Rankings: Axelsen, Zheng/Huang Occupy Rarefied Heights
The first quarter of the year might have thrown up some concerns for Viktor Axelsen given his imperious form of the last two seasons, but the Dane did achieve a landmark atop the BWF World Rankings.
· BWF STAFF
The latest rankings saw him enter his 123rd week as world No.1, higher than any other active men’s singles player. Last week he’d overtaken Kento Momota’s 121-week reign from September 2018 to November 2021 as world No.1 – although the Japanese did enjoy an unbroken stint during that period.
Axelsen’s first stint as No.1 lasted a year after he'd won his first World Championships in 2017, before he slipped briefly to No.7. Having become near-invincible in 2021, the Dane climbed to No.1 once again in December 2021 and hasn’t relinquished the top spot since, and is in his 72nd consecutive week as that position.
Axelsen’s form might have wavered this year, but his outstanding form in the 52-week ranking period, in which he won seven titles, has seen him accumulate 108,206 points, over 30,000 points ahead of Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who achieved his highest rank of No.2 this week. The Indonesian moved up a spot from No.3, swapping places with compatriot Jonatan Christie.
- Viktor Axelsen
- Kento Momota
- Anthony Sinisuka Ginting
- Jonatan Christie
- Zheng Si Wei
- Huang Ya Qiong
- Priyanshu Rajawat
- Prannoy H. S.
- Kidambi Srikanth
- Lakshya Sen
- Pusarla V. Sindhu
- Huang Dong Ping
- Wang Yi Lyu
- Chen Bo Yang
- Liu Yi
- Liu Sheng Shu
- Tan Ning
- Rena Miyaura
- Ayako Sakuramoto
- Nami Matsuyama
- Chiharu Shida
- Yuki Fukushima
- Sayaka Hirota
- Mayu Matsumoto
- Wakana Nagahara