Myriam Enmer, Koen Hageraats and Damien Andre all reached new career-highs after their performances at the IWT French Open in March.
Enmer moves up to World No.5 in the Women’s Singles rankings after finishing as the runner-up in Paris.
Hageraats and Andre both reached the semi-finals of the Men’s Singles. That has seen Hageraats rise to No.13 and Andre to No.16 in the Men’s Singles Rankings. French Open champion, Leon Griffiths, moves back up three spots to return to No.3.
Elsewhere, it was a landmark month for young talent Matthew Davidson. The British teenager overtook Florian Harca to become the new Boys Juniors Doubles World No.1.
Men’s Singles – Andre and Hageraats on the Rise
While Leon Griffiths and Luka Penttinen were the two finalists at the French Open, it was Koen Hageraats and Damien Andre who enjoyed the biggest rises.
Hageraats moved to within 1,000 spots of the Top 10, rising above the likes of Cornelius Radermacher and Benjamin Grenicher to land at No.13. Hageraats was beaten to a spot on the podium by Damien Andre. The fast-improving Frenchman is inside the Top 20 at No.16, and is also in the mix now to move up inside the Top 10 this year.
There was a benefit to winning the French Open. Leon Griffiths returns to World No.5 once again and is now less than 1,000 points from being No.2. Luka Penttinen remains at No.4 in the world but is now less than 20 points behind No.3 Dan Busby.
After breaking into the Top 50 two months ago, Germany’s Max Plettenberg is once again up to a new career-high. He lands at No.44 and is likely to go higher next month as he takes part in the Nick Matthew Steel City Open next week.
Also competing in Sheffield is Matthew Davidson. The Brit lands one spot behind fellow countryman Luke Griffiths at No.27. As with Plettenberg, that is a new career-high.
There were big moves lower down the rankings. Josselin Gadé rises 23 places to No.49 while James Langworthy lands at No.52. One spot higher is French-based Aussie Eric Durand, who lands at a career-high No.51.
Alex Du Noyer is the biggest riser in the top 100, moving up 30 spots. Elsewhere, it’s a historic moment for Nihit Kumar Singh. He becomes just the third Indian man to reach the Top 80, landing at exactly No.80.
The full Men’s Singles Rankings are available here.
Women’s Singles – Enmer Lands at No.5
The Women’s Singles Rankings has not seen a tonne of movement but there has been one crucial change in the Top 10. Myriam Enmer, after finishing as the runner-up, is up to No.5, a new career-high.
Amke Fischer and Kirsten Kaptein have both moved down one spot, while Enmer has over 1,400 points to go to catch No.4 Stine Jacobsen. Anna-Klara Ahlmer was the champion in Paris. However, with her IWT Finnish Open points dropping off from two years ago, her ranking does not move at all.
Nicole Eisler completed the podium in Paris and was rewarded for her efforts. The former World No.1 moved up two spots to No.10, leaping over Irina Olsacher and Astrid Reimer-Kern.
The fourth player in the Women’s A was Aurélie Haurant. Despite finishing fourth, the French star was richly rewarded, moving up 47 spots to land at No.47, just inside the Top 50.
Women’s B champion Amandine Souin also enjoyed a big jump in the rankings. The French player moved up 36 spots to No.63.
The full Women’s Singles rankings are available here.
Best of the Rest – Davidson Rises to the Top
One of the biggest stories of this month’s rankings was the rise to the top of the Boys Juniors Doubles rankings of Matthew Davidson. The teenager teamed up with Nicolas Lenggenhager, with his performance seeing him move ahead of Florian Harca to No.1 in the world for the first time.
Jakob Rosenberger and Sebastian Janser also moved into the Top 10 of those rankings after Paris. They’re up to No.9 in the rankings after another stellar performance for the youngsters.
After the Finnish Open 2018 dropped off the rankings, there was a change to the Girls Juniors Singles rankings. With Martina Minetti dropping off, there was a one-spot rise for a handful of players. In particular for Ewa Kozlowska. The young Pole lands at No.10, making her Top 10 rankings debut.
Similarly, Leon Sam has achieved exactly the same feat. The teenage Austrian has moved up a single spot and is now at No.10, narrowly behind David Bennett.
The full list of rankings is available here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Jean Michot
