Aqeel retains number one spot

Pakistan Tennis Federation releases domestic players’ rankings.

KARACHI: Veteran tennis player Aqeel Khan has been accorded the top spot in Pakistan men’s singles rankings for the 11th year running, according to the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF).

It has been learnt that the rankings were based on the points accumulated by each player in the last eight tournaments in the men’s category.

Aqeel topped the singles list with 442 points, while Yasir Khan stood second with 223  points and Lahore’s Muhammad Abid became the third ranked player in the country with 215 points, replacing Jalil Khan, who slumped to seventh.

“The inconsistency of other players makes me think that no one could replace Aqeel for the next five years,” PTF tournament director Shahzad Alvi told The Express Tribune. “However, I think under-18 player Mudassir Murtaza has the talent to become the top singles player in two years. He has the drive to be in the same league as Aqeel.”

The new entries in the top 10 men’s singles also included Islamabad’s Usman Ejaz in fourth place.

Meanwhile, Sara Mansoor ranked first in the women’s singles category with 101 points after playing four tournaments this season and Saba Aziz was in second position with 65 points.

Alvi acknowledged that the males’ category of the sport possessed more talent as compared to the female counterparts.

“Women’s tennis is still lacking better tournaments, we only have four grading tournaments for the ladies, and so far Sara has been the most consistent player ever since Sarah Mahboob left for the US for her studies.”

In the men’s doubles individual rankings, Aqeel was again the leader with 270 points with Yasir (191) and Jalil (165) in tow after playing eight tournaments.

The boys’ U18 category was topped by Mudassir with 297 points after eight tournaments, and his younger brother Muzammil Murtaza topped the U14 rankings with 205 points after participating in six tournaments.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2013.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.