Zhang Jike
Ma Lin
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Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Zhang Jike leads 2 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Zhang Jike at #6 and Ma Lin at #10.
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The case for Zhang Jike
Zhang Jike burst to the top with unmatched speed, completing the career Grand Slam in just 445 days, the fastest in history, by winning the 2011 World Championship, the 2011 World Cup and the London 2012 Olympic singles title in rapid succession. He defended his world title in 2013 and added another Olympic gold in the Rio 2016 team event, reaching the singles final there. Explosive backhand power, a ferocious serve and a theatrical, high-intensity presence made him one of the sport's most watched stars. Injuries and inconsistency curtailed his later years, but at his peak his raw firepower and clutch performance in the biggest finals placed him among the most devastating attackers the game has produced.
The case for Ma Lin
The finest penhold player of the modern era, Ma Lin was a master of serve, short game and the reverse-penhold backhand who won four Women's, and men's, World Cup singles titles, a men's record, in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2006. His crowning achievement was Olympic singles gold at Beijing 2008, won in front of a home crowd, along with team and doubles golds. The conspicuous gap in his record is a World Championship singles title, which repeatedly slipped away and denied him the career Grand Slam. Renowned for the finest serve and touch of his generation, he kept the classical penhold style competitive at the very top even as shakehand play came to dominate the sport.