China’s Sun Yingsha is now officially the world’s top ranked table tennis paddler for a record 200 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yingsha first rose to the World Ranking summit in February 2022, and spent seven weeks at No.1 before sliding to No.2 for a short period. It wasn\u2019t long before she reclaimed top spot, returning to World No.1 in July 2022, and she\u2019s been there ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five WTT Grand Smash singles titles, seven WTT Champions successes and three times the end of season WTT Finals champion, the results speak for themselves. Yingsha has been the dominant force in table tennis for the last four years, building a legacy that may well never be replicated in the WTT era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, can anyone catch Sun Yingsha in 2026?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Holding more than double the ITTF World Ranking points that third placed teammate Chen Xingtong possesses, as things stand there\u2019s only really one player currently in with a realistic shout of bridging the gap to Sun, and that player is another Chinese star Wang Manyu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trailing Yingsha by 1977 points in the standings, Manyu has plenty of ground to make up, but as seen at the China Smash 2025 and WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025, the latter has what it takes to outscore Yingsha at high ranking point events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yingsha may have experienced an early setback at the recent WTT Champions Chongqing but Manyu exited the event two rounds earlier. A missed opportunity for the World No.2, something she will need to take advantage of more often if she\u2019s to cut into Yingsha’s lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s won some of the sport\u2019s biggest titles, but Manyu is yet to hit one of her biggest career goals, with World No.1 status eluding her to this day. Could that change in 2026? Potentially, but it will take something quite special to knock Yingsha off her perch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n