Taipei: Tai Tzu-ying has been replaced by Sung Shuo-yun as Taiwan's top-ranked female badminton player, according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday. Tai, aged 30, experienced a significant drop in her ranking, falling six places to the 25th position due to point deductions from not competing.
According to Focus Taiwan, Tai is still in recovery from knee injuries that affected her throughout 2024. She had applied for a three-month injury-protected ranking last October and subsequently underwent surgery on her left knee in early December. Tai shared with CNA that she has never been overly concerned with world rankings as they are subject to frequent changes, and instead, she is concentrating on her rehabilitation.
On the other hand, Sung Shuo-yun has climbed one spot to rank 19th in the world in the latest weekly rankings. The 27-year-old is set to compete in the All England Open Badminton Championships this week, where her first opponent will be Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour. Should Sung advance, she is likely to face the current world No. 1, An Se Young of South Korea, in the round of 16.