Who is better, Ma Lin or Ni?
Ma Lin leads with a GOAT score of 86.4 against 86.2 for Ni Xialian — a gap of 0.2 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Ma Lin vs Ni
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Ma Lin above Ni Xialian: 86.4 vs 86.2. Ma Lin leads on Dominance, Peak, Honours. Ni Xialian leads on Longevity.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
Ma LinWinner
86.4Ma Lin wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Ni
86.2Ni wins: Longevity
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇨🇳 Ma Lin
86.4
Ma Lin leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Ma Lin
2. Ni Xialian
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Form index per season1. 🇱🇺 Ni Xialian5 seasons played · career day 1,82528 titles
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇨🇳 Ma Lin5 seasons played · career day 2,19016 titles
-42.9% vs Ni at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇳 Ma Lin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 29 |
| 🇱🇺 Ni | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 64 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | Ma LinRetired | NiActive |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic golds | 3 | — |
| World Cup titles | 4 | — |
| World Championship team golds | 5 | — |
| Olympic singles titles | 1 | — |
| Career ranking weeks at No. 1 | 30 | — |
| World Championship golds | — | 2 |
| European titles | — | 3 |
| Olympic Games contested | — | 6 |
| European Championship medals | — | 8 |
| Professional seasons | — | 40 |
| Dominance w25% | 86 | 80 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 88 |
| Longevity w20% | 80 | 96 |
| Honours w20% | 88 | 84 |
| Statistics w15% | 86 | 84 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Ma Lin86.4
Ni86.2
FAQ
Where does Ni beat Ma Lin?
Ni scores higher on longevity. Ma Lin leads on peak, dominance, honours, statistics.
How is the Ma Lin vs Ni score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Ma Lin: 86.4, Ni: 86.2.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Ma Lin vs Ni. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.