Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has surpassed Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked table tennis player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the latest week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th. Denmark’s Jonathan Groth claimed Assar’s previous 17th spot, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have significantly boosted his ranking. Notably, he remains the only African male player to reach the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, a feat he repeated from 2023 in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who defeated Aruna to win the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next competition will be the WTT Contender Chennai in India, which kicks off from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda remains the top-ranked African player, moving up one spot to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, held steady at 33rd, maintaining her position as Africa’s second-highest-ranked female player.
In the global rankings, China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player worldwide, trailing behind compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto overtook China’s Liang Jingkun to become the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s rankings, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha maintaining her number one position after securing the WTT Champions Chongqing title.
