Rugby Fives Association, 22nd June 2023
Dan Tristao finishes the 2022/3 season on top of the official RFA singles rankings, with Will Ellison leading the Doubles standings. Ed Kay, Will, Ben Beltrami and Julian Aquilina complete the top five spots in Singles, with Julian climbing from seventh last year. In the Doubles, Ben (up to fifth, from seventh last year) joins Will, Dan, Ed and Ollie Arnold in the top five.
Whilst the new rankings system, introduced at the beginning of the season, may not have changed things too much at the top of the rankings, the fact that it is now automated has allowed far more players to be represented. We have over 200 players in both the Singles and Doubles lists, with the most new entrants in a single year since rankings began.
Dan’s continued run atop the Singles is largely due to a successful defence of his National title. His opponent in the final, Ben Beltrami, has made progress towards catching the top three, but remains a little way off. That’s because Ed and Will were also winners multiple times around the various regional events, securing plenty of ranking points to keep them out of reach. For now …
Refreshingly, this season saw two further regional Singles winners, with Ollie Arnold (South East) and Richie Murby (Scotland) claiming their maiden titles. Those results, along with some other strong performances, catapult Ollie up to seventh, and Richie ninth. Lewis Keates (14th) and Oscar McIntyre (19th) make good progress in the top 20, while Addie Chai is up to 22nd after reaching the National Singles finals for the first time. The highest new entrant is Isaac Weaver, thanks to his victory in the British Universities championships.
In Doubles, the regional (non-handicap) titles were shared between seven players, all in the top 10. Will Ellison remains in top spot — having won 11 of the last 12 tournaments entered, and with at least three wins in each ranking year. Dan Tristao and Ed Kay remain close behind, having won their second National Doubles title and a further regional title each this season. Ollie Arnold had another strong season, winning three regional titles.
However, the biggest mover in the top 10 is Sam Russell, who climbs four places up to 10th thanks to his consistency of reaching the latter stages of regional tournaments. Similarly to singles, Lewis Keates also had a strong season and now lies 12th, while there are large gains for Gwydion Wiseman (16th), James Toop (19th), Bally Singh (20th) and Joe Sumner (21st).
Finally, if you have ever wondered how ranking points accumulate over time, we have included a breakdown for the top 32 players — which you can see by clicking on the appropriate link below. These show how the new ranking system works as you accumulate points over a rolling three-year period. We have now completed one season under this system, but you will see that it includes results going back the full three years.
Singles ranking breakdown (opens in a new tab)
Doubles ranking breakdown (opens in a new tab)