The 2020 French Open: Promotions, Demotions, and Other Stats

2020 French Open Champions:

• Rafael Nadal (Dai-Yokozuna)

• Iga Swiatek (Maegashira)

New Career Sanyaku Rank:

• Sofia Kenin, the 42nd Female Ozeki of the Open Era

• Pablo Carreno Busta, the 76th Male Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Iga Swiatek, the 50th Female Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Andrey Rublev, the 91st Male Komusubi of the Open Era

• Natalia Podoroska, the 70th Female Komusubi of the Open Era

Sanyaku Rank Changes

Player (career rank if different)	To	From
Promotions
Sofia Kenin	Ozeki	Komusubi
Pablo Carreno Busta	Sekiwake	Komusubi
Iga Swiatek	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Stefanos Tsitsipas	Komusubi	Maegashira
Diego Schwartzman	Komusubi	Maegashira
Andrey Rublev	Komusubi	Maegashira
Petra Kvitova (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Maegashira
Natalia Podoroska	Komusubi	Maegashira
Demotions
Simona Halep	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Ashleigh Barty	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Danil Medvedev	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Viktoria Azarenka (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Garbine Muguruza (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Jennifer Brady	Maegashira	Komusubi
Elise Mertens	Maegashira	Komusubi

Kinboshi:
("gold star" - prize awarded to a non-sanyaku ranked competitor for beating an active Yokozuna): none

Other noteworthy developments:

• Due to the Covid-pandemic, the French Open were the last (rather than the 2nd) grand slam tournament to be played in 2020.

• Dai-Yokozuna Rafael Nadal won his 20st grand slam title, equalling Roger Federer's record, and his 13th title at the French Open - a lonely record. As a result, Nadal moves to #2 in the merit-based open era ranking: we placed Federer ahead of Rod Laver when he won his 20th grand slam title, hence we do the same now with Nadal. Given Federer's deeper record in terms of grand slam final and semifinal participations, Nadal would arguably need 22 titles though to move to the #1 spot.

• Ozeki Alexander Zverev lost before the quarterfinals (in the 4th round) and hence goes kadoban - he must reach the quarterfinals at the next grand slam tournament (presumably the Australian Open) to defend Ozeki rank. Dominic Thiem, by contrast, secured Ozeki rank for at least another two grand slam tournaments with a quarterfinal particpation.

• Simona Halep and Ashleigh Barty both get demoted from Ozeki to Sekiwake, but have a one-time chance to restore Ozeki rank with a semifinal participation at the next slam.

Sanyaku Ranks Following the 2020 French Open

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Rafael Nadal	Y1	Novak Djokovic	Dai-Y
Dai-Y	Roger Federer	Y2	-	-
O	Dominic Thiem	O	Alexander Zverev (k)	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Pablo Carreno Busta	S	-	-
S	Danil Medvedev	K1	Stefanos Tsitsipas	K
K	Diego Schwartzman	K2	Andrey Rublev	K

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Serena Williams	Y	Naomi Osaka	Y
O	Sofia Kenin	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Simona Halep (o)	S1	Ashleigh Barty (o)	O
S	Iga Swiatek	S2	-	-
O	Viktoria Azarenka	K1	Petra Kvitova	O
K	Natalia Podoroska	K2	-	-

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
Inactive Yokozuna: Andy Murray, Venus Williams
(k): kadoban
(o): Sekiwake-Ozeki

Sofia Kenin, Ozeki

Sofia Kenin

Sofia Kenin became the 42nd female Ozeki (=Champion) of the Open Era yesterday night by reaching the semifinal of the 2020 French Open. Together with winning the 2020 Australian Open, this suffices to clear the ‘big hurdle’ (the meaning of ‘Ozeki’ in Japanese). Kenin is not on a Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) run though, as her strong results at the Australian and French Open were interrupted by an early exit (4th round) at the US Open (which preceded the French Open this year).

Normally Ozeki promotions are rare, on average there is one every 1.5-2 years. The recent promotions by Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev were the first in the mens' game since 2014. 

In the ladies' game, however, there have been no less than ten Ozeki promotions since 2014: Eugenie Bouchard, Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Jelena Ostapenko, Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Ashleigh Barty, and now Sofia Kenin (Naomi Osaka bypassed Ozeki and went straight to Yokozuna). 

Of these, only Halep, Kerber, Muguruza, and maybe Stephens have put together Ozeki-type career records to date; the others have yet to fully live up to the original promise. The ladies' game remains in flux, but the talented Kenin may turn out to be an element of stability in the years ahead.

