The ITTF ranking list has been updated, and Sun Yingsha is ahead, but the pressure to keep points still exists
On December 12, Beijing time, WTF announced its 50-week global rankings. In the women's singles competition, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu won Chen Meng with 4082 and 3560 respectively. Sasha defeated Wang Manyu by 3,318 points, while Chen Meng was 3,840 points higher, which is simply a huge gap. In this way, before the Paris Olympics, Sun Yingsha sat firmly on the throne of the world champion, so you can rest assured?In reality, this is not the case.
Singapore's 2,000 points for a Grand Slam will be cut in the next March, and Sasha is not taking it lightly.
Sun's rise to world number one is largely due to the fact that she won two major tournaments in 2022. One was in the women's singles competition in Singapore, where she scored 2,000 pointsThere is also the women's singles gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban, with a score of 2,000 points. However, the 2,000 points in the Singapore Grand Slam will not be available until March, and a one-time deduction of 2,000 points will also be a huge blow to him. Suffice it to say, before the Paris Olympics, Sasha was not sure that she would be able to retain her title. If Sasha had been eliminated early in the tournament held in Singapore, the score would have been great in this match.
In contrast, Chen Meng lost to Samara in Singapore, and Wang Manyu reached the semi-finals, which is a good time for them to improve their scores. The 2,000 points obtained at the World Championships in Durban will be cleared on May 28, and the Paris tournament will end before May 7, so the Paris singles match of the national table tennis will not be affected in any way and will still be counted. In fact, Sun only needs to win the WTT finals and next year's Singapore Grand Slam and Singles World Cup, and even if she doesn't win the title, if she can reach the final, then her status as a world champion will be unshakable.
In Sasha's opinion, her most stable performance is the Olympic performance of the national team. The Durban Table Tennis Championship won her 4,000 bonus points, which is a huge advantage. In terms of Olympic scores, Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng are 1,5380 and 7,220 respectively, while Wang Manyu is 5,870 and 5,870 respectively. This is a huge gap in the score, which even exceeds the score of the Global Qualifying Tournament. Sasha looks promising in her individual event at the Paris Olympics, but after taking the lead, she can't afford to take it lightly and can only hope that she can do well in the next three competitions before Paris.
Xi the skills of dribbling before the Olympics, and strengthening the attacking skills is the key to victory.
Unlike Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, who had to fight for each game, Sasha didn't get a lot of points. So, what should Sun Yingsha do when she is ahead?I think I would like to practice more Xi less used serves, snatches. Sasha is the best fighter in the world, she's what everyone learns Xi to learn, and it's not a good thing that she's going to give it her all in a fight. After Ma Long was tied 0-3 by Tomokazu Zhangmoto, he suddenly made a high throw, and overtook Japan in the last move.
Wang Manyu also used more and more hook serve in the mixed doubles competition, and in the last World Championships, Liu Shiwen took advantage of Chen Meng's weakness and beat Chen Meng to 11:0. Sun Yingsha played hard enough, fierce enough, but not too pragmatic, and showed all her skills before the Olympics. Ito has started to go downhill, but can anyone serve and attack more than her?Deng Yaping once said that if you want to score goals in table tennis, the best way is to serve, and Ito Misei once let Zhu Yuling serve 14 times in a row when he played against Zhu Yuling.
Sun Yingsha's style is different from Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, she plays holding and defending from standing, but like Ma Long, she uses three positions and a forehand. When you're ahead, it's also very useful to study some serving and attacking tactics for an important tournament like the Olympics. I hope Sun Yingsha can work harder and don't play herself so practically.
The Paris Olympics, the finals, the Singapore Grand Slam, and the singles all need her to fight for, and I just hope that Sasha can play better. Also, can Sun Yingsha practice hook serve?