Zhu Ting
Kim Yeon-koung
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Zhu Ting leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Zhu Ting at #5 and Kim Yeon-koung at #8.
The case for Zhu Ting
The defining women's player of the late 2010s and one of the most complete attackers the game has seen. Zhu Ting exploded onto the world stage by carrying China to Olympic gold in Rio 2016, winning the tournament MVP, and added World Cup titles and MVP awards in 2015 and 2019. Dominating abroad with Turkey's Vakifbank, she won consecutive CEV Champions League titles and MVPs in 2017 and 2018, plus the Club World Championship, proving herself against the strongest club fields on earth. At over 1.95 metres with a long, whip-fast arm, she combines terminal power with the passing and defence of an outside hitter, giving China a genuine six-rotation superstar. Injuries and China's dip cost her a second Olympic title, but at her peak from roughly 2015 to 2019 she was, by wide agreement, the best player in the world - a modern benchmark for the outside hitter position. As of the 2024-25 season she continued at the elite level.
The case for Kim Yeon-koung
The greatest player her country has produced and one of the finest outside hitters of her generation, remarkable for reaching the summit of individual honours without a powerhouse national team behind her. At the London 2012 Olympics she was the tournament's top scorer and was named Most Valuable Player even though South Korea finished fourth - a rare tribute to individual brilliance. A complete six-rotation outside with terminal attacking, dependable reception and leadership, she starred across the strongest club leagues in Japan, Turkey and China, winning the 2012 CEV Champions League and its MVP with Fenerbahce. She carried Korea to the semi-finals again at Tokyo 2020, routinely shouldering an enormous share of her team's offence. Judged on pure ability and sustained excellence rather than medal count, Kim ranks among the best wing spikers the women's game has known, and her scoring feats are woven through two decades of top-flight volleyball.