KUALA LUMPUR: A change of guard appears imminent in the Malaysian women's singles department, with K. Letshanaa poised to take over as national No. 1 from Goh Jin Wei.

With Jin Wei not returning to action until at least the Swiss Open in late March, the 21-year-old Letshanaa has an opportunity to overtake her in the world rankings.

Letshanaa currently ranks No. 52, while Jin Wei, who has been struggling to make an impact, sits at No. 48.

Letshanaa has two opportunities to gain ranking points at Super 300 tournaments: the German Open this week and next week's Orleans Masters in France.

She has expressed readiness to embrace the potential new status.

"Obviously there's pressure because being number one means you're expected to perform in every match and also to win," said Letshanaa.

"But for me, winning and losing is secondary because as long as you give your best, you are satisfied with your performance. That's what matters to me the most."

Letshanaa acknowledged she still has much to prove, having yet to produce consistent results.

In her first two World Tour starts this year, she exited in the second round of the Indonesia Masters and the first round of the Thailand Masters.

At the recent Asia Mixed Team Championship, Letshanaa defeated world No. 97 Saloni Mehta of Hong Kong but fell to Indonesia's world No. 40 Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi.

At the German Open, Letshanaa will face seventh seed and world No. 34 Julie Dawall Jakobsen of Denmark in the first round, an opponent she has never encountered.

"Obviously, I'm gaining confidence, but like I always say, I just give my best on any given day," she said.

"Many players are higher ranked than me at the moment, and being at No. 52, there are 51 of them above me, and I'll do my best to beat them."