Kim Clijsters, Yokozuna

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Kim Clijsters became the 16th female Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) of open era tennis last night, by winning her fourth grand slam and the first pair of major titles back-to-back (together with the 2010 US Open title). Clijsters' is the first Yokozuna promotion in the ladies' game since the US Open 2003, when her compatriot Justine Henin attained the highest championship rank. Incidentally, Henin had to announce her second and probably definite retirement from the sport at these Australian Open also, suffering from a chronic elbow injury. At 27 years, Clijsters Yokozuna promotion comes late in her career.

Clijsters won a close and exciting final against Chinese Na Li (pictured below--Li is the family name, thus we write her name this way), who returns to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) rank as a result--a rank she first obtained at the Australian Open last year, when she lost the semifinal to Dai-Yokozuna Serena Williams (Serena sat out this Australian Open injured). Na is a French Open semifinal away from an Ozeki (=Champion) promotion, as is her seminfinal opponent Caroline Wozniacki, who will stay at Sekiwake. Clijsters semi-final opponent Vera Zvonareva defended succesfully Ozeki rank. Quarterfinalist Francesca Schiavone will remain at Sekiwake, while Samantha Stosur (3rd round exit) and retired ex-Ozeki Elena Dementieva will be demoted to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II), where they will be joined by quarterfinalist Petra Kvitova.

To this writer is seems that female tennis is finally recovering from a long through during which the game became too dependent on the Williams sisters, and during which hopefuls like Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic or Dinara Safina--all reaching Ozeki rank--could not live up to expectations after promising starts, with failure often related to injury. The "new" bunch--lead by Clijsters, Zvonareva, Li, Wozniacki, Stosur--seems to have a critical mass of quality that promises to make female Grand Slam tennis interesting. Not yet the days of Evert, Navratilova, Goolagong, Mandlikova, or of Graf, Seles, Sanchez-Vicario, but getting there.

Still outstanding is the men's final between long-standing Ozeki Novak Djokovic and long-standing Ozeki hopeful Andy Murray. If Murray beats his buddy Novak tonight he will finally have taken the "great hurdle" --this is what the Japanese term "Ozeki" means literally. The match is the rare event of a Grand Slam final without the Yokozuna Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who went out in the semis (Federer to a brilliant Djokovic) and quarterfinals (an injured Nadal to his compatriot David Ferrer, who was then wrestled into sumbission by Murray in the semis) respectively. I expect a final of highest quality.

Here are the ladies' sanyaku (=championship) ranks following the 2011 Australian Open:

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	Venus Williams	Y1	Serena Williams	Y
Y	Kim Clijsters	Y2	-	-
O	Vera Zvonareva	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Na Li	S1	Caroline Wozniacki	S
S	Francesca Schiavone	S2	-	-
S	Samantha Stosur	K1	Elena Dementieva*	O
K	Petra Kvitova	K2	-	-

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
* retired