RallyIQ

Game plan

Amelie Mauresmo v Saisai Zheng

Every number combines what Amelie Mauresmo does well with what Saisai Zheng allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Amelie Mauresmo wins, best of 3 71%90%: 37%–92% · best of 5: 75%
Serve points won 59.6% / 55.5% Amelie / Saisai · tour 56.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 71%serve 59.6% / 55.5%

Each player's serve and return strength is fitted against every opponent they were charted against, so a record built on weak opponents counts for less. At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers. The result is then nudged by Amelie Mauresmo's record against Saisai Zheng's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads. A game-by-game Markov chain turns point odds into match odds; the 90% range covers the uncertainty in the two strengths, not the nudges. Charted matches lean toward big events, so treat this as a scouting estimate, not a betting line.

Head to head, per 100 shots

CareerAmelieSaisai
Direction choice+0.31 ±0.13
better than 95%
−0.36 ±0.16
better than 3%
Shot selection−0.31 ±0.21
better than 21%
−0.40 ±0.15
better than 17%
Execution+0.61 ±0.36
better than 82%
−0.20 ±0.75
better than 48%
Points left on the table2.65 ±0.21
lower than 43%
3.22 ±0.21
lower than 4%

Each player's career against an average tour player in the same position, adjusted for opponent strength, with a 90% margin (shots clustered by match). Points left on the table is the gap to the best-value direction for the same stroke, so lower is better. Percentiles are within each player's own tour. A side is highlighted only when the gap is larger than the margin on the difference.

Serve plan

The share of points the server wins when a first serve lands in that direction (hover a rate for its 90% interval; ± is the 90% margin). "Matchup" combines the server's rate with how this returner handles that serve. "Optimal" is the mix that wins most against this returner once they start reading a habit, at the response measured across the tour, and only within the range servers' habits actually vary. The gain over the current mix is how exploitable that mix is.

Amelie Mauresmo serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAmelie winsv SaisaiMatchupOptimal
Wide56%66%65%64.2%±7.955%
Body10%61%51%55.2%±12.90% ▼
T35%73%68%73.2%±8.345% ▲

Optimal v Saisai Zheng: +0.5±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +6.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAmelie winsv SaisaiMatchupOptimal
Wide46%64%65%63.2%±8.861% ▲
Body7%51%63%58.5%±14.20% ▼
T47%65%65%65.6%±8.539% ▼

Optimal v Saisai Zheng: +0.5±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Saisai Zheng serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowSaisai winsv AmelieMatchupOptimal
Wide43%62%65%61.4%±8.458% ▲
Body23%63%58%62.7%±11.08% ▼
T34%67%68%67.2%±9.234%

Optimal v Amelie Mauresmo: +0.8±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowSaisai winsv AmelieMatchupOptimal
Wide49%58%65%58.2%±9.233% ▼
Body18%59%69%70.7%±10.831% ▲
T33%66%62%63.9%±10.036% ▲

Optimal v Amelie Mauresmo: +0.2±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving body every time would read +8.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Return plan

Value of each return, in points per 100 returns against an average return of the same serve (direction, court, surface): the tour's result with that return, the returner's own edge with it, and what this server gives up when it comes back to that side. Returns with no charted direction are left out, so values compare with each other rather than with zero. Depth isn't a choice here: missed returns have no depth. Serve quality isn't charted, so a block through the middle partly reflects the serve that forced it.

Amelie Mauresmo returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SaisaiValue
FH through the middle38%+4.2+0.2−1.4+2.9±2.8
FH down the line19%+1.5+3.1−2.0+2.7±4.4
FH slice through the middle18%−6.7+1.4+0.7−4.6±2.0
FH crosscourt13%+5.3+0.9−0.6+5.7±4.3
FH slice crosscourt9%−6.6+1.4±0.0−5.3±2.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.8±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (580 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SaisaiValue
BH slice through the middle49%−6.2+1.1−0.1−5.2±2.0
BH slice crosscourt22%−4.2+4.0+1.0+0.9±2.4
BH through the middle9%+6.0−3.6−0.4+2.1±2.9
BH slice down the line9%−12.5+3.3−0.4−9.5±2.9
BH down the line6%+2.2+1.4−4.0−0.5±4.6
BH crosscourt4%+7.7+1.8+0.5+10.1±3.5

