Zhang Yining

Zhang Yining was the most dominant female table tennis player of the first decade of the 21st century. Not only did she earn 10 world titles – singles (2005, 2009), doubles (2003, 2005, 2007) and team (2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008) – she also won four Olympic titles, winning the singles and doubles in Athens 2004, and the singles and team competitions in front of a home crowd at Beijing 2008. Underlining her dominance, Zhang is also a four-time winner of the World Cup, and has won the Pro Tour Grand Final on six occasions. She was ranked first on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Ranking from January 2003 through November 2009, only dropping to second during two months in 2008. She began a career-break after her marriage in 2009, but plans to return in London for two more gold medals.