Farewell, Champions

Two career-high Ozeki (=Champion) have announced their retirement from the sport: Garbine Muguruza, the 38th female Ozeki of the open era, and Dominic Thiem, the 32nd male Ozeki of the open era. 

Garbine Murguruza

Muguruza was born in 1993 in Venezuela to a Venezuelan mother and a Spanish-Basque father. When she was six, the family moved to Spain, to improve her and her brothers' training opportunities. This paid off handsomely when Muguruza broke into the world tennis elite in 2014/15. In 2016 she won her first grand slam title - beating Serena Williams in the French open final  - and earned a promotion to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I). In 2016 she also won Wimbledon, this time prevailing over Serena's sister Venus Williams, and crossed the "great hurdle" - this is what 'Ozeki' means literally in Japanese.

A lanky, elegant and powerful player, Muguruza could excel on all surfaces. At the same time, her career was a bit rollercoaster style: brilliant at one tournament, disappointing at the next, then - when many observers had written her off - coming back with a vengeance. In recent years, she was increasingly plagued by injuries, making a return to her former strength difficult. Having nothing left to prove as a tennis player, Muguruza put aside her racket up at the age of only 30. 

Dominic Thiem

Thiem also retires at age 30: he is one month older than Muguruza. Thiem caught the wider public's eye in 2016, when he reached the semifinal at the French Open - losing to Novak Djokovic but earning a first-time promotion into the sanyaku ranks as Komusubi (=Junior Champion II). He repeated the feat in 2017, then went one step further in 2018 and 2019, when he made it to the Roland Garros final - beaten both times by Rafael Nadal. 

Thiem's career peaked in 2020. First he lost an intensely fought, five-set Australian Open final to Djokovic. Then he won the US Open against Alexander Zverev, turning the match around after losing the first two sets and being two points from defeat. The victory made Thiem only the second Austrian grand slam winner of the open era - the first had been Thomas Muster in 1995 - and the first Austrian Ozeki.

Unfortunately, in 2021 Thiem injured his wrist - particularly detrimental for a player who relied not only on a grinding high-intensity game, but also on a flashy but technically demanding single-handed backhand. When it became clear that success was unlikely to return, Thiem retired from the tour.    

 

Fare well, champions. You will be missed.

Farewell, Great Grand Champion

Roger Federer

One of the greatest of the sport has announced his retirement: Roger Federer, the 14th male Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) of the Open Era, and one of only seven male Dai-Yokozuna (Great Grand Champions - the others are Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. 

When Federer's rise began, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were near the end of their illustrious careers, and at first he battled for succession rights with the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin or Andy Roddick - all career-high Ozeki (=Champions). It soon transpired though that Federer was the best of the class, and in 2004 he ascended to the highest rank of Yokozuna - the first Grand Champion promotion in almost 10 years (after Agassi in 1995). Dai-Yokozuna followed in 2007. By that time, Federer's three-way rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - who would both become Dai-Yokozuna as well) was well under way - it would see all three achieve career records that had been unheard of previously. Together Federer, Nadal and Djokovic established a golden era of men's tennis - it is now nearing its end.

Nadal and Djokovic may have won even a little more than Federer, but Federer was the first who reached hitherto unimaginable heights: he cleared the path that his younger competitors followed, gave them a target to aim for. The elegance of Federer's game is unrivalled: the quick feet that made it seem as if he was hovering over the court; the vision that allowed him to find angles nobody else saw; the wrist flexibility that sometimes made him resemble a squash or badminton player; the fluency, accuracy and effortless power of his serve; the stylish single-handed backhand (even though it lacked a tad reliability and was arguably also his main weakness). Even at age 38, Federer was still competitive in Grand Slam finals - it seemed as if age would never catch up with him. 

Well, age has finally caught up: at the biblical tennis player age of 41, Federer has announced his retirement. Farewell, Great Grand Champion. You will be missed.

P.S.: in the ladies' game, another great has half-announced her withdrawal from the sport: Serena Williams. Different from Federer, Serena has left a back door open though - hence maybe it is still too early for good-byes.

Fare Well, Champion

A career-high Ozeki (=Champion) has announced his retirement from the sport: Juan Martin del Potro, the 27th male Ozeki of the open era. 

Juan Martin del Potro

Del Potro crossed the "great hurdle" (this is what 'Ozeki' means literally in Japanese) for the first time in 2009, when he won the US Open in 2009 as a 20-year old, following a semi-final at the 2009 French Open. In the semifinals and in the final, Del Potro defeated both Yokozuna (=Grand Champions)  in succession - Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. He obtained active Ozeki status for a second time in 2018 after a series of strong grand slam tournaments, peaking with another US Open final. Del Potro also won a bronze and a silver medal and the 2012/2016 Olympics respectively. 

Del Potro's ability to generate speed and raw power was unique and feared by his opponents, his trademark thunderbolt flat forehand was an almost undefeatable weapon when he hit it cleanly. However, his career was interrupted time and again by long stretches of injury: in 2010, 2013-16, and now again since 2019. His large frame - del Potro is almost 2 meters tall and weighs close to 100 kilos - did unfortunately not take too well to the strains of professional tennis, otherwise he may well have had the potential for Yokozuna. 

The Argentine was one of the most humble and sympathetic  personalities on the professional tennis tour and almost universally liked. He is leaving the tour at 33 years of age. 

Fare well, champion. You will be missed.

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.

Fare Well, Champion

A career Ozeki (=Champion) has announced his retirement from grand slam tennis: David Ferrer.

Ferrer never won a slam, but between 2012-14 was an example of outstanding consistency at a very high level. In 2013, he easily cleared the "great hurdle" to Ozeki, after semifinals at the US and Australian Open and a (lost) final at Roland Garros. He held on to the rank for five more tournaments.

David Ferrer, Ozeki

Fare well, champion. You will be missed.
 

Fare Well, Champion

A great Ozeki (=Champion) has retired from the sport of tennis: two-time grand slam winner Na Li.


Na Li, the 29th female Ozeki of the open era

Fare well, champion. You will be missed.