Nguyen Thuy Linh entered the world's Top 35 for the first time
Victory 21-7, 15-21, 21-12 against Asuka Takahashi in the final Vietnam International Challenge on the evening of March 26, helped Thuy Linh earn 4,000 more points according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF). She won 34,270 points from 10 international tournaments in the past 12 months, to climb to 35th in the world, behind Natsuki Nidaira with 480 points less. This is Thuy Linh's highest position in her career.
A week ago, Thuy Linh also entered the Top 40 for the first time in the world, with 30,270 points. This is a big step forward for the 26-year-old, who in the past 12 months has averaged 54. She is 2,999 points away from world 30 Aya Ohori. If she enters the final of another Challenge while the opponents do not improve their points, Thuy Linh will enter the Top 30.
The highest order in the history of a Vietnamese female tennis player is 34, belonging to Vu Thi Trang on June 8, 2017, one level higher than Thuy Linh's current position. Vu Thi Trang is ranked second in Vietnam, at position 111 in the world. And 22-year-old tennis player Vu Thi Anh Thu ranked 136th in the world. In addition, there are no more Vietnamese players in the Top 200 women's singles.
In the men's singles group, tennis player Le Duc Phat rose 73 places to 169th in the world, thanks to his runner-up performance in the Vietnam International Challenge. The number one position in Vietnam's men's singles still belongs to Nguyen Hai Dang for the third week in a row, when he rose 11 places to 152 in the world. Former Vietnamese number one Nguyen Tien Minh also increased 12 places in the past week, to 155 position.
In the badminton doubles content, Vietnam has no representative in the Top 100 in the world.
The BWF table is published every Monday, based on the international results of the players in the last 12 months. Thuy Linh's highest achievement in the past year is the Vietnam Open championship, helping her earn 5,500 points. In addition, she also won 4,000 points from the International Challenge championship in Belgium.
