... where 128 women chase a small ball, and in the end Serena always wins.
The Australian Open 2015 confirmed once more: when Dai-Yokozuna (=great Grand Champion) Serena Williams is fit and focused, she is near-impossible to beat. Williams struggled in the early rounds against prospects like Elina Svitolina and Garbine Muguruza. She fought as much with what seemed a bad cold as with her opponents. Fellow Yokozuna Maria Sharapova put up a trademark fight in the final. No matter, in the end the winner was again Serena, winning the 19th grand slam tournament of her career. Serena has now won more than one-third of all grand slam tournaments since the 2002 French Open (18 out of 52), and more than half since Wimbledon 2012 (6 out of 11). Not since the days of Steffi Graf 20 years ago has a female player been that dominant.
The stats of the Serena-Sharapova final reveal a key source of Serena Williams' superiority: her first serve. Its power, speed and precision is without equal in the ladies' game, and grants her many free points. Serena out-aced Sharapova - who has a good serve herself - 18-5, which accounts for more than the total points difference in the match (76-64). On second serve, Sharapova actually beat Williams 14-9, but on first serve Serena outscored Sharapova 37-28.
Elsewhere in the tournament, the Ozeki (=Champions) Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep held rank, although for both the tournament was arguably a mild disappointment, with relatively clear losses in the quarterfinals. Serena's sister Venus reached her first grand slam quarterfinal since 2010. Another quarterfinal in the next three slams and she will reactiviate her - currently dormant - Yokozuna status.
Petra Kvitova failed to back up her Wimbledon 2014 triumph for the second slam running and gets demoted to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I). She will share the rank with Ekaterina Makarova, who confirmed her consistently good form by reaching her third grand slam quarter- and second semi-final in succession. Another semifinal at the French Open and Makarova will surge to Ozeki.
The Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) ranks will be filled with ex-Ozeki Viktoria Azarenka, who is fighting back from injury, ex-Sekiwake Caroline Wozniacki, and - the discovery of the tournament - US-prospect Madison Keys. The hard-hitting Keys defeated Kvitova in round three and gave Serena Williams, for one set, a scare in the semifinal. This earns Keys a first-time sanyaku (=championship) promotion: she is the 60th female Komusubi of the open era.
The ladies' sanyaku ranks going into the 2015 French Open are therefore as follows:
1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
The Australian Open 2015 confirmed once more: when Dai-Yokozuna (=great Grand Champion) Serena Williams is fit and focused, she is near-impossible to beat. Williams struggled in the early rounds against prospects like Elina Svitolina and Garbine Muguruza. She fought as much with what seemed a bad cold as with her opponents. Fellow Yokozuna Maria Sharapova put up a trademark fight in the final. No matter, in the end the winner was again Serena, winning the 19th grand slam tournament of her career. Serena has now won more than one-third of all grand slam tournaments since the 2002 French Open (18 out of 52), and more than half since Wimbledon 2012 (6 out of 11). Not since the days of Steffi Graf 20 years ago has a female player been that dominant.
The stats of the Serena-Sharapova final reveal a key source of Serena Williams' superiority: her first serve. Its power, speed and precision is without equal in the ladies' game, and grants her many free points. Serena out-aced Sharapova - who has a good serve herself - 18-5, which accounts for more than the total points difference in the match (76-64). On second serve, Sharapova actually beat Williams 14-9, but on first serve Serena outscored Sharapova 37-28.
Elsewhere in the tournament, the Ozeki (=Champions) Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep held rank, although for both the tournament was arguably a mild disappointment, with relatively clear losses in the quarterfinals. Serena's sister Venus reached her first grand slam quarterfinal since 2010. Another quarterfinal in the next three slams and she will reactiviate her - currently dormant - Yokozuna status.
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| Madison Keys, Komusubi |
The Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) ranks will be filled with ex-Ozeki Viktoria Azarenka, who is fighting back from injury, ex-Sekiwake Caroline Wozniacki, and - the discovery of the tournament - US-prospect Madison Keys. The hard-hitting Keys defeated Kvitova in round three and gave Serena Williams, for one set, a scare in the semifinal. This earns Keys a first-time sanyaku (=championship) promotion: she is the 60th female Komusubi of the open era.
The ladies' sanyaku ranks going into the 2015 French Open are therefore as follows:
| Career rank 1/ | East | Current Rank | West | Career rank 1/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks) | ||||
| Dai-Y | Serena Williams | Y | Maria Sharapova | Y |
| O | Eugenie Bouchard | O | Simona Halep | O |
| Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks) | ||||
| O | Petra Kvitova | S | Ekaterina Makarova | S |
| O | Viktoria Azarenka | K1 | Caroline Wozniacki | S |
| K | Madison Keys | K2 | - | - |
1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
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