Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has retained his position as Africa’s number one table tennis player despite falling three places to 26th in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) world rankings released on Tuesday.
Quadri Aruna now has 1,185 points, staying ahead of Egypt’s Omar Assar, who is ranked 33rd with 930 points. The Nigerian maintained his lead despite losing to Assar in the round of 64 at the WTT Europe Smash in Sweden last week.
Aruna’s ranking is supported by points gained from earlier competitions, including 350 points from finishing runner-up at the 2025 ITTF African Cup in Tunis, 210 points from reaching the semi-finals at the WTT Star Contender in Doha, and 175 points from a round of 16 finish at the ITTF World Championships.
With several of those results approaching expiration, Aruna faces increased pressure to secure points in upcoming ITTF events to remain among the world’s top 30.
Other Nigerian players recorded mixed results in the latest update. Matthew Kuti dropped four places to 200th, Abdulbasit Abdulfatai fell three places to 206th, Olajide Omotayo slipped six spots to 212th, and Taiwo Mati moved down to 221st. Muizz Adegoke was the only Nigerian man to improve, climbing two places to 232nd.
In the women’s rankings, Fatimo Bello stayed at 122nd with 189 points, while Ajoke Ojomu dropped to 158th, Aminat Fashola slipped to 186th, and Sukurat Aiyelabegan fell to 211th. Only players ranked between fifth and tenth among Nigerian women moved upward.
Globally, China maintained dominance in both categories. Sun Yingsha extended her lead in the women’s rankings to a record 12,200 points after winning the WTT Europe Smash. In the men’s list, Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin remain on top, followed by Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Brazil’s Hugo Calderano.
Note that the ITTF world rankings are updated weekly and are calculated based on a player’s best eight results over the last 12 months.
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