A lot of movement in the April rankings, as can be expected with two IWT tournaments last month. A very exciting time for Leon Griffiths as he is the new men’s world no 1, whilst his brother Luke Griffiths retakes the no 1 spot in the junior boy’s rankings. Meanwhile, Alexandra Ogram stays no 1 for another month, as well as Duncan Stahl and Stine Jacobsen is also extending her time at the top of the rankings.
Leon Griffiths to hold the top spot in the world rankings for the first time
After occupying the world no 2 spot since June 22, Leon Griffiths will see himself on top of the rankings for the first time in his career. He’s had a great season last year, winning four IWT singles titles (La Santa, Latvian Open, Malta Open, French Open) as well as winning five men’s doubles titles. Morten Jaksland moves down one spot to no 2, for the first time since June 2019. He’s had an amazing run at the top of the rankings and it will be without doubt that we will see him there again. There have been some big movements in the top 10, Sylvain Ternon will occupy the world no 5 spot which is a career-high, and he will be back in the top ten for the first time since November 21. He’s had an incredible start to the 2023 season so far, reaching two back-to-back finals in Poland and Paris. René Lindberg is also moving up, he will jump two spots to world no 7 which also sees him at a career-high. Another player who will come into this month’s rankings with a personal best is Luke Griffiths. After winning the French Open he will now be world no 9.
Jacobsen extends her time at no 1
Stine Jacobsen will stay on top of the rankings for another month. However, Anna-Klara Ahlmer has closed the gap after winning her first IWT title of the season in Poland last weekend. She will play in the IWT tournament in Lausanne and will fight hard to get the no 1 position back. Kirsten Kaptein also had a great run in Poland, finishing third, and is back at world no 4, a position she previously held in November 2019. Nicole Eisler, winner of the French Open, also moves up one spot to world no 7, overtaking Irina Olsacher. We also see a new face in the top 10, Girls junior no 1 Alexandra Ogram will make her top 10 appearance at no 9.
Leon Griffiths is also world no 1 in men’s doubles, Chung and Shelley make top 10 debut in women’s doubles
A double career best for Leon Griffiths, as he also will be the new no 1 in the men’s doubles. After winning the French Open with his brother Luke, both moved up the rankings to no 1 and no 4 respectively. Duncan Stahl, Max Plettenberg, Anthony Duthuillé also moved up, whilst Michal Kurek will be in the top 10 for the first time after finishing second at the Polish Open with Kevin Ho Ching Ng. The top four in the women’s doubles stay the same, Nicole Eisler has moved up three spots to no 5 after winning the French Open with Flore Allegre. Jo Shelley and Stephanie Chung make their top 10 debuts at no 9 and no 10. Anna-Klara Ahlmer stays the mixed doubles no 1, whilst Myriam Enmer, Stine Jacobsen and Nicolas Lenngenhager all move up one spot as Morten Jaksland drops to no 5. Kirsten Kaptein, Dan Busby, Cornelius Radermacher and Emanuel Schöpf all go up two spots, whilst Zuzana Severinová rounds up the top 10.
Stahl and Jacobsen stay at no 1 in the senior rankings
Stine Jacobsen stays at no 1 in the women´s senior rankings, as the rest of the top three remain unchanged as well with Kaptein at 2 and Eisler at 3. Jo Shelley moves up three spots to world no 4, whilst Esther Dübendorfer and Katrin Maldre move up to 5 and 6, Izzy Bramhall and Zuzana Vancuríková drop to 7 and 8, and Silke Altmann moves back in the top 10. In the men´s senior rankings, Duncan Stahl is also extending his run at no 1. Nikola Mikac, Christian Börner and Mohammed Tarik Koubaa all move up to no 3, 4 and 5 as Ray Jordan drops five spots to world no 8. Graham King is back at no 7, while Eric Durand has jumped seven places to no 9 to be back in the top 10. Manfred Grab also moves up one spot to round up the top 10.
Luke Griffiths is back at no 1 in the boys juniors, Alexandra Ogram extends her run at no 1
Luke Griffiths is back on top of the Boys Junior rankings as he retakes the spot from Florian Harca. Matthew Davidson and Bastian Böhm stay at 3 and 4 whilst Lucas Steyer moves into the top five for the first time. He´s had a great season so far, winning the IWT Finnish Open and the IWT French Open U21 titles. Meanwhile Andreas Kotala makes is top 10 debut at number 9, he won the IWT French Open U16. Alexandra Ogram extends her run at no 1, as fellow Brits Holly Ranson and CHerisse Lau remain at no 2 and 3. Taba Tabaie Shaqayed stays at no 4, while Paulina Steiner overtakes Clarissa Steiner at no 5. Ewa Kozłowska jumps eight places in the ranking back to her career high of no 10.
All rankings can be found here
Sanne Veldkamp / FIR Media Officer