Aruna Quadri Maintains Continental Supremacy in ITTF 2025 Standings

Aruna Quadri Maintains Continental Supremacy in ITTF 2025 Standings

By BSN Sports 

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri has finished the 2025 season as Africa’s highest-ranked men’s table tennis player, according to the final yearly rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Tuesday.

Quadri, who held the continental number one position for most of the year, closed the season ranked 28th in the world with a total of 1,065 ranking points. He is the only African player to surpass the 1,000-point mark in the men’s standings.

Egypt’s Omar Assar emerged as the next highest-ranked African, finishing 32nd globally with 965 points in the rankings published for ITTF Week 1 of 2026.

The 37-year-old Nigerian amassed his points through a demanding international campaign, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the ITTF African Cup in Tunis, where he earned 350 points. He also reached the semi-finals of the WTT Star Contender in Doha and advanced to the round of 16 at the World Table Tennis Championships Finals, also held in Doha.

Additional points came from appearances at major international events, including the Singapore Smash, United States Smash, and WTT Champions tournaments in Macao, Chongqing, Incheon, Yokohama and Frankfurt, as well as several WTT Contender and Star Contender competitions.

Quadri’s consistency across the 2025 calendar ensured he remained Africa’s leading men’s player, underlining his longevity and sustained excellence at the highest level despite fierce global competition dominated by Asian and European athletes.

At the top of the global rankings, China continues to assert its dominance, with Wang Chuqin leading the world standings ahead of compatriot Lin Shidong. Brazil’s Hugo Calderano sits third as the highest-ranked non-Asian player.

A three-time Olympian, Quadri has represented Nigeria at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, reaching the quarter-finals at the Rio 2016 Olympics. In May 2022, he made history as the first African to break into the world’s top 10 rankings.

Widely regarded as one of Africa’s most influential table tennis players, Quadri was named the ITTF Star Player of the Year in 2014, won a bronze medal with Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games the same year, and has since been recognised by the Olympic movement as Africa’s most successful Olympic table tennis player of all time.