RallyIQ

Game plan

Antonia Ruzic v Sofia Kenin

Every number combines what Antonia Ruzic does well with what Sofia Kenin allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Antonia Ruzic wins, best of 3 15%90%: 3%–43% · best of 5: 10%
Serve points won 52.5% / 60.3% Antonia / Sofia · tour 56.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 15%serve 52.5% / 60.3%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Antonia Ruzic's record against Sofia Kenin'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

CareerAntoniaSofia
Direction choice+0.14 ±0.12
better than 78%
+0.21 ±0.05
better than 86%
Shot selection−0.07 ±0.20
better than 39%
−0.43 ±0.07
better than 14%
Execution−0.48 ±0.76
better than 34%
+0.04 ±0.37
better than 63%

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.

Antonia Ruzic serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAntonia winsv SofiaMatchupOptimal
Wide52%60%70%64.4%±7.252%
Body19%52%56%50.8%±10.74% ▼
T29%66%78%76.2%±8.444% ▲

Optimal v Sofia Kenin: +1.3±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +11.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAntonia winsv SofiaMatchupOptimal
Wide31%50%72%57.7%±9.832% ▲
Body20%50%57%51.7%±10.85% ▼
T49%55%69%59.6%±8.363% ▲

Optimal v Sofia Kenin: +0.7±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Sofia Kenin serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowSofia winsv AntoniaMatchupOptimal
Wide47%67%66%67.1%±8.362% ▲
Body11%56%64%62.5%±9.10% ▼
T42%64%66%61.9%±9.838% ▼

Optimal v Antonia Ruzic: +0.3±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowSofia winsv AntoniaMatchupOptimal
Wide48%63%65%62.5%±9.442% ▼
Body10%53%61%58.2%±10.80% ▼
T43%65%58%58.4%±9.358% ▲

Optimal v Antonia Ruzic: +0.2±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.2 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.

Antonia Ruzic returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SofiaValue
FH through the middle53%+4.2+1.3−0.2+5.2±2.5
FH crosscourt40%+5.3+0.5+1.0+6.8±3.6
FH down the line8%+1.5+0.9−3.4−0.9±3.2

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.4±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (91 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SofiaValue
BH through the middle59%+6.0+0.8+1.4+8.2±2.3
BH crosscourt26%+7.7+2.4+0.1+10.2±2.8
BH down the line8%+2.2−2.0+1.3+1.5±3.2
BH slice crosscourt7%−4.2−0.7+3.1−1.8±2.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.6±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (76 returns charted)

Sofia Kenin returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AntoniaValue
FH through the middle38%+4.2−0.7+2.1+5.5±2.6
FH crosscourt29%+5.3−0.4+6.4+11.3±3.7
FH slice through the middle14%−6.7+1.0+0.8−5.0±1.9
FH down the line12%+1.5−5.1+0.2−3.4±4.4
FH slice crosscourt4%−6.6−1.5+0.3−7.8±2.5

Lean FH crosscourt: +7.7±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (1287 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AntoniaValue
BH crosscourt38%+7.7−1.8+2.1+8.1±3.1
BH through the middle37%+6.0−1.8+1.5+5.8±2.5
BH slice through the middle9%−6.2−1.5+1.6−6.1±2.2
BH down the line8%+2.2−1.1+1.1+2.1±4.6
BH slice crosscourt6%−4.2−2.2±0.0−6.3±2.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.1±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (887 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AntoniaValue
FH crosscourt51%+0.5+3.7−0.6+3.6±3.5
FH through the middle41%−3.2−1.6−1.0−5.7±2.7
FH down the line8%−0.6−1.4−1.4−3.4±4.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.4±2.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (395 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AntoniaValue
BH crosscourt52%+1.5−1.4+2.4+2.5±3.2
BH through the middle35%−2.6−1.2+1.9−1.9±2.6
BH down the line10%−0.5+1.0−1.7−1.3±4.9
BH slice through the middle1%−11.7−0.8±0.0−12.5±1.1
BH slice crosscourt1%−7.5−0.8±0.0−8.3±1.3

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.2±1.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (546 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.

Antonia Ruzic

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · serve +1+3.2±3.1+2.1+1.1
FH to their forehand · return+2.4±3.7+0.6+1.8
FH to the middle · return+1.6±2.3+0.9+0.7
BH to the middle · return+0.8±2.0+0.1+0.7
BH to their backhand · rally+0.5±2.5+0.2+0.3
BH to their backhand · return+0.1±2.9−0.2+0.3

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally−3.0±3.2−2.5−0.5
BH to their forehand · rally−3.0±3.9−3.2+0.2
FH to the middle · rally−2.3±2.1−1.4−0.9
FH to their forehand · return +1−1.7±3.3−0.2−1.5
FH to their forehand · serve +1−1.2±3.5−1.9+0.7

Sofia Kenin

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · rally+2.8±2.7+0.1+2.8
FH to the middle · rally+2.4±2.1−0.5+2.9
BH to their backhand · return+1.4±2.8−1.5+3.0
FH to the middle · return+0.9±2.4−1.2+2.0
FH to the middle · serve +1+0.6±2.3−0.5+1.1
BH to their backhand · serve +1±0.0±3.0−0.3+0.3

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return−3.6±4.0−3.3−0.3
BH to the middle · rally−1.4±2.0−0.6−0.8
BH to their forehand · rally−0.4±3.9+2.3−2.7
BH to their backhand · rally−0.4±2.6−1.5+1.1
FH to their backhand · rally−0.3±3.2−1.3+1.0

Against Sofia Kenin-like opponents

Antonia Ruzic vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–50.5%41.8%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Linda Noskova, Barbora Krejcikova, Clara Tauson, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Anastasija Sevastova, Su Wei Hsieh, Anett Kontaveit, Johanna Konta, Elena Vesnina. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.