Joel Makin has reached a new career high of 23 in the world after rising one place in the January rankings.
The Haverfordwest-born player started 2018 ranked 41 in the world but improved 18 places after an impressive year.
Wales’ top ranked player, Tesni Evans, has slipped one place but is still No 10 in the world starting 2019.
Jan 2019 World ranking list. Well done all pic.twitter.com/hRk7IdLmc3
— 🏴 SQUASH WALES (@sqwales) January 1, 2019
Makin won the Tring Open and the Thanet Open last year as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games in Australia last April.
The 24-year-old, now based in Birmingham, also reached the quarter-finals of the St George’s Hill Classic in Surrey and the Qatar Classic.
Makin claimed the biggest win of his career at the tournament in Weybridge when he defeated world No 1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in straight sets in the second round.
Caerphilly’s Peter Creed, who reached a career high 50 in the world in 2018, had dropped to 59 on the latest rankings, a fall of one place.
Cardiff-born Evans reached the final of the Monte Carlo Classic last month where she was beaten in a deciding set by top seed Laura Massaro.
The 26-year-old’s next competition is the $180,000 Tournament of Champions in New York which starts on January 18.
The Rhyl-based player, seeded eight for the event at Grand Central Terminal, will be looking to repeat her heroics from the US Open when she beat the higher ranked Joelle King and Sarah-Jane Perry to reach the semi-finals.
Tesni Evans . . . Top Ten On The Planet And You’ve Probably Just Walked Past Her
Evans has been joined in the world’s top 100 by Ali Loke who has claimed 11 places to a career high 93.
The 25-year-old from Cambridge won an all-Welsh duel with Nia Davies to reached the second round in Monte Carlo.
Jan 2019 World ranking list. Well done all pic.twitter.com/w5UAN9elYJ
— 🏴 SQUASH WALES (@sqwales) January 1, 2019