BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Olympic and world champion Zhang Yining, the former world No. 1 women table tennis player, was replaced by 18-year-old fellow Chinese Liu Shiwen on the world rankings issued by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Sunday.

    It is the first time Liu has occupied the No. 1 spot on the women's world ranking list.

    Liu entered the world rankings in August 2004 at No. 95; in July 2007 she gained a top 50 place at No. 41 and clinched a top 10 place less than a year ago. In May 2009, she achieved a ranking of No. 7.

    Zhang, dubbed as the most successful women player of the past decade, assumed the No. 1 spot in January 2003 and has only relinquished the position on two occasions, prior to being replaced by Liu.

    The 22-year-old Guo Yue from China dropped one place to No. 3 and her compatriot Li Xiaoxia fell to No. 5.

    Guo Yan of China, winner of the women's singles title at the Tournament of Champions, advanced from No. 5 to No. 4.

    The player in the top 50 to make the most progress is Germany's Wu Jiaduo. Wu beat South Korea's Kim Kyung Ah, No. 9, at the Tournament of Champions in Changsha, China in December 2009, before losing to Guo Yan, moved from No. 20 to No. 15.

    And the player who suffered most is Singapore's Li Jiawei. Now retired from the international scene, she dropped form No. 15 to No. 23.