The World Bowls Series is celebrating a new men’s No 1 on its second anniversary.

Australia’s Corey Wedlock a double medallist at the platinum-ranked World Bowls Indoor Championship takes the top spot for the first time.

His singles silver and mixed pairs gold finish at the event staged at Ocean Grove Bowling Club, Victoria, Australia, sees him move up one place to lead the men’s ranking list with 920 points.

He now sits 137 points clear of his nearest rival – men’s singles winner and mixed pairs runner-up at that event, Scotland’s Iain McLean who jumps 13 places to second with 782 points – his highest-ranking position to date.

In other changes to this month’s rankings which also include the results of the silver ranked Asian Lawn Bowls Championships and South African Opens (women and men), India makes a maiden appearance in the Top 10 – World Cup silver medallist Dinesh Kumar moves from 20^th to claim eighth place with 589 points following his men’s pairs gold at the Asian Lawn Bowls Championships with Narneet Singh.

Wedlock becomes the sixth player to hold the men’s No 1 spot and second Australian with the previous holders being his fellow Jackaroo Aron Sherriff, Malaysia’s Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple and Scottish trio Stewart Anderson, Jason Banks and Paul Foster MBE.

Australia’s Dawn Hayman meanwhile continues her reign as women’s No 1 with 860 points, but like the men’s list there are changes to the Top 10 line-up.

World Cup gold medallist Emma Firyana Saroji, of Malaysia, who won bronze in the Asian Lawn Bowls Championships in the women’s fours is Hayman’s nearest challenger as she takes second spot with 734 points.

Inaugural No 1 Kelsey Cottrell comes back into the Top 10 at number four after winning the World Bowls Indoor Championship mixed pairs, while Hong Kong China now have two representatives in the top flight – Helen Cheung (number seven) who clinched gold in the women’s Asian Lawn Bowls Championships and World Cup women’s pairs champion Cheryl Chan (number five).

Former No 1’s Selina Goddard (New Zealand), Emily Kernick (England) and Kelly McKerihen (Canada) hold sixth, ninth and 10^th spots, while Nor Farah Ain Abdullah (Malaysia) who sits just outside the top 20 at 25.

Nine countries are represented in the Top 10 players across the two ranking lists – Australia, Scotland, New Zealand, Malaysia, Ireland, India, England, Hong Kong China and Canada. Australia and Scotland hold the bragging rights with four players, with Malaysia three, Hong Kong China, New Zealand and England two and the other countries one representative each.

In total, there are currently over 5,000 players on the lists – 3,011 men and 2,348 women presenting 54 countries.

Next month’s ranking list update will feature results from the platinum Australian Open and gold British Bowls Championships.

ABOUT THE WBS RANKINGS

The World Bowls Series, launched in 2024, is the official year-long calendar of sanctioned events connecting to the official world rankings. It is a joint venture between World Bowls and Tier 5 Ventures. The sanctioned events occur across the globe and feature a mixture of existing and new events.

The 2026 calendar has a record 41 sanctioned events. Each WBS event belongs to a different  classification having different ranking points based on the size, location, and stature it presents for the sport.

The purpose of WBS is to build the profile and brand of bowls, showcase the best players in the game and increase their earnings potential, accelerate the legitimacy of the sport on the global stage and launch world rankings that will help create clarity and interest in the sport of bowls.

See World Bowls Series website www.worldbowlsseries.com for more information.

For more information regarding the World Bowls Series, contact: Chris Wallace, World Bowls Series Manager, events@worldbowls.com.