The sanyaku lists will be updated at the end of the tournament.

The 2020 US Open: Promotions, Demotions, and Other Stats

2020 US Open Champions:

• Dominic Thiem (Sekiwake)

• Naomi Osaka (Yokozuna)

New Career Sanyaku Rank:

• Dominic Thiem, the 32nd Male Ozeki of the Open Era

• Alexander Zverev, the 33rd Male Ozeki of the Open Era

• Jennifer Brady, the 69th Female Komusubi of the Open Era

Sanyaku Rank Changes

Player (career rank if different)	To	From
Promotions
Dominic Thiem	Ozeki	Sekiwake
Alexander Zverev	Ozeki	Komusubi
Danil Medvedev	Sekiwake	Komusubi
Viktoria Azarenka (ex-Ozeki)	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Pablo Carreno Busta	Komusubi	Maegashira
Jennifer Brady	Komusubi	Maegashira
Elise Mertens	Komusubi	Maegashira
Demotions
Sofia Kenin	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Garbine Muguruza (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Stan Wawrinka (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Madison Keys (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Sloane Stephens (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Johanna Konta (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Elina Svitolina (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Bianca Andreescu (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi

Kinboshi:
("gold star" - prize awarded to a non-sanyaku ranked competitor for beating an active Yokozuna):

• Pablo Carreno Busta (ex-Komusubi) - for beating Dai-Yokozuna Novak Djokovic in Round 4

• Viktoria Azarenka (ex-Ozeki) - for beating Dai-Yokozuna Serena Williams in the semifinals

Other noteworthy developments:

• Dai-Yokozuna Serena Williams loses in the semifinals and hence falls again short of her 24th grand slam title. As a result, she remains #2 in our merit-based Open Era ranking.

• Naomi Ozaka reactivates her Yokozuna status.

• Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev achieve the first Ozeki promotions in the mens' game since 2014, when Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic were promoted.

• Ozeki Simona Halep and Ashleigh Barty both sit out the tournament and go kadoban. They have to reach the quarterfinals at the 2020 French open to defend Ozeki rank, although Barty has alrady announced that she won't play.

Sanyaku Ranks Following the 2020 US Open

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Novak Djokovic	Y1	Roger Federer	Dai-Y
Dai-Y	Rafael Nadal	Y2	-	-
O	Dominic Thiem	O	Alexander Zverev	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Danil Medvedev	S	-	-
K	Pablo Carreno Busta	K	-	-

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Serena Williams	Y	Naomi Osaka	Y
O	Simona Halep (k)	O	Ashleigh Barty (k)	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Viktoria Azarenka	S	-	-
S	Sofia Kenin	K1	Garbine Muguruza	O
K	Jennifer Brady	K2	Elise Mertens	K

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
Inactive Yokozuna: Andy Murray, Venus Williams
(k): kadoban
(o): Sekiwake-Ozeki

Alexander Zverev, Ozeki

Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev became the 33rd male Ozeki (=Champion) of the Open Era  last night by reaching the final of the 2020 US Open. Together with reaching the semifinals at the 2020 Australian Open - which, this year, is the grand slam tournament preceding the US Open - this suffices to clear the ‘big hurdle’ (the meaning of ‘Ozeki’ in Japanese). In his semifinal, Zverev had to overcome the durable Pablo Carreno Busta - the 84th male Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) of the Open Era -  in a five-setter. Carreno Busta will be re-promoted to his former rank that he first attained at the 2017 US Open.   

After six years without an Ozeki promotion, Zverev's is the second within two days, after Dominic Thiem was promoted to Ozeki upon reaching the semifinals. Thiem will now be Zverev's opponent in the the final, hence one of the two new Ozeki promotees will also become a first-time grand slam champion. Thiem making the final also means that the third player on an Ozeki run - Danil Medvedev -  fell one win short and will instead just be re-promoted to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I). The Ozeki and all other Sanyaku career lists will be updated once the tournament is completed.

In the ladies' game, ex-Ozeki Viktoria Azarenka will play Naomi Osaka in tonight's final. Azarenka will return to Ozeki if she wins her third grand slam title (otherwise Sekiwake), while Osaka already re-activiated her Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) status when she made the semifinals. Azarenka's advance also means that Dai-Yokozuna (=great Grand Champion) Serena Williams' quest for a 24th grand slam title - which would have her take #1 spot in our open era ranking - fell a tad short once again.  

