Game plan

Linda Klimovicova v Klara Koukalova

Every number combines what Linda Klimovicova does well with what Klara Koukalova allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Linda Klimovicova wins, best of 3 87%90%: 58%–98% · best of 5: 92%

Serve points won 58.1% / 49.6% Linda / Klara · tour 56.4%

Strengths only, no similarity priors 87%serve 58.1% / 49.6%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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

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.

Linda Klimovicova serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Linda wins	v Klara	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	45%	63%	63%	60.1%±10.8	45%
Body	17%	59%	59%	60.8%±13.5	1% ▼
T	39%	78%	69%	78.3%±9.6	54% ▲

Optimal v Klara Koukalova: +0.8±1.3 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +11.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serve	Now	Linda wins	v Klara	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	53%	72%	67%	73.0%±10.1	68% ▲
Body	16%	48%	62%	54.3%±14.4	1% ▼
T	31%	68%	59%	63.0%±12.2	31%

Optimal v Klara Koukalova: +1.1±1.2 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +6.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Klara Koukalova serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Klara wins	v Linda	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	46%	56%	68%	57.4%±10.6	60% ▲
Body	27%	51%	54%	47.7%±12.6	12% ▼
T	27%	50%	68%	49.4%±13.5	28% ▲

Optimal v Linda Klimovicova: +0.5±1.2 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serve	Now	Klara wins	v Linda	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	14%	57%	61%	52.2%±14.0	14%
Body	23%	52%	55%	51.5%±13.3	8% ▼
T	63%	65%	64%	64.2%±10.6	78% ▲

Optimal v Linda Klimovicova: +0.7±1.2 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +4.6 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.

Linda Klimovicova returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Klara	Value
FH through the middle	43%	+4.2	+1.1	+0.8	+6.0±3.1
FH crosscourt	25%	+5.3	+1.6	+2.3	+9.2±4.4
FH down the line	17%	+1.5	+1.0	+2.0	+4.6±4.6
FH slice through the middle	10%	−6.7	+0.8	±0.0	−6.0±1.7
FH slice crosscourt	6%	−6.6	+0.5	±0.0	−6.1±1.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.5±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (215 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Klara	Value
BH through the middle	43%	+6.0	+1.8	+0.3	+8.1±2.9
BH crosscourt	38%	+7.7	+2.8	+1.1	+11.7±3.5
BH down the line	7%	+2.2	+0.9	+5.7	+8.8±3.9
BH slice crosscourt	7%	−4.2	−0.4	±0.0	−4.6±1.8
BH slice through the middle	4%	−6.2	±0.0	±0.0	−6.3±1.3

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.6±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (195 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Klara	Value
BH crosscourt	53%	+1.5	+1.9	+1.6	+5.0±3.6
BH through the middle	35%	−2.6	−0.5	−0.2	−3.4±2.6
FH inside-in	6%	+0.7	+1.5	+3.8	+6.1±3.7
BH down the line	5%	−0.5	−0.3	+1.6	+0.8±3.6

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.1±1.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (94 returns charted)

Klara Koukalova returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Linda	Value
FH through the middle	52%	+4.2	+0.8	+1.8	+6.7±3.1
FH crosscourt	37%	+5.3	+2.1	−1.2	+6.2±4.2
FH down the line	11%	+1.5	+2.2	−3.6	+0.2±4.1

Lean FH through the middle: +0.9±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (81 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Linda	Value
BH through the middle	46%	+6.0	+0.9	+0.7	+7.6±2.9
BH crosscourt	31%	+7.7	+1.8	+3.2	+12.7±3.5
BH down the line	24%	+2.2	−1.0	−4.4	−3.2±4.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.1±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (59 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Linda	Value
BH crosscourt	60%	+1.5	+0.9	−0.4	+2.0±3.6
BH through the middle	30%	−2.6	+0.6	−2.0	−4.0±2.5
BH down the line	10%	−0.5	+1.3	−2.9	−2.2±4.3

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.2±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (50 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 on hard. Each player's hard record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Linda Klimovicova

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their forehand · return	+11.1±6.2	+5.6	+5.5
BH to the middle · serve +1	+4.8±4.0	+4.1	+0.7
FH to their forehand · rally	+3.5±4.1	+4.5	−1.0
FH to the middle · return	+2.4±4.0	+1.4	+1.0
FH to the middle · rally	+1.2±3.5	−0.5	+1.7
FH to their backhand · rally	−0.3±5.4	−1.4	+1.1

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
BH to the middle · rally	−1.5±3.3	+1.1	−2.6
BH to their backhand · rally	−0.8±4.2	±0.0	−0.7
FH to their backhand · rally	−0.3±5.4	−1.4	+1.1
FH to the middle · rally	+1.2±3.5	−0.5	+1.7
FH to the middle · return	+2.4±4.0	+1.4	+1.0

Klara Koukalova

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
BH to their backhand · return	+6.4±5.2	+2.8	+3.5
FH to their forehand · return +1	+6.3±5.6	+2.3	+4.0
FH to their backhand · rally	+3.9±5.3	−1.7	+5.7
FH to their forehand · rally	+1.2±4.0	−1.1	+2.3
BH to their backhand · rally	+0.9±4.3	−3.5	+4.4
FH to the middle · return	+0.2±4.0	+1.8	−1.6

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to the middle · rally	−3.4±3.4	−2.5	−0.9
BH to the middle · return	−2.7±3.7	+0.1	−2.7
BH to the middle · rally	−1.6±3.4	−3.7	+2.1
FH to their forehand · serve +1	−1.2±5.9	−3.2	+1.9
FH to the middle · return	+0.2±4.0	+1.8	−1.6

Against Klara Koukalova-like opponents

Linda Klimovicova v	Matches	Serve pts won	Return pts won
All charted opponents	–	60.2%	42.6%