Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player globally. Aruna is now sitting at 18th in the Week 12 ranking released yesterday.
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 semifinals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year with another semifinal 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 quarterfinal 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 at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
The top five remained unchanged in the women’s ranking with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.