Lean BH crosscourt: +12.7±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (412 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SaisaiValue
FH down the line31%−0.6+4.2±0.0+3.6±4.9
FH through the middle31%−3.2+0.4+0.5−2.3±3.1
FH crosscourt28%+0.5+0.4+0.1+1.1±4.5
FH slice through the middle5%−15.2+2.2±0.0−13.0±1.4
FH slice crosscourt4%−14.9+0.6±0.0−14.3±1.5

Lean FH down the line: +4.2±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (201 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SaisaiValue
BH through the middle27%−2.6−0.5+2.9−0.2±2.8
BH slice through the middle19%−11.7−0.7±0.0−12.4±1.7
BH crosscourt15%+1.5−1.5+0.7+0.7±3.7
BH down the line15%−0.5+0.1+1.2+0.7±4.6
BH slice crosscourt13%−7.5+0.6−0.4−7.3±2.4

Lean BH down the line: +4.1±4.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (246 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Saisai Zheng returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AmelieValue
FH through the middle47%+4.2+1.1−0.3+5.0±2.8
FH slice through the middle19%−6.7+1.6+0.9−4.2±2.5
FH down the line17%+1.5+2.3−1.5+2.3±4.4
FH crosscourt7%+5.3+0.2+2.1+7.7±3.7
FH slice down the line5%−10.5−0.5±0.0−11.0±2.6

Lean FH through the middle: +3.5±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (169 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AmelieValue
BH through the middle44%+6.0+1.0−1.9+5.1±2.6
BH down the line23%+2.2+1.9+0.9+5.0±4.5
BH crosscourt18%+7.7+0.9−2.3+6.3±3.4
BH slice through the middle9%−6.2+0.7−0.7−6.3±2.3
BH slice crosscourt7%−4.2+0.4+0.7−3.1±2.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.6±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (131 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AmelieValue
BH through the middle48%−2.6−0.7+0.8−2.5±2.7
BH crosscourt32%+1.5−0.6+1.3+2.2±3.4
BH down the line19%−0.5−0.5−0.1−1.2±4.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.9±2.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (77 returns charted)

Rally plan

Edge, in points per 100 shots: the hitter's skill with the shot (own) plus how much the receiver usually gives up against it (theirs), both measured against the tour average.

Amelie Mauresmo

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · serve +1+6.2±3.7+4.1+2.1
BH to the middle · return +1+3.5±2.5+2.1+1.4
BH slice to their backhand · rally+2.7±2.5+1.1+1.6
FH to the middle · rally+2.5±2.3+1.8+0.7
FH to their forehand · serve +1+2.0±3.6±0.0+2.0
BH to their backhand · rally+1.8±2.6+2.8−1.1

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally−3.2±4.2−0.5−2.8
BH slice to the middle · rally−3.0±2.1−0.7−2.4
FH to their backhand · rally−2.0±2.9+0.5−2.5
BH to the middle · return−1.5±2.6−3.0+1.5
BH to the middle · rally−0.9±2.0−0.6−0.2

Saisai Zheng

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to the middle · rally+1.7±2.0+1.3+0.4
FH to the middle · rally+0.6±2.1+1.3−0.7
FH to the middle · return+0.6±2.4+1.5−0.9
BH to their backhand · serve +1+0.6±3.3+0.6±0.0
BH to their forehand · return+0.2±4.4−0.3+0.5
BH to their backhand · rally±0.0±2.4+1.1−1.1

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · serve +1−4.1±3.7−2.1−1.9
BH to their forehand · rally−3.6±4.0+0.3−4.0
FH to their forehand · rally−1.8±2.8−0.1−1.7
FH to their backhand · rally−1.4±2.9−0.6−0.8
BH to their backhand · return−0.9±3.4−0.2−0.7

Against Saisai Zheng-like opponents

Amelie Mauresmo vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–57.8%42.0%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Coco Gauff, Alina Korneeva, Marie Bouzkova, Viktorija Golubic, Emma Navarro, Yafan Wang, Petra Martic, Alize Cornet, Anna Lena Friedsam, Agnieszka Radwanska. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.