the two players rewarded for her fall.
Fischer moves back to No.5 off the back of a solid 2021. The German triumphed at the IWT London Open and also came fourth at the SWT Dubai Racketlon Classic. Those were the only two tournaments she played in 2021, but her results were enough to see her clamber ahead of Kirsten Kaptein at No.6.
Myriam Enmer’s proactivity and lack of points needed to be defended from before 2020 have seen her move up to No.7. It seems likely they’ll she’ll climb even higher next month following the IWT French Open.
Despite winning both tournaments in 2018, Christine Seehofer has enough tournament wins in the bank that it has not affected her standing at the top of the World Rankings. Outside of the top 10, Silke Altmann slid down two spots to No.15 while Hannah Boden dropped out of the top 20, falling five places to No.21, just behind fellow countrywoman Matilda Parslow.
Natalie Paul, who finished second at the World Championship four years ago, is down six spots at No.26. Women’s B Winner, Natalia Prado, also falls eight places to No.34.
There is a moment of history as Afghanistan’s Taba Tabaie Shaquayed becomes the first Afghan player to reach the Top 50 of the Women’s Singles rankings. She moves up 12 places and is now at No.46.
The full Women’s Singles Rankings are available here.
Men’s Singles – Stahl Slips into Top 10 as Graenicher Falls to No.15
The biggest mover in the top 20 is Benjamin Graenicher. The Swiss talent finished third at the IWT German Open four years ago. Ass a result of losing those points and not competing in 2021, Graenicher has fallen five spots to No.15. His departure sees Duncan Stahl move back to No.10 in the World Rankings, with Oliver Bühler, Nikola Mikac and Sylvain Ternon all hot on his heels.
The only other change in the top 10 saw Kresten Hougaard and Rav Rykowski swap places. Hougaard is back up to No.6 with Rykowski now at No.7. René Lindberg saw a small, two spot rise up to No.16. The Swede could move higher next month as he takes part in this month’s IWT French Open.
With players unable to earn any points in February, much of the major movement comes from players falling down the rankings. Having just cracked the top 50 for the first time last month, Max Plettenberg is straight back out as he falls 14 spots to No.61. There are drops of over 10 spots for other notable names, including Georg Stoisser, Thomas Lentfer and Joerg Kanonenberg. Lukas Windischberger finally leaves the top 100 after his singles retirement in 2019.
The full Men’s Singles Rankings are available here.
Best of the Rest – Mikac Closing in on Men’s Seniors No.1
All-in-all it’s been a very quiet month in most rankings categories this month. Neither the Men’s, Women’s or Mixed Doubles have seen any changes to the Top 10. There has been some minimal movement in some of the Juniors and Seniors categories though.
Duncan Stahl has been the Men’s Seniors Singles No.1 since he became eligible six years ago. However, Nikola Mikac has closed the gap to just over 200 points as he bids to become the first Croat to become World No.1 in Racketlon history.
The Women’s Seniors Singles saw a small movement as Silke Altmann dropped one spot to No.5. Zuzana Vancuríková has replaced her.
As well as her historic moment in the Women’s Singles rankings, Taba Tabaie Shaqayed is also up to No.2 in the Girls Juniors Singles ranking. The Afghan player is just over 50 points behind current No.1 Alexandra Ogram. Current Girls U16 World Champion, Lena Schaedler, is also into the Top-10 of these rankings for the first time, landing at No.9. Victoria Dübendorfer joins her in the Top 10 with the Swiss youngster landing at No.10.
The full FIR World Rankings are available here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image / Inge Omey
