Oliver Bühler has broken into the Top 10 of the Racketlon World Rankings for the first time after finishing third at the IWT Swiss Open.
Bühler becomes the third new male player to crack the last 12 months this year after Nicolas Lenggenhager and Sylvain Ternon both also move in at various points.
Astrid Reimer-Kern has also moved to a new career-high No.6 after her run at the IWT Swiss Open. In the Women’s Singles Rankings, Irina Olsacher has also rejoined the top 10, with Bettina Bugl leaving for the first time in over eight years.
Men’s Singles – Sopko Soars as Bühler Breaks Through
Oliver Bühler was not the only player to enjoy a significant breakthrough after his performance at the IWT Swiss Open. Shock champion Martin Sopko enjoyed a huge 35-spot rise as he now lands at No.41. Which makes him the highest-ranked player to have contested only three tournaments.
Runner-up Max Plettenberg is into the Top 30 for the first time. He’s up five spots to No.29, leapfrogging Christian Wiessner and Simon Vaclahovsky to become the new German No.2.
Emanuel Schöpf and Cornelius Radermacher are both up one spot each. Schöpf returns to No.7 with Radermacher at No.12 and closing in on the Top 10. Ray Jordan is back in the Top 20 as he rises to No.18.
It’s a Top 50 debut for Switzerland’s Noah Mamié. The young star is up to No.49 as he prepares for his elite World Championship debut next month. His brother, Léon Mamié, is into the Top 100 for the first time at No.84, as is Nico Hobi at No.72. Julien Meister is the final newcomer in the Top 100 as he lands at No.96 with both Patrick Bürgi and Marek Hrůza returning.
The full Men’s Singles Rankings are available here.
Women’s Singles – Reimer-Kern on the Rise as Enmer Joins No.1 Race
Astrid Reimer-Kern is the big winner in the latest Racketlon World Rankings. The German overtakes Amke Fischer and Kirsten Kaptein to land at No.6 in July’s Rankings. That comes from a victory at the IWT Malta Open and 7th place at the IWT Swiss Open.
She is still nearly 2,000 points behind world No.5 Myriam Enmer. Enmer slightly closes the gap on the top after her maiden title in Switzerland. More success for Enmer at upcoming events could see her join the fascinating battle to be World No.1 currently being contested by Zuzana Severinová, Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Stine Jacobsen.
Irina Olsacher returns to the Top 10 and has moved in and out throughout the season. Her return comes at a bittersweet moment as she replaces fellow Austrian Bettina Bugl. This is a sad day for Bugl as she leaves the Top 10 for the first time in over eight years – the second-longest run of any active Racketlon player. Bugl was recently crowned Austrian National Champion so we hope to see her compete at the FIR Racketlon World Championships next month.
Silke Altmann’s return to the court sees her move up three spots to No.15. Dara Ladner is up to a new career-high of No.17. The Swiss player finished second in the Women’s B to enjoy a small rise ahead of British duo Matilda Parslow and Hannah Boden.
Women’s B Champion Adeline Kilchenmann is up to No.47 after a healthy rise of 21 spots. There are also big rises for Carola Von Heimburg and Susan Rutschmann. The German is up to No.25 while the Swiss player lands at No.37.
The full Women’s Singles Rankings are available here.
Doubles Rankings – Lenggenhager Up to No.4 as Plettenberg Cracks Top 10
Swiss Open champions Max Plettenberg and Cornelius Radermacher have both enjoyed new career highs in the Men’s Doubles Rankings. Plettenberg makes his first Top 10 debut in any rankings as he leapfrogs René Lindberg to land at No.10. Just two spots behind him is Radermacher who arrives at No.12.
Inside the Top 10, Nicolas Lenggenhager has broken new ground. The Swiss star is up two spots to No.4 with Emanuel Schöpf also rising to No.6; a new career-high. Lenggenhager’s partner, Damien Andre, is the biggest riser in the Top 50, rising 20 places to land at No.31.
The full Men’s Doubles Rankings are available here.
Nicole Eisler has enjoyed a small two-spot rise in the Women’s Doubles rankings. This comes after she won the trophy alongside Stine Jacobsen, who remains at No.11. Astrid Reimer-Kern is a big winner this month. She soars up 23 spots to land at No.26 after taking part in her second doubles event of the last two years.
Irina Olsacher and Silke Altmann are the other two risers in the top 20. Olsacher moves further inside the Top 10, landing at No.9 while Altmann is up to No.15.
The full Women’s Doubles Rankings are available here.
While the Top 10 of the Mixed Doubles Rankings have remained the same, there is plenty of change between No.10 and No.20.
Two players – Irina Olsacher and Cornelius Radermacher – have raised five spots. Olsacher is now at No.13 while Radermacher is at No.15. They are not the only risers though. Anthony Duthuillé lands at No.17 while Nicole Eisler is at No,18 with Astrid Reimer-Kern, Margaux Randjbar and René Lindberg all taking a tumble in the rankings.
The full Mixed Doubles Rankings are available here.
Best of the Rest – Jacobsen Becomes New Seniors Mixed Doubles World No.1
We do have one new World No.1 in July’s Rankings. Stine Jacobsen’s Mixed Doubles title at the IWT Swiss Open has seen her move up to No.1 in the Seniors Mixed Doubles Rankings, replacing Kirsten Kaptein. This is Jacobsen’s second No.1 crown as he is also currently the Women’s Seniors Singles World No.1.
The only other ranking to see movement near the top was in the Men’s Seniors Singles. Christian Schaefer and Ray Jordan have both moved up one spot to No.2 and No.3 in the rankings respectively as they look to hunt down the World No.1 spot from long-time leader Duncan Stahl. Croatia’s Nikola Mikac is the man who loses out. He falls two spots to No.4.
The remainder of the Racketlon World Rankings is available here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image / Rene Zwald/Jonas Von Sachs
