Liam Pitchford

Liam Pitchford’s run to the last 32 of the ITTF World Championships has seen him move back into the top 50 in the world rankings.

The Chesterfield player is at No 49, moving up from No 62 the previous month on the back of his performance in Suzhou, where he beat world No 20 Tiago Apolonia in the last 64 before losing to world No 17 Saehyuk Joo in the next round.

Pitchford is again within touching distance of his career high of No 43.

Paul Drinkhall, who was beaten in the last 64 of the Worlds, has dropped out of the top 50 and is now ranked No 54.

Elsewhere, Alex Ramsden gets his first world ranking – No 129 on the under-15 list (No 949 on the men’s list).

Paul Stimpson
May 5, 2015