Ding held the top spot for a week before Robertson reclaimed it. Ding's poor form continued into 2015 as he was eliminated in the first round in six successive events: 6–3 to Joe Perry at the Masters; 5–4 to Ryan Day at the German Masters; 4–1 to world number 115 Lee Walker at the Welsh Open; 4–3 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at the Indian Open; 4–1 to Ricky Walden at the World Grand Prix; and 4–1 to Joe Perry at the 2015 Players Championship Grand Final. His form improved at the China Open as he defeated Marcus Campbell and Mark Davis—both 5–1—and Mark Williams 5–2 to reach the quarter-finals, where he beat John Higgins 5–4 on the colors. In Ding's second ranking-event semi-final of the season, he tied the scores at 5–5 after being 5–3 down to world number 56 Gary Wilson but lost the deciding frame.