Mima Ito has climbed to second in the women's singles world rankings, achieving the highest position ever held by a Japanese table tennis player, male or female, since the current system began in 1991, according to the ITTF's listing for April released Thursday.
"I'll do my best against every player so that I can win in any situation," Ito said in a comment.
The 19-year-old finished runner-up at the Qatar Open last month before the ITTF postponed international competitions due to the coronavirus outbreak. The governing body plans to temporarily freeze the rankings at the end of April.
China's Chen Meng retained the No. 1 women's singles position. Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano were ranked ninth and 11th, respectively.
In the men's singles rankings topped by China's Fan Zhendong, Teenager Tomokazu Harimoto moved up a spot to No. 4.
