Sunday, January 30, 2022

The 2022 Australian Open: Promotions, Demotions and Other Stats

2022 Australian Open Champions:
  • Rafael Nadal (Dai-Yokozuna)
  • Ashleigh Barty (Ozeki)

New Career Sanyaku Rank:

Sanyaku Rank Changes
Player (career rank if different) To From
Promotions
Daniil Medvedev Ozeki Sekiwake
Matteo Berrettini Ozeki Sekiwake
Stefanos Tsitsipas Ozeki Sekiwake
Danielle Collins Sekiwake Maegashira
Denis Shapovalov Komusubi Maegashira
Madison Keys (ex-Ozeki) Komusubi Maegashira
Iga Swiatek (ex-Sekiwake) Komusubi Maegashira
Demotions
Karolina Pliskova (ex-Ozeki)Komusubi Sekiwake
Aryna SabalenkaKomusubi Sekiwake
Maria SakkariKomusubi Sekiwake
Emma RaducanuKomusubi Sekiwake
Leylah FernandezKomusubi Sekiwake

Kinboshi:
("gold star" - prize awarded to a non-sanyaku ranked competitor for beating an active Yokozuna):
  • Amanda Anisimova (ex-Komusubi) - for beating Yokozuna Naomi Osaka in Round 3

Other noteworthy developments:
  • Dai-Yokozuna (Great Grand Champion) Rafael Nadal won his 21st grand slam title and therefore the most slams of any male tennis player in the open era.
  • In terms of the pure stats, however, Nadal remains #3 in the open area top 20 ranking - behind Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who both have 20 titles but participated in many more grand slam finals and semifinals. This said, Sanyaku Tennis does not really participate in the so-called GOAT debate. To us, every player who reached Dai-Yokozuna status represents the pinnacle of the sport, with unique achievements each in his or her own way. Splitting hair at this level is silly: you don't compare royalty.
  • Finalist Daniil Medvedev got promoted to Ozeki (=Champion), but he missed out by a whisker on back-to-back grand slam titles and hence on an immediate Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) promotion - he would have been the 19th male Yokzouna of the open era. Medvedev looks every bit like a future Yokozuna, but one never knows. Semifinalist Matteo Berrettini also got promoted to Ozeki, while the other semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas earned a re-repromotion to the same rank.
  • The "next gen" fills four Ozeki slots now and has truly arrived in the sanyaku rankings (the fourth Ozeki Alexander Zverev, who lost early and goes kadoban - i.e. needs a quarterfinal to the French open to defend rank). This said, noone has made it to Yokozuna yet - this is still reserved to the old masters, Nadal and Djokovic (the third master, Federer, is an inactive Yokozuna at present).
  • In the ladies's game, Ashleigh Barty won her third grand slam title and confimed Ozeki rank. She is now the top tier in ladies' tennis, as both Yokozuna - Dai-Yokozuna Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka - failed to make the semifinals in four consecutive grand slam tournaments (Williams did not participate this time, Osaka lost in round 3). Hence both are listed as inactive Yokozuna now, leaving ladies' tennis without an active Grand Champion. By contrast, the lower Sanyaku ranks (Sekiwake and Komusubi) are filled with no less than 9 female players who had success at the last three grand slam tournaments, among them Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins.

Sanyaku Ranks Following the 2022 Australian Open

Men
Career rank 1/ East Current Rank West Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y Rafael Nadal Y Novak DjokovicDai-Y
O Alexander Zverev (k) O1 Daniil MedvedevO
O Stefanos Tsitsipas O2 Matteo Berrettini O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S Felix Auger-Aliassime S --
K Denis Shapovalov K --


Women
Career rank 1/ East Current Rank West Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
- - Y --
O Ashleigh Barty O --
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S Barbora Krejcikova S Danielle Collins S
O Karolina Pliskova K1 Aryna SabalenkaS
S Maria Sakkari K2 Emma Raducanu S
S Leylah Fernandez K3 Madison KeysO
S Iga Swiatek K4 --

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

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Daniil Medvedev and Matteo Berrettini, Ozeki

Daniil Medvedev
Double Ozeki (=Champion) promotion in mens' tennis: Daniil Medvedev and Matteo Berrettini both crossed the "great hurdle" (this is what "Ozeki" means literally in Japanese) at the 2022 Australian open to become the 35th and the 36th male Ozeki of the open era (the sanyaku rank lists will be updated once the tournament has completed). 

Medvedev reached Ozeki by following up on his triumph at the 2021 US Open with another grand slam quarterfinal participation. By now he has even reached the semifinals; if he wins the tournament he would earn a promotion to the 19th male Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) of the open era. 

Matteo Berrettini
Berrettini plays a third consecutive successful grand slam tournament: final at Wimbledon, quarterfinals in New York, (at least) semifinal in Melbourne. Different from Medvedev, he cannot earn a Yokozuna promotion at this tournament, however.

Elsewhere in the tournament, Stefanos Tsitsipas earned re-promotion to Ozeki by reaching the semifinals after two weaker grand slam tournaments. In the ladies' game, both Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will lose active Yokozuna status, as they failed to make a grand slam semifinal for four consecutive tournaments - Williams did not participate, Osaka went out in round 3. This will leave Ashleigh Barty as the only female player with a high sanyaku rank (Yokozuna or Ozeki) after the 2022 Australian Open.

Full updates will come once the tournament completes.