9 April 2024

Luka Mladenovic (LUX) | Men’s No.118 (+39, career best) 

Very much a ranked outsider heading into the action in Otocec and Varazdin, Luka Mladenovic sent a message to any doubters, not once but twice. Appearing in his first Men’s Singles semifinal at last month’s WTT Feeder Beirut II, Mladenovic would go on a stunning run to match that effort in Otocec before taking down top seed Kao Cheng-Jui on his way to a quarterfinal finish in Varazdin. Mladenovic has climbed 89 ranking spots in the last 28 days and now has his sights firmly set on the world's Top 100. 

26 March 2024

Xia Lian Ni (LUX) | Women’s No.42 (+17)

Continuing to mix it on the pro scene at the age of 60, age-defying superstar Xia Lian Ni is the living embodiment of the phrase “age is just a number”. Brushing aside a talented crop of players all 20+ years her junior on her way to the Women’s Singles title at the first WTT Feeder event of last week, Ni jumps 17 positions in Week 13’s rankings, returning to the World Top 50 after a four-week spell outside the group.

Sreeja Akula (IND) | Women’s No.40 (+7, career best)

Adding to a special week for Indian table tennis, Sreeja Akula also found herself amongst the headlines in Beirut, clinching her second Women’s Singles trophy of the year with a stellar display at WTT Feeder Beirut II. Trending in an encouraging direction, the 25-year-old breaks into the World Top 40 for the first time, just two places back from the highest-ranked Indian star in the Women’s Singles standings, Manika Batra.

13 March 2024

Sreeja Akula and Chuang Chih-Yuan celebrated a weekend to remember after coming away with the respective singles titles at WTT Feeder Beirut II 2024 on Sunday 24 March, bringing an action-packed week in the Lebanese capital to an exciting conclusion.

The second of two WTT Feeder Series events to be held during the week, WTT Feeder Beirut II offered players who fell short earlier in the week another shot at glory, an opportunity Akula and Chuang took full advantage of.

Lifting her first WTT Feeder event Women’s Singles trophy earlier this season in Corpus Christi, Akula encountered her fair share of bumps on her path to the final in Beirut, surviving a quarterfinal scare against Liu Hsing-Yin (11-4, 3-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6) before taking down WTT Feeder Beirut I finalist Suh Hyo Won one round later (11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 13-11).

Akula would find herself in hot water early on against Sarah De Nutte in the final itself, facing the prospect of a two-game deficit at 9-10 down in game two. But the Indian star kept her cool, saving the game before adding two more to her tally to complete an impressive come from behind win (6-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9).

 

9 Januaray 2024

The first WTT Feeder Series event of the year has seen Sreeja Akula come up trumps, taking down her maiden WTT Women's Singles title.

Coming in to WTT Feeder Corpus Christi 2024 as the 5th seed, Sreeja pushed her way through the pack in style. The World No.94 even eliminated top seed Amy Wang in a full-distance thriller in the quarterfinal stage.

In the final, the 25-year-old from Indian faced 2nd seed Lily Zhang along with the hometown crowd the USA star brought with her to the court. In what was a first-time meeting between the pair, Akula kept a clean scoreboard to take the title, winning in straight games (11-6, 18-16, 11-5).

It was the second game that proved crucial in the underdog's run. Zhang was staring down the barrel of two game points when trailing 8-10. But holding her nerve, the World No.46 scored three times in succession. The local now held a chance to draw even on the scoreboard.

It was from there things went in to overdrive. Zhang racked up a total of five game points but was unable to convert on any of them. Meanwhile, Sreeja finally closed out the game on her fourth attempt.