Both players enjoyed superb seasons last year, capped off by them being crowned ITTF Table Tennis Stars last month.

Ma dominated the men’s events, reigning supreme at the World Championships on home soil in Suzhou in May, before winning the World Cup title in Halmstad, Sweden in October.

The 27-year-old ended 2015 in style, claiming his fourth ITTF World Tour Grand Finals crown in December with a 12-10, 12-10, 11-13, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 victory over compatriot Fan Zhendong in the final in Lisbon.

Ma has now finished as the men’s top-ranked player for each of the past six years, having first achieved the feat in 2010.

Team-mates Fan and Xu ended the year at number two and three respectively.

“I am very happy to end 2015 as the world number one again,” Ma said.

“I am looking forward to showing even better performances in the 2016 Olympic year.”

Shiwen was also in excellent form throughout 2015, though she could not manage to overcome the challenge of fellow Chinese player Ding Ning in the final of the World Championships, succumbing to a 7-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 4-11, 11-8 defeat.

The 24-year-old recovered from that initial setback to clinch a record-equalling fourth Women's World Cup success in Sendai, Japan, in October.

Her victory at the World Cup event helped her to the year-ending women’s number one spot for the third time in her career.

Ding, who sealed the women’s singles World Tour Finals title by beating compatriot Chen Meng in the gold medal match in Lisbon, her first-ever triumph at the event, is second on the world rankings behind Shiwen.

China's domination is completed by Zhu Yuling in third.

She is ahead of Japan’s Ai Fukuhara, a member of the Japanese team which won the silver medal at London 2012.

Teenage sensation Mima Ito, the 14-year-old crowned ITTF Breakthrough Star last month, has risen to 12th in the rankings.

The 2016 ITTF campaign is due to get underway with the World Tour Hungarian Open, which begins on January 20 in 2024 Olympic Games bid city Budapest.