Jakarta. Jonatan Christie has climbed to world No. 1 in the men’s singles rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday, despite having yet to win a major individual tournament this year.

The achievement makes Jonatan the first Indonesian men’s singles player in 26 years to reach the top of the world rankings, following Taufik Hidayat.

Jonatan moved up two places to claim the No. 1 spot with 87,631 points, ahead of France’s Christo Popov, who has 87,002 points. Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn sits third with 86,915 points.

Jonatan has competed in 10 major individual tournaments this year, with his best results coming as runner-up at the India Open in January and the Indonesia Open in June.

At two of badminton’s most prestigious events, the All England Open and the World Championships, Jonatan reached only the round of 16.

Popov, by comparison, has already won three tournaments in 2026 -- the German Open, European Championships, and Japan Open. However, the Frenchman has also suffered several early exits, losing in the opening round or round of 32 at other tournaments.

World champion Alex Lanier of France, meanwhile, is ranked only seventh despite also winning the Singapore Badminton Open this year.

The 21-year-old Lanier has struggled for consistency across the season, suffering round-of-32 defeats at three different tournaments.

Jonatan’s rise illustrates how the BWF ranking system rewards results accumulated across eligible tournaments rather than simply the number of titles won, allowing consistent deep runs to translate into a higher world ranking.

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