To compare opening-day and final-day results, first decide whose results you mean. Choose one wrestler or a rank group before looking at the results. Store one bout per row with both wrestler IDs, ranks, day, decision and default status; expand that into one row per selected wrestler for comparison. For a contested-bout win rate, divide the selected wrestlers’ wins by their contested appearances. Do not turn absences or unplayed days into losses.
Withdrawals accumulate as a tournament progresses. Opponent quality and match-making context also change. The final day is not simply a random continuation of day one: championship races, winning records and losing records shape the schedule. A difference cannot automatically be called a “day effect.”
First decide whose results you mean
If both wrestlers from every decided bout enter the calculation, each decision adds one win and one loss: the combined win rate is 50%. A useful daily win-rate comparison therefore needs a population fixed in advance, such as one wrestler or a specified rank group. When opponents visiting from another division are excluded, both sides are no longer necessarily in the sample. Keep the bout card’s division separate from each wrestler’s banzuke division.
The worked daily-results example demonstrates this trap and follows Wakamotoharu through three fixed five-day windows. Do not use an undifferentiated pooled win rate to infer that the whole field performs better on one day.
Produce two views
The first table includes the predetermined group members who actually wrestled each day, with wins, losses, appearances and absences shown separately. The second is a supplementary table restricted to members who contested every day of the chosen period. That keeps the names stable but selects those able to remain. Compare the counts and results to see how participation changes the apparent pattern. Do not compare an all-bout, both-sides 50% table directly with a completer-only table.
To include default wins and losses, build a separate official-decisions table for the same selected group and state its denominator. Keep it apart from the contested-bout table. Lower divisions do not schedule every wrestler daily: compare their numbered bouts or appearances instead of copying a sekitori fifteen-day design.
Repeated days are not independent people
Fifteen observations from one wrestler share the same person, tournament and conditions. If both sides of a bout belong to the group, one person’s win is the other’s loss; these are not independent trials. Publish wrestler counts, tournament counts, selected appearances and distinct bouts alongside percentages. Inspect variation between tournaments before turning one unusual sequence into a claim about finishing strength.
Choose comparisons before looking for a dramatic result. If the article highlights opening day, middle Sunday and the final day, explain why those cut points answer the reader’s question. Do not search all fifteen days and report only the largest gap without saying so.
State the question—and what would weaken the answer
The testable question is narrow: for the wrestler or group specified at the start, does a day-by-day difference in recorded win proportions recur across several tournaments? Show each day’s participant count and opponent ranks. Matchmaking, opponents and participation can change together, so this table alone cannot show that final-day pressure or motivation caused a difference.
For the same predetermined group, compare daily participants with period completers. Recalculate official decisions and contested-bout results separately, and distinguish a single tournament from several. If the size or direction changes, report that sensitivity. Treat in-progress results as provisional through the latest checked day, leave future days unfilled, and reconcile the final sequence with the scorecard. Results alone do not reveal fatigue, feelings or tactical intent.
Turn the curve back into a tournament
The pleasure of a daily chart is seeing choices change. Watch distance on day one, the first hand on day eight and ring-edge footwork on the final day. A small repeated note can return the percentages to a lived fifteen-day sequence. Instead of declaring that a wrestler is “always strong late,” look for the particular moment when an option changed.
Sources
- Japan Sumo Association, daily bouts/results and tournament scorecard (checked 3 September 2026; use final records after tournament completion).
Source links used for verification
Each link was used for the corresponding claim in this article; inclusion is not a blanket endorsement of the whole page.
Article verified:
- Japan Sumo Association daily bouts and resultsPrimary source (as checked for this article)
- Japan Sumo Association tournament scorecardPrimary source (as checked for this article)