The new world rankings have been announced, and the two players with the biggest changes in the world rankings this time are Zhang Yuzhen and Francesca, who reached the final of the Saudi Grand Slam tournament. Since the Saudi Grand Slam tournament is being held for the first time, this means that as long as the players get good results in the competition, the international points will rise quickly. Zhang Yuzhen and Francesca made it to the semi-finals and finals in a very rare way, with one earning 645 valid points and the other 1,330 valid points.
Therefore, these two players have all risen seven places in the rankings, Zhang Yuzhen is directly ranked 13th, and Francesca is ranked 9th, beating Tomokazu Zhangmoto. Francesca, in particular, has risen a bit late, and if he had finished in the top 10 last month, he would have earned an Olympic spot.
So Francesca is the most unfortunate thing, he is currently the highest-ranked player in the German team, but he has not even won a place in the Olympic team competition. On the contrary, Bol, a veteran who often does not participate in international competitions, got a place in the team competition. This shows that the selection of the German team in the Olympic Games is not purely based on points and rankings.
Francesca also showed competitiveness, but compared to teammates Bol, Qiu Dang and Ocharov, Francesca's ability to adapt to the game was weaker. In particular, Bol and Ocharov have a lot of tactical changes, both of them are players who played from the small ball era, and they are indeed smarter and not hard-hitting types.
As a result, these two players are even more valued by the German coaching staff, who believe they will be able to compete at the Olympics, despite their age. However, Francesca has beaten the main force of national table tennis in recent times, and he still shows a certain competitiveness.
It's just that he started a little late, and the German team did not select the Olympic players to defeat the main force of national table tennis. Because the German team knows that they are not aiming to win the championship, as long as they have the absolute strength to beat other foreign players, the German men's team can at least win the third or second place medal.
The German team is still aiming for the team competition, so they will choose the veterans because the team competition is more suspenseful. And Zhang Yuzhen of the South Korean team has also continuously exerted hard power as the Olympics approach. Jang defeated Wang Chuqin at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan in February and Tomokazu Jang in March.
In the just-concluded Saudi Arabia Grand Slam tournament, Zhang Yuzhen defeated the national table tennis player Ma Long in the second round, and then defeated Darko and the French teenager Lebrun. However, in the men's singles semifinals, he lost to Francesca 3-4, and it was also a tiebreaker, Zhang Yuzhen would have entered the top ten in terms of points and rankings.
And Zhang Benzhihe ranked tenth this time, slipping one position. In the Saudi Arabian Grand Slam tournament, he stopped in the round of 16 of men's singles, and was swept out of the tournament by France's Lebrun without even reaching the quarterfinals. In the face of the French young player's first three board attack, Tomokazu Zhang seemed to be a little unable to keep up with the opponent's offensive rhythm.
Therefore, Tomokazu Zhang's main competitors are not only national table tennis players, but also European players have a strong impact on Tomokazu Zhangmoto. European players have an advantage in the area of the protective table, coupled with the relatively high quality of the single cricket, which is a great threat to Japanese table tennis players including Tomokazu Zhangmoto. Although Tomokazu is still young, he hasn't won a singles title in any tournament for a year and a half.
In June, Tomokazu Zhang will participate in two WTT events in a row, if Tomokazu Zhang is unable to win the championship in these two events, then in the Olympic Games in July, Tomokazu Zhang may not meet the national table tennis players and be eliminated in the singles competition early. France's Lebrun, who is now ranked fifth in the world, could face Tomokazu Haramoto in the singles event at the Olympics.
Because fans also found that it seems that Lebrun is more restrained in his style of play. Lebrun is young and impactful, and most importantly, he is faster than Tomokazu Zhangmoto. So Tomokazu has already encountered the biggest crisis of his career, if he can't reach the men's singles semi-finals at the Paris Olympics, it will be difficult for him to win a medal in singles at the 2028 Olympics, after all, as he gets older, his competitiveness at that time has declined.
National table tennis player Wang Chuqin ranked first in the world this time, and this time Wang Chuqin won the men's singles championship in the Saudi Arabian Grand Slam tournament and gained 1,500 effective points, with a total of 8,625 points, more than 3,300 points more than Fan Zhendong who ranked second. Even if Wang Chuqin does not participate in various competitions in the future, his ranking and points will not be surpassed by other players.
This time, Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, and Lin Gaoyuan's rankings have not changed much, except for a French teenager Lebrun who has entered the fifth place, and the main players of national table tennis have an advantage in the world's top five rankings. Wang Chuqin won three championships in the Saudi Grand Slam this time, and he is indeed in a period of rapid rise in his career.
If he continues his good form at the Olympics in July, he will have the best chance of winning the men's singles title. Wang Chuqin has also become the favorite to win the men's singles championship at the Olympic Games, and since the change of head coach, Wang Chuqin's progress has indeed increased. Hopefully he can continue this good form and live up to the expectations of the coaching staff.