Dominic Thiem, Ozeki

Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem became the 32nd male Ozeki (=Champion) of the Open Era today by reaching the semifinals of the 2020 US Open. Together with reaching the final at the 2020 Australian Open - which, in this exceptional year, is the grand slam tournament preceding the US Open - this suffices to clear the ‘big hurdle’ (the meaning of ‘Ozeki’ in Japanese).  The promotion makes Thiem the highest ranking Austrian tennis player of the Open Era, surpassing Thomas Muster (the 41st male Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) of the Open Era)

Thiem's is the first Ozeki promotion in the men's game since 2014, when Stan Wawrinka (at the Australian Open) and Marin Cilic (US Open) got promoted. The Ozeki and all other Sanyaku career lists will be updated once the tournament is completed.

And there is potential for more: also in the running for an Ozeki promotion are Alexander Zverev and Danil Medvedev. Either of them would have to reach the US Open final, however. 

In the ladies' game, Naomi Osaka reactivated her Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) status by reaching the 2020 US Open semifinals.

Fare Well, Grand Champion

A career Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) has announced her retirement: Maria Sharapova. Sharapova became the 17th female Yokozuna of the open era after winning her fifth grand slam at the 2014 French Open - almost ten years after her maiden Ozeki (=Champion) promotion following a sensational Wimbledon victory as a 17 year old. Sanyaku Tennis has Sharapova down as the 13th greatest female tennis player of the open era.

Maria Sharapova

Sharapova was not without critics. In 2016 she was suspended for 18 months after failing to stop taking a drug that had been banned recently. And she was unfortunate to play in the same era as Serena Williams, against who she held dismal career record, including eight losses at grand slam tournaments (three finals). At the same time, Sharapova brought a star power to ladies' tennis that transcended her on-court success, and that greatly benefitted the game she played.

Fare well, Grand Champion. You will be missed.

The 2020 Australian Open: Promotions, Demotions, and Other Stats

2020 Australian Open Champions:

• Novak Djokovic (Dai-Yokozuna)

• Sofia Kenin (Maegashira)

New Career Sanyaku Rank:

• Sofia Kenin, the 50st Female Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Alexander Zverev, the 92nd Male Komusubi of the Open Era

Sanyaku Rank Changes

Player (career rank if different)	To	From
Promotions
Ashleigh Barty	Ozeki	Sekiwake
Dominic Thiem	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Sofia Kenin	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Garbine Muguruza (ex-Ozeki)	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Alexander Zverev	Komusubi	Maegashira
Stan Wawrinka (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Maegashira
Demotions
Daniil Medvedev	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Madison Keys (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Sloane Stephens (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Johanna Konta	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Elina Svitolina	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Bianca Andreescu	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Kei Nishikori (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Matteo Berettini	Maegashira	Komusubi
Belinda Bencic	Maegashira	Komusubi

Kinboshi:
("gold star" - prize awarded to a non-sanyaku ranked competitor for beating an active Yokozuna):

• Dominic Thiem (ex-Sekiwake) - for beating Dai-Yokozuna Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals

• Qiang Wang - for beating Dai-Yokozuna Serena Williams in round 3

• Cori Gauff - for beating Yokozuna Naomi Ozaka in round 3

Other noteworthy developments:

• Naomi Ozaka failed to reach the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive grand slam tournament. While Yokozuna cannot be demoted, Ozaka loses active Yokozuna status, and needs a semifinal or two quarterfinals within a year to restore it.

• Ashleigh Barty returns to Ozeki for reaching the semifinals directly after having been demoted from Ozeki to Sekiwake afte rthe US Open. Simona Halep, who was at risk of demotion (kadoban), maintains Ozeki rank for also reaching the semifinals.

Sanyaku Ranks Following the 2020 Australian Open

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Novak Djokovic	Y1	Roger Federer	Dai-Y
Dai-Y	Rafael Nadal	Y2	-	-
-	-	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Dominic Thiem	S	-	-
S	Danil Medvedev	K1	Alexander Zverev	K
O	Stan Wawrinka	K2	-	-

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Serena Williams	Y	-	-
O	Simona Halep	O	Ashleigh Barty	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Sofia Kenin	S	Garbine Muguruza	O
O	Madison Keys	K1	Sloane Stephens	O
S	Johanna Konta	K2	Elina Svitolina	S
S	Bianca Andreescu	K3	-	-

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
Inactive Yokozuna: Andy Murray, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Naomi Osaka
(k): kadoban
(o): Sekiwake-Ozeki