The 2022 Wimbledon Tournament: Promotions, Demotions and Other Stats

2022 Wimbledon Champions:

• Novak Djokovic (Dai-Yokozuna)

• Elena Rybakina (Maegashira)

New Career Sanyaku Rank:

• Nick Kyrgios, the 78th Male Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Elena Rybakina, the 59th Female Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Ons Jabeur, the 60st Female Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Jannik Sinner, the 93rd Male Komusubi of the Open Era

• Cameron Norrie, the 94th Male Komusubi of the Open Era

• Tatjana Maria, the 71st Female Komusubi of the Open Era

Sanyaku Rank Changes

Player (career rank if different)	To	From
Promotions
Nick Kyrgios	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Elena Rybakina	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Ons Jabeur	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Jannik Sinner	Komusubi	Maegashira
Caremon Norrie	Komusubi	Maegashira
Simona Halep (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Maegashira
Tatjana Maria	Komusubi	Maegashira
Demotions
Daniil Medvedev	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Stefanos Tsitsipas	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Matteo Berrettini	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Ashleigh Barty	Sekiwake	Ozeki
Caspar Ruud	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Leylah Fernandez	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Cori Gauff	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Felix Auger-Aliassime (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Carlos Alcaraz	Maegashira	Komusubi
Barbora Krejcikova (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Danielle Collins (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Daria Kasatkina	Maegashira	Komusubi
Jessica Pergula	Maegashira	Komusubi

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

• none

Other noteworthy developments:

• Dai-Yokozuna (Great Grand Champion) Novak Djokovic won his 21st grand slam title. He also takes - for the first time in his career - the #1 spot in the results based open area top 20 ranking, as his deeper record in grand slam finals and semifinals more than compensates for the one title that fellow Dai-Yokozuna Rafael Nadal has more. Nadal had to exit injured before the semi-finals, preventing him from defending his spot.

• Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini all lost active Ozeki (=Champion) status for failing to reach a grand slam quarterfinal for the second time in a row, altough for different reasons: Medvedev was not allowed to participate for his nationality, Tsitsipas exited early, while Berrettini fell sick. They are Sekiwake-Ozeki now: a semifinal at the US Open would get them back to Ozeki. The other Ozeki, Alexander Zverev and Iga Swiatek, go kadoban - they have to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open to hold rank

• Finalist Nick Kyrgios earned a first time Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) promotion, more than seven years after ascending to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) at the 2015 Austrlaian Open. The finalists in the ladies' tournament, Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur, also earn a first time Komusubi promotion.

Sanyaku Ranks Following the 2022 Wimbledon Tournament

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Novak Djokovic	Y	Rafael Nadal	Dai-Y
O	Alexander Zverev (k)	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Daniil Medvedev (o)	S1	Stefanos Tsitsipas (o)	O
O	Matteo Berrettini (o)	S2	Nick Kyrgios	S
S	Casper Ruud	K1	Jannik Sinner	K
K	Cameron Norrie	K2	-	-

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
-	-	Y	-	-
O	Iga Swiatek (k)	O	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	Ashleigh Barty (o)	S1	Elena Rybakina	S
S	Ons Jabeur	S2	-
S	Leylah Fernandez	K1	Cori Gauff	S
O	Simona Halep	K2	Tatjana Maria	K

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

The 2022 French Open: Promotions, Demotions and Other Stats

2022 French Open Champions:

• Rafael Nadal (Dai-Yokozuna)

• Iga Swiatek (Komusubi, ex-Sekiwake)

New Career Sanyaku Rank:

• Iga Swiatek, the 43rd Female Ozeki of the Open Era

• Caspar Ruud, the 77th Male Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Cori Gauff, the 58th Female Sekiwake of the Open Era

• Carlos Alcaraz, the 93rd Male Komusubi of the Open Era

• Jessica Pegula, the 70th Female Komusubi of the Open Era

Sanyaku Rank Changes

Player (career rank if different)	To	From
Promotions
Iga Swiatek	Ozeki	Komusubi
Caspar Ruud	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Cori Gauff	Sekiwake	Maegashira
Marin Cilic (ex-Ozeki)	Komusubi	Maegashira
Carlos Alcaraz	Komusubi	Maegashira
Daria Kasatkina	Komusubi	Maegashira
Jessica PegulaCarlos Alcaraz	Komusubi	Maegashira
Demotions
Felix Auger-Aliassime	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Barbora Krejcikova	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Danielle Collins	Komusubi	Sekiwake
Denis Shapovalov	Maegashira	Komusubi
Karolina Pliskova (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Aryna Sabalenka (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Maria Sakkari (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Emma Raducanu (ex-Sekiwake)	Maegashira	Komusubi
Madison Keys (ex-Ozeki)	Maegashira	Komusubi

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

• none

Other noteworthy developments:

• Dai-Yokozuna (Great Grand Champion) Rafael Nadal won his 22st grand slam title. He is now two titles clear of both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, which more then compensates for the latter's deeper record in terms of final and semifinal participations. Nadal therefore moves - for the first time in his career - to the #1 spot in the results based open area top 20 ranking.

• Ozeki and 2022 Australian Open Champion Ashleigh Barty retired surprisingly before the French Open. Sanyaku tennis will carry her in the rankings though until she moves organically out of them, for now she is a kadoban Ozeki. The ladies' game remains without an activie Yokozuna - French Open winner and newly promoted Ozeki Iga Swiatek would have to win the 2022 Wimbledon tournament to change this.

• Alexander Zverev defended Ozeki rank, but had to retire injured in his semifinal with Rafael Nadal. Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas went out early while Matteo Berrettini withdrew. They therefore go kadbon and need to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon to defend Ozeki rank. Medvedev won't have this opportunity as the Wimbledon organizers disqualified him from participating on the basis of his nationality - a decision that Sanyaku Tennis considers mistaken

Sanyaku Ranks Following the 2022 French Open

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Rafael Nadal	Y	Novak Djokovic	Dai-Y
O	Alexander Zverev	O1	Daniil Medvedev (k)	O
O	Stefanos Tsitsipas (k)	O2	Matteo Berrettini (k)	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Caspar Ruud	S	-	-
S	Felix Auger-Aliassime	K	Carlos Alcaraz	K

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
-	-	Y	-	-
O	Ashleigh Barty (k)	O	Iga Swiatek	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Leylah Fernandez	S	Cori Gauff	S
S	Barbora Krejcikova	K1	Danielle Collins	S
K	Daria Kasatkina	K2	Jessica Pegula	K

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

Iga Swiatek, Ozeki

Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek became the 43rd female Ozeki (=Champion) of the Open Era today by winning the 2022 French Open ladies' tournament. 

Swiatek qualified in two different ways for her new career rank: (i) by reaching the final of the French Open following her semifinal participation at the 2022 Australian Open, and (ii) by winning the second grand slam title of her career after victory at the 2020 French Open. Either achievement on its own would have sufficed to cross the 'great hurdle' (the literal meaning of 'Ozeki' in Japanese).

There are more career promotions: Swiatek's final opponent Cori Gauff earned a maiden Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) promotion; repeat quarterfinalist Jessica Pegula  becomes a Komusubi (Junior Champion II for the first time in her career. In the men's game, finalist Casper Ruud will become a first-time Sekiwake (independent of whether he wins or loses the final tomorrow), repeat quarterfinalist Carlos Alcaraz will join the Sanyaku (=championship ranks) as a Komusubi. 

A full update will be published once the 2022 French Open have completed.

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.