Kevin Ho Ching Ng has made racketlon history after becoming the first player from Hong Kong to become a top-10 ranked player in any rankings.
After winning the Men’s Doubles at the CHA Thailand Open and finishing runner up at the CHA Indian Open, Ng has risen 13 spots to land at No.10 on the rankings, just three points ahead of Cedric Junillon.
Elsewhere, Morten Jaksland and Christine Seehofer remain top of the singles rankings. There was movement lower down as Kresten Hougaard and Bettina Bugl both moved up just one spot to return to world No.3.
Men’s Doubles Rankings: Kevin Ho Ching Ng Flying the Flag for Hong Kong
Taking up racketlon at the start of 2019, Kevin Ho Ching Ng has quickly emerged as the trailblazer for the growing contingent of Asian players.
Impressive results in singles have seen him rise inside the top-30 but it is the doubles where he has made history.
Titles at the CHA Thailand Open and IWT Finnish Open in 2019 had already seen Ng climb to No.23 in the doubles rankings. However, gold and silver in Thailand and India respectively were enough to push him inside the top-10.
This is a huge moment both for Ng personally, and for racketlon in both Hong Kong and Asia. Hopefully, Ng’s success can inspire more and more players from the growing racketlon continent to pick up a racket and get involved in racketlon.
Men’s Singles: Rykowski up to Career High as Asian Swing Players Enjoy Big Rises
After winning the IWT Vienna New Year Classics, Rav Rykowski has risen to a new career-high No.6. Rykowski, Benjamin Graenicher, Emanuel Schopf and Luka Penttinen have all rise one place as Lukas Windischberger falls four spots. With no points dropping off his rankings until August, Rykowski has a big chance to move even higher up the rankings.
Runner-up Oliver Buhler also enjoyed a rise of four places. The Swiss star, who reached his first elite singles final, moved up to No.12 and is one of a handful of players looking to move into the top-10 once Windischberger departs.
Players who took part in the inaugural Asian Swing were rewarded with a healthy rankings boost across the board. We’ve already mentioned Ng moving up 21 spots to No.28 but there were some huge movers inside the top 100.
CHA Thailand Open champion Piers Boden is up 166 places to No.60, with Leigh Sands moving up 91 spots to No.62, just behind him. Two runner-up finishes for Sidharth Nandal saw him make history. Nandal becomes the first male player from India to enter the top-100 of the singles rankings, landing at No.73.
American Patrick Moran also enters the top 100 for the first time, in at No. 86, while Austrian youngsters Philipp Patzelt and Florian Harca are in at No.90 and No.92 respectively.
Women’s Singles: Austrians Rise in Quiet Month
Three Austrian players were the eye-catching movers in a quiet month on the women’s rankings. Bettina Bugl’s performance in Vienna saw her overtake Anna-Klara Ahlmer into third place. The returning Martina Meissl also enjoyed a healthy bump, rising 13 spots to No.28.
Women’s B winner in Vienna, Irina Olsacher, managed to reach a new career-high, rising four places to No.23. There was also a career moment for Glenda Ong, who rises to No.42, the highest-ranked player from the Philippines ever.
After winning the Thailand Open on her debut, Sin Yee Simmy Chung enters the rankings at No.67. Meanwhile, Pooja Shah, winner in India, is up 115 spots to No.58.
Best of the Rest
No change at the top of any of the rankings lists although a word for a pair of Germans who enjoyed big leaps. Frank Kleiber is up to No.4 in the Men’s Seniors Doubles rankings, rising 10 spots. Fellow German Julia Schirutschke is also on the rise. The youngster is up to No.5 in the Girls Juniors Singles rankings after competing in Thailand.
The full FIR World Tour rankings are available here.
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Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / rubinfoto.com
