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.