Who is better, Ma Long or Waldner?
Ma Long leads with a GOAT score of 97.3 against 94.1 for Jan-Ove Waldner — a gap of 3.2 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Ma Long vs Waldner
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Ma Long above Jan-Ove Waldner: 97.3 vs 94.1. Ma Long leads on Honours, Dominance, Statistics. Jan-Ove Waldner leads on Longevity.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
Ma LongWinner
97.3Ma Long wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Waldner
94.1Waldner wins: Longevity
Candidates
Locked to Table TennisShareable URL · /compare/ma-long-vs-waldner
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇨🇳 Ma Long
97.3
Ma Long leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Ma Long
2. Jan-Ove Waldner
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
Through age 21 · Form index per season
1. 🇨🇳 Ma Long7 titles
2 seasons by age 21 · 3.5 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
2. 🇸🇪 Jan-Ove Waldner0 titles
0 seasons by age 21 · 0 per season
Waldner is -100.0% behind Ma Long's pace at age 21
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Ma Long97.3
Waldner94.1
FAQ
Where does Waldner beat Ma Long?
Waldner scores higher on longevity. Ma Long leads on peak, dominance, honours, statistics.
How is the Ma Long vs Waldner score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Ma Long: 97.3, Waldner: 94.1.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Ma Long vs Waldner. 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.