RallyIQ

Game plan

Daniela Hantuchova v Katie Boulter

Every number combines what Daniela Hantuchova does well with what Katie Boulter allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Daniela Hantuchova wins, best of 3 54%90%: 18%–87% · best of 5: 55%
Serve points won 61.0% / 60.2% Daniela / Katie · tour 58.1%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 54%serve 61.0% / 60.2%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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

CareerDanielaKatie
Direction choice+0.36 ±0.08
better than 97%
−0.15 ±0.07
better than 26%
Shot selection+0.10 ±0.14
better than 55%
+0.24 ±0.18
better than 72%
Execution+0.31 ±0.66
better than 73%
−0.88 ±0.63
better than 21%
Points left on the table2.27 ±0.10
lower than 87%
2.79 ±0.11
lower than 25%

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.

Daniela Hantuchova serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowDaniela winsv KatieMatchupOptimal
Wide49%70%64%68.0%±7.364% ▲
Body13%54%66%62.6%±11.212%
T39%60%71%63.2%±8.624% ▼

Optimal v Katie Boulter: +0.6±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.5 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowDaniela winsv KatieMatchupOptimal
Wide47%70%70%74.4%±6.762% ▲
Body9%53%61%57.3%±12.60% ▼
T43%63%67%65.3%±8.338% ▼

Optimal v Katie Boulter: +1.3±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +5.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Katie Boulter serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowKatie winsv DanielaMatchupOptimal
Wide39%68%67%68.8%±7.754% ▲
Body21%55%57%54.4%±10.36% ▼
T40%71%76%79.1%±6.840%

Optimal v Daniela Hantuchova: +0.9±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +9.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowKatie winsv DanielaMatchupOptimal
Wide53%68%68%71.0%±7.568% ▲
Body17%62%56%62.0%±11.32% ▼
T31%66%61%62.2%±9.330%

Optimal v Daniela Hantuchova: +0.4±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.2 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.

Daniela Hantuchova returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
FH through the middle34%+4.2−1.1−0.5+2.6±3.0
FH crosscourt32%+5.3+2.2+2.3+9.8±4.3
FH down the line27%+1.5−1.4+0.2+0.3±4.7
FH slice through the middle7%−6.7+0.5+0.8−5.4±2.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +6.1±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (246 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
BH through the middle33%+6.0+0.5−2.2+4.4±2.7
BH slice through the middle24%−6.2+0.8±0.0−5.4±2.6
BH crosscourt18%+7.7+0.2+0.4+8.3±3.6
BH down the line10%+2.2+1.3−0.5+3.0±4.4
BH slice crosscourt10%−4.2−2.6−0.9−7.6±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +8.0±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (188 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
FH crosscourt39%+0.5+0.9+0.7+2.2±4.4
FH through the middle39%−3.2+0.8−1.7−4.0±2.9
FH down the line22%−0.6−1.1−2.0−3.6±5.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.7±3.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (105 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
BH crosscourt47%+1.5+1.5+1.5+4.6±3.6
BH through the middle43%−2.6−0.5+0.3−2.8±2.8
BH down the line10%−0.5−0.1−0.9−1.6±4.6

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.8±2.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (110 returns charted)

Katie Boulter returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
FH through the middle28%+4.2+1.8−0.2+5.7±2.9
FH slice through the middle27%−6.7−2.2+0.2−8.8±2.5
FH crosscourt19%+5.3−0.3−2.0+3.0±4.3
FH down the line14%+1.5+2.9−0.4+4.0±4.7
FH slice crosscourt9%−6.6+1.6+1.2−3.8±2.3

Lean FH through the middle: +6.0±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (285 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
BH through the middle45%+6.0−2.9+1.9+5.0±2.6
BH down the line26%+2.2−1.8−3.3−3.0±4.7
BH crosscourt16%+7.7+0.5−1.7+6.5±3.6
BH slice crosscourt5%−4.2−1.3−1.6−7.0±2.3
BH slice down the line4%−12.5−0.7±0.0−13.2±2.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.1±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (269 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
FH through the middle37%−3.2−3.1+1.3−5.0±3.1
FH crosscourt31%+0.5+2.3+1.2+4.1±4.2
FH down the line23%−0.6−1.4+3.3+1.3±5.0
FH slice through the middle9%−15.2−0.2±0.0−15.4±1.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +5.8±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (98 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
BH through the middle43%−2.6−0.9+0.6−3.0±2.6
BH crosscourt18%+1.5−0.6±0.0+0.9±3.5
FH through the middle15%−2.7−0.6+1.3−2.0±2.6
BH down the line13%−0.5−2.3+2.2−0.6±5.0
FH inside-in7%+0.7+0.1+1.2+2.1±4.1

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.1±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (168 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

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 on grass. Each player's grass record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Daniela Hantuchova

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally+5.3±5.4+2.3+3.0
BH to their backhand · return+5.3±5.1+3.0+2.3
BH to their forehand · serve +1+4.1±6.8+0.7+3.4
FH to their backhand · serve +1+2.6±5.9+4.0−1.4
FH to their forehand · rally+1.7±5.0+3.9−2.1
BH to their backhand · serve +1+1.4±5.3+0.7+0.7

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return−4.6±5.6−4.3−0.3
FH to their forehand · serve +1−4.3±5.6−3.1−1.3
FH to their forehand · return +1−3.7±5.7−5.1+1.5
FH to the middle · rally−2.5±3.0−0.4−2.1
BH to their backhand · rally−1.8±4.8−1.3−0.5

Katie Boulter

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1+6.7±4.7+2.8+3.9
FH to their forehand · return+6.2±5.8+5.2+1.0
FH to the middle · return+5.1±4.1+2.6+2.5
FH to their backhand · serve +1+4.6±5.7+1.8+2.8
FH to their backhand · return +1+3.3±6.0+0.9+2.4
FH to their forehand · serve +1+3.2±5.6+0.5+2.7

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · rally−6.5±4.8−5.5−1.0
BH to their forehand · rally−6.0±6.2−6.6+0.6
BH to their forehand · return−4.9±6.1−4.7−0.3
FH to their forehand · rally−4.6±4.9−0.9−3.7
BH to the middle · return−2.3±3.6−3.9+1.6

Against Katie Boulter-like opponents

Daniela Hantuchova vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–56.6%41.8%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Cristina Bucsa, Diana Shnaider, Donna Vekic, Xin Yu Wang, Marta Kostyuk, Leylah Fernandez, Qinwen Zheng, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Lulu Sun, Shelby Rogers. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.