Shuttler Chen's rise to women's world No. 1 confirmed
China's Chen Yufei has replaced Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei as the world's No. 1 women's singles player.
Chinese shuttler Chen Yufei was confirmed as the world's top women's singles player in the latest global rankings released by the Badminton World Federation in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Following her championship triumph at the BWF World Tour Finals in Guangzhou — her seventh title of the year — Chen replaced Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei, whom she defeated in the final, to become the new world No. 1, reclaiming the position for the Chinese team since Li Xuerui donned the mantle in 2015.
Following the end of the BWF season, the Chinese team will have three year-end No. 1's for 2019. Apart from Chen, women's doubles duo Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan and mixed doubles pair Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong consolidated their top rankings following their respective titles in Guangzhou.
In the men's singles, Japan's Kento Momota faced little challenge to his reign. He returned victorious in Guangzhou from the scene of his defeat 12 months ago, capturing the top podium and setting a new record in men's singles of 11 titles in a season, overtaking Malaysian Lee Chong Wei's 2010 record of 10.
China's Chen Long, who reached the semifinals in Guangzhou, ranked third while teammates Shi Yuqi and Lin Dan, came in at 8th and 17th, respectively.
In the men's doubles, Indonesian pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo ranked top, but compatriots Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan, who ranked second, won the three big titles this year — the World Tour Finals trophy to go with the All England Open and the world championships crown.
