RallyIQ

Game plan

Katie Boulter v Carla Suarez Navarro

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

Forecast

Katie Boulter wins, best of 3 58%90%: 29%–84% · best of 5: 61%
Serve points won 57.6% / 56.0% Katie / Carla · tour 56.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 58%serve 57.6% / 56.0%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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

CareerKatieCarla
Direction choice−0.15 ±0.07
better than 26%
−0.14 ±0.09
better than 28%
Shot selection+0.24 ±0.18
better than 72%
−0.42 ±0.14
better than 16%
Execution−0.88 ±0.63
better than 21%
+0.22 ±0.49
better than 69%
Points left on the table2.79 ±0.11
lower than 25%
2.63 ±0.13
lower than 46%

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.

Katie Boulter serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowKatie winsv CarlaMatchupOptimal
Wide39%68%69%70.9%±6.454% ▲
Body21%55%62%59.1%±9.26% ▼
T40%71%70%73.3%±6.540%

Optimal v Carla Suarez Navarro: +0.5±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowKatie winsv CarlaMatchupOptimal
Wide53%68%65%67.4%±6.652%
Body17%62%59%64.4%±9.82% ▼
T31%66%71%71.9%±7.446% ▲

Optimal v Carla Suarez Navarro: +0.4±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Carla Suarez Navarro serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowCarla winsv KatieMatchupOptimal
Wide42%62%64%59.8%±7.045% ▲
Body28%54%66%63.0%±8.432% ▲
T30%65%71%68.4%±7.523% ▼

Optimal v Katie Boulter: ±0.0±0.4 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +5.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowCarla winsv KatieMatchupOptimal
Wide23%63%70%67.5%±7.638% ▲
Body35%57%61%61.6%±8.729% ▼
T43%56%67%58.6%±7.733% ▼

Optimal v Katie Boulter: +1.1±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +5.8 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.

Katie Boulter returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv CarlaValue
FH through the middle28%+4.2+1.8+1.6+7.5±2.6
FH slice through the middle27%−6.7−2.2+0.2−8.7±2.5
FH crosscourt19%+5.3−0.3+3.9+8.9±4.1
FH down the line14%+1.5+2.9+0.7+5.1±4.4
FH slice crosscourt9%−6.6+1.6+0.4−4.7±2.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +7.4±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (285 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv CarlaValue
BH through the middle45%+6.0−2.9±0.0+3.1±2.3
BH down the line26%+2.2−1.8+0.5+0.8±4.5
BH crosscourt16%+7.7+0.5−3.5+4.7±3.4
BH slice crosscourt5%−4.2−1.3−1.1−6.5±2.6
BH slice down the line4%−12.5−0.7+0.2−13.0±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.4±3.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (269 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv CarlaValue
FH through the middle37%−3.2−3.1−0.4−6.7±2.9
FH crosscourt31%+0.5+2.3+1.2+4.1±4.3
FH down the line23%−0.6−1.4+0.5−1.4±5.0
FH slice through the middle9%−15.2−0.2±0.0−15.4±1.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +7.0±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (98 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv CarlaValue
BH through the middle43%−2.6−0.9−0.6−4.1±2.6
BH crosscourt18%+1.5−0.6−2.5−1.6±3.4
FH through the middle15%−2.7−0.6−0.4−3.7±2.4
BH down the line13%−0.5−2.3+2.1−0.8±5.0
FH inside-in7%+0.7+0.1+1.2+2.1±4.1

Lean BH down the line: +1.8±4.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (168 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Carla Suarez Navarro returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
FH through the middle50%+4.2+0.2−0.5+3.9±2.6
FH crosscourt18%+5.3−3.5+2.3+4.1±4.3
FH down the line13%+1.5+1.8+0.2+3.5±4.7
FH slice through the middle12%−6.7+0.1+0.8−5.8±2.6
FH slice crosscourt3%−6.6+1.5+2.2−2.9±2.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.1±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (555 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
BH through the middle37%+6.0+0.3−2.2+4.1±2.4
BH slice through the middle21%−6.2−0.2±0.0−6.4±2.4
BH crosscourt18%+7.7−1.5+0.4+6.6±3.5
BH down the line10%+2.2−3.4−0.5−1.7±4.7
BH slice crosscourt9%−4.2+0.6−0.9−4.5±3.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.5±3.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (567 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
FH through the middle48%−3.2+1.2−1.7−3.6±2.9
FH down the line27%−0.6−3.4−2.0−5.9±5.1
FH crosscourt21%+0.5±0.0+0.7+1.3±4.3
FH slice through the middle4%−15.2+0.2±0.0−15.1±1.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +5.0±3.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (120 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KatieValue
BH through the middle37%−2.6+0.3+0.3−1.9±2.7
BH crosscourt27%+1.5−1.4+1.5+1.6±3.6
BH down the line10%−0.5+0.6−0.9−0.8±5.2
FH through the middle8%−2.7−0.6−1.7−4.9±2.5
FH inside-in7%+0.7+2.0+0.7+3.5±4.5

Lean FH inside-in: +4.9±4.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (345 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.

Katie Boulter

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return+6.8±3.6+3.3+3.4
FH to their backhand · serve +1+5.9±3.3+3.7+2.2
FH to their backhand · return +1+3.6±3.6+2.6+0.9
FH to their forehand · return +1+3.0±3.4+2.8+0.2
BH to their backhand · return +1+0.8±3.2+0.2+0.7
FH to the middle · return+0.7±2.1−0.8+1.5

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally−6.1±3.7−5.8−0.4
BH to their forehand · serve +1−4.7±4.5−4.3−0.4
FH to their forehand · serve +1−3.5±3.3−1.5−1.9
BH to their backhand · return−3.1±3.1+0.5−3.6
BH to their forehand · return−3.0±4.1−4.5+1.6

Carla Suarez Navarro

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return +1+3.5±3.9+1.4+2.1
FH to the middle · serve +1+3.2±2.3+3.2±0.0
FH to their forehand · return +1+3.0±3.6+1.6+1.4
FH to their forehand · rally+2.6±2.4+1.3+1.3
BH to their forehand · return +1+1.7±4.8−1.6+3.3
BH to the middle · serve +1+1.0±2.3+0.4+0.6

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return−4.2±4.4−3.5−0.7
FH to their backhand · serve +1−3.6±3.4−0.6−3.0
FH to the middle · rally−2.3±1.9−0.4−1.9
FH to the middle · return−2.0±2.1+0.6−2.6
BH to the middle · rally−1.5±1.7−1.2−0.3

Against Carla Suarez Navarro-like opponents

Katie Boulter vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–56.4%41.3%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Emma Navarro, Emma Raducanu, Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Tereza Martincova, Andrea Petkovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Louisa Chirico. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.