Anna-Klara Ahlmer has become Women’s Singles World No.1 for the first time in her career in the January World Rankings.
Ahlmer replaces the now-retired Christine Seehofer-Krenn, who drops out of the top four for the first time in nearly a decade.
Stine Jacobsen, Zuzana Severinová and Myriam Enmer are all within 200 ranking points of each other, as the World No.1 spot is set to potentially change hands a number of times in 2023.
In the Men’s Singles World Rankings, Luke Griffiths is into the top 10 for the first time, level with Luka Penttinen at No.10. Nicolas Lenggenhager is also up to a career-high No.4 in the world after reaching the semi-finals in Lanzarote.
Women’s Singles – Ahlmer Becomes 14th Women’s Singles World No.1
Anna-Klara Ahlmer has risen to the top of the Women’s Singles World Rankings. The Swede has been in the mix for World No.1 for well over a year now and has finally seen her hard work pay off.
With none of Ahlmer, Jacobsen, Severinová or Enmer taking part in the IWT La Santa Open, the movement came from the loss of the SWT King of Rackets points from 2019.
Christine Seehofer-Krenn won that tournament and the loss of those points saw her fall away from the top spot for the final time. Severinová was the other player to lose points. She dropped from World No.2 to World No.3, being leapfrogged by both Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Stine Jacobsen.
From Ahlmer at No.1 to Enmer at No.4 there are just 162 ranking points between them. None of the four is playing the Thailand Open Challenger but Stine Jacobsen is registered for February’s IWT RSL Finnish Open and could move up to No.1 with a strong result.
Two big winners in the January Rankings are IWT La Santa Open finalists Flore Allègre and Holly Ranson. Allègre rises 58 spots to No.32 in the World Rankings. One spot above her is Ranson, who has moved up 42 places.
After also finishing on the podium, Stephanie Chung has enjoyed a 30-spot rise and is now at No.29. Women’s B Singles champion Aurélie Haurant is up to No.28 while Cherisse Lau also rises over 25 spots to No.36.
Towards the top of the rankings, Astrid Reimer-Kern has fallen two spots to No.10 with Irina Olsacher and Margaux Randjbar each rising one place. British duo Alexandra Ogram and Matilda Parslow are each up five spots to No.11 and No.12 respectively. Each is now on the cusp of breaking the top 10 for the first time.
The full Women’s Singles rankings are available here.
Men’s Singles – Luke Griffiths Cracks Top 10 for First Time
World Champion Luke Griffiths has cracked the top 10 of the World Rankings for the first time in his career. This three-spot rise for Griffiths comes after he finished as the runner-up at the IWT La Santa Open. He sits at joint-10th in the rankings with Luka Penttinen.
There were plenty of other movements in the top 10 of the rankings after the season ender in Lanzarote. Nicolas Lenggenhager and Kresten Hougaard each rose one spot to No.4 and No.5 in the rankings respectively. That’s a new career high for Lenggenhager. Duncan Stahl is also back to No.6, his highest ranking in a number of years. This comes as retired singles player Dan Busby drops to No.7.
After winning the IWT La Santa Open, Leon Griffiths closes the gap on World No.1 Morten Jaksland. He’s now within 350 points of Jaksland and is on the hunt to take over in 2023.
A bronze medal for Sylvain Ternon in Lanzarote sees him rise seven spots to No.16. British duo Ross Wilson and Luke Barnes are the only other players to rise over 10 spots in the top 50. Wilson is up to No.41 while Barnes lands at No.46.
Men’s B Singles champion Nicolas Champod is up 21 spots to No.72 with runner-up David Bennett landing at No.62. After his wildcard into the Men’s A Singles, Patrick Moran rises 20 places to No.70. Lucas Steyer and Samuel Barker both rise into the top-100 for the first time.
The full Men’s Singles Rankings are available here.
Doubles – Luke Griffiths into Top Five of Men’s Doubles
Morten Jaksland remains at the top of the Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles World Rankings, with Anna-Klara Ahlmer at the summit of the Women’s Doubles. There have been a number of changes lower down though.
After winning the title in Lanzarote, Leon Griffiths has closed the gap on Jaksland to within 400 points. Brother Luke Griffiths has risen to No.5 in the Men’s Doubles rankings with Duncan Stahl now at No.4.
In the Women’s Doubles rankings, champions Jennifer Schmitz and Matilda Parslow both enjoyed healthy rises. Parslow lands at No.14 while Schmitz is up to No.24. Jo Shelley, who finished as runner-up, enters the top 10 for the first time at No.10.
After winning the title in December, Nicolas Lenggenhager is up to No.5 in the Mixed Doubles rankings, overtaking Dan Busby. Myriam Enmer is also up to No.3 with Zuzana Severinová landing at No.4.
The full Doubles Rankings are available here.
Seniors – Kaptein Becomes New Seniors Mixed Doubles Number One
Kirsten Kaptein has moved to the top of the Seniors Mixed Doubles World Rankings after winning the IWT La Santa Open Mixed Doubles crown. Kaptein had previously spent 11 months at the top of the rankings and now returns to the summit.
In the Men’s Seniors Rankings, the story is about the new players that are now eligible to compete as they turn 40 this year. The two major names are Oliver Bühler and Rav Rykowski.
Both immediately enter in the Top 10 due to their impressive Men’s Singles Rankings. Bühler lands at No.2, just over 200 points behind World No.1 Duncan Stahl. Meanwhile, Rykowski comes in at No.9. The other three names to immediately enter the top 100 are Bertrand Carlier, Stephan Schmutzer and Gregor David.
The Women’s Seniors Singles rankings, it’s also a story of a new player eligible for the Seniors circuit. Nicole Eisler is now able to compete and lands at No.3 in the rankings. After winning the Women’s B Singles title at the IWT Czech Open, Lucie Hlavacova is also now eligible, landing at No.14.
The full Seniors Rankings are available here.
Juniors – Ogram Tops Girls Doubles Rankings
Alexandra Ogram has risen back to the top of the Girls Juniors Doubles after the IWT La Santa Open. She overtakes Paulina Steiner to retake the top spot that she previously held. That now means that Ogram is the Girls Singles, Girls Doubles and Juniors Mixed Doubles World No.1.
Speaking of the Girls Singles Rankings, there is a new No.2 and No.3. It’s a British top three as Holly Ranson lands at No.2 and Cherisse Lau lands at No.3 in the rankings.
The Boys Juniors Rankings has seen two top 10 players no longer eligible to compete as they both turn 22. Both Yannic Andrey and David Bennett drop out of the rankings as we move into the new year. There is lots of movement in the Boys Juniors Rankings after plenty of players were active in Lanzarote.
Ross Wilson overtakes Bastian Böhm and is now at No.4 in the Boys Juniors Rankings. Lucas Steyer makes his Top 10 debut as he jumps up three spots to No.8. Leon Steiner also lands at No.10 as Bennett and Andrey both dropped out.
The full Juniors Rankings are available here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image / rubinfoto.com
