By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the Week 12 ranking.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking, as per the latest update from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year with another semi-final finish.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who was crowned champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in Week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th. Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite a quarter-final exit at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali climbed to 45th, making him the third-best-ranked African player in the world.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the Week 12 ITTF ranking.
Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot.
Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semi-final finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.
