Jonatan Christie reaches world number one in men's singles

Indonesian badminton player Jonatan Christie has officially become the world number one in men's singles, according to the latest BWF rankings released on Tuesday. Christie reached the top spot for the first time in his career with 87,631 points, moving up two positions from third place.

The ranking update follows the conclusion of the 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi. Although Christie was eliminated in the round of 16 by Denmark's Rasmus Gemke, the performance of his competitors allowed him to ascend to the top.

The competition at the summit remains tight. France's Christo Popov holds the second position with 87,002 points, trailing Christie by 629 points. Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn sits in third with 86,915 points, followed by Taiwan's Chou Tien Chen in fourth and Anders Antonsen in fifth. Former number one Shi Yu Qi dropped five places to sixth position.