Nigeria’s top ranked player, Aruna Quadri, has moved up seven places in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) ranking released on Wednesday, Completesportsnigeria.comreports.
Quadri gained 23 points from his victory in the men’s singles of the Polish Open in Poland as well as claiming some points from his qualification to the main draw at the ITTF World Cup in Liege, Belgium in the month of October.
Rafael Nadal secured the year-end world number one ranking with a 7-5, 6-3 second-round victory over South Korean Hyeon Chung at the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The 16-time Grand Slam champion is the oldest man to finish a season at the top of the rankings at the age of 31, after a year that saw him win the French and US Opens.
Roger Federer thrashed American teenager Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday as the top seed began his week at the Swiss Indoors with a resounding first-round victory. Federer, who won in a stroll over Rafael Nadal just over a week ago in the Shanghai final, continued his top form in front of the local crowd at an event he has won seven times.
Premier Lotto has signed a $75,000 endorsement deal with table tennis star Aruna Quadri. According to a statement by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, the three-year contract gives sporting bet company the right to use Quadri’s name, signature and photographs to promote its business.
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza is the WTA Player of the Year, and US Open champion Sloane Stephens is the Comeback Player of the Year. The women's tennis tour announced the annual honors Friday. The awards are voted on by members of the media. The 24-year-old has had a remarkable season, winning two huge singles titles (in Cincinnati and at Wimbledon) and reaching the semifinals or better at Brisbane, Rome, Birmingham, Stanford and Tokyo.
World number one Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next week's Swiss Indoors Basel tournament with a knee injury.
The Spaniard, 31, says he is suffering from an "over-stressing of the knee", and has been advised by his doctor to take time off.
