RallyIQ

Game plan

Magdalena Frech v Alina Korneeva

Every number combines what Magdalena Frech does well with what Alina Korneeva allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Magdalena Frech wins, best of 3 27%90%: 5%–67% · best of 5: 22%
Serve points won 52.3% / 56.9% Magdalena / Alina · tour 58.1%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 30%serve 52.6% / 56.6%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Magdalena Frech's record against Alina Korneeva's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −3.2 on serve, −2.8 on return vs expectation (326 points)). 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

CareerMagdalenaAlina
Direction choice+0.14 ±0.09
better than 78%
−0.01 ±0.10
better than 51%
Shot selection−0.42 ±0.11
better than 15%
+0.25 ±0.25
better than 73%
Execution+1.36 ±0.49
better than 96%
+0.66 ±0.76
better than 84%
Points left on the table2.39 ±0.15
lower than 78%
2.48 ±0.14
lower than 67%

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.

Structural compatibility

Expected edge per 100 rally shots from style alone: Magdalena Frech +1.84, Alina Korneeva +2.03. Each player's shot mix weighted by their own skill with each shot and by how much the other gives up against it. This is why some rankings gaps don't hold in a given matchup.

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.

Magdalena Frech serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowMagdalena winsv AlinaMatchupOptimal
Wide37%62%60%56.0%±8.534% ▼
Body12%59%52%53.9%±11.50% ▼
T51%63%64%58.4%±10.266% ▲

Optimal v Alina Korneeva: +0.3±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowMagdalena winsv AlinaMatchupOptimal
Wide47%66%60%60.9%±9.162% ▲
Body13%48%51%42.4%±11.17% ▼
T40%56%51%41.7%±9.231% ▼

Optimal v Alina Korneeva: +0.4±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +10.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Alina Korneeva serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAlina winsv MagdalenaMatchupOptimal
Wide36%66%68%68.3%±8.439% ▲
Body36%54%57%53.8%±9.621% ▼
T29%66%71%69.5%±9.440% ▲

Optimal v Magdalena Frech: +1.1±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +6.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAlina winsv MagdalenaMatchupOptimal
Wide48%59%66%60.4%±8.749%
Body26%62%61%66.4%±9.810% ▼
T26%70%68%72.7%±9.141% ▲

Optimal v Magdalena Frech: +0.7±1.2 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +7.6 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.

Magdalena Frech returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
FH through the middle39%+4.2+2.5+0.2+6.8±3.0
FH slice through the middle25%−6.7+1.5+0.1−5.1±2.3
FH down the line16%+1.5−0.6+0.7+1.6±4.7
FH crosscourt14%+5.3+0.1+1.2+6.6±4.4
FH slice down the line4%−10.5+1.5±0.0−9.0±1.9

Lean FH through the middle: +4.8±2.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (317 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
BH through the middle41%+6.0+2.1+1.6+9.7±2.6
BH crosscourt27%+7.7+1.5−0.2+9.0±3.6
BH slice through the middle13%−6.2+1.2±0.0−5.0±2.2
BH down the line8%+2.2+2.1+2.0+6.2±4.6
BH slice crosscourt8%−4.2−0.9±0.0−5.1±2.0

Lean BH through the middle: +4.1±1.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (300 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
FH through the middle49%−3.2+1.1+2.4+0.3±3.0
FH crosscourt26%+0.5+0.1+1.2+1.8±4.2
FH down the line25%−0.6+1.8+1.8+3.0±4.9

Lean FH down the line: +1.6±4.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (68 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
BH crosscourt37%+1.5+1.2+2.5+5.2±3.6
BH down the line34%−0.5+3.5−1.8+1.2±5.1
BH through the middle29%−2.6+1.5+1.5+0.5±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.7±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (139 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Alina Korneeva returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MagdalenaValue
FH through the middle42%+4.2+2.6+2.3+9.0±2.8
FH crosscourt33%+5.3+1.8+2.0+9.1±4.3
FH slice through the middle10%−6.7+0.8+1.2−4.6±2.4
FH down the line9%+1.5+2.4+0.5+4.4±4.4
FH slice crosscourt6%−6.6+0.7−0.6−6.6±2.2

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.8±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (206 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MagdalenaValue
BH through the middle61%+6.0+2.3+0.6+8.9±2.7
BH crosscourt24%+7.7+1.9+1.5+11.2±3.5
BH down the line12%+2.2+0.5−0.9+1.8±4.3
BH slice through the middle4%−6.2−0.8−0.4−7.5±2.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.2±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (127 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MagdalenaValue
FH crosscourt46%+0.5+0.3+0.9+1.7±4.2
FH through the middle30%−3.2+0.3−1.7−4.6±2.7
FH down the line24%−0.6+3.7−0.4+2.8±4.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.6±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (50 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MagdalenaValue
BH crosscourt44%+1.5−0.8−2.7−2.0±3.5
BH through the middle37%−2.6+0.2+0.9−1.5±2.6
BH down the line19%−0.5−4.1+1.3−3.3±4.6

Lean BH through the middle: +0.6±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (52 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.

Magdalena Frech

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1+7.6±4.9+4.1+3.5
BH to their forehand · return+6.9±5.3+6.2+0.7
BH to the middle · return+6.8±3.1+4.3+2.6
FH to the middle · rally+5.5±2.8+2.3+3.2
BH to their forehand · rally+5.0±5.1+3.2+1.8
BH slice to the middle · rally+4.9±2.8+2.7+2.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally−3.6±4.4−2.1−1.4
FH to their backhand · serve +1−1.8±4.9−0.1−1.7
FH to their forehand · serve +1−1.4±4.8+0.9−2.3
FH to their backhand · return +1−1.0±4.2+0.5−1.5
FH to the middle · serve +1+0.3±3.3−0.6+1.0

Alina Korneeva

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally+6.3±4.1+1.8+4.4
FH to their forehand · return+6.2±5.1+3.6+2.6
FH to their backhand · serve +1+5.4±5.0+2.3+3.1
BH to the middle · return +1+5.0±3.2+0.9+4.1
FH to their forehand · rally+4.3±3.6+1.2+3.1
BH to the middle · serve +1+4.2±3.2+1.3+2.9

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · rally−3.1±3.7−1.0−2.0
BH to their backhand · serve +1−2.6±4.4−4.2+1.5
BH to their forehand · rally−1.8±5.2−1.1−0.7
FH to their forehand · serve +1−1.0±4.8−0.3−0.8
FH to the middle · rally−0.9±2.9+1.0−2.0

Against Alina Korneeva-like opponents

Magdalena Frech vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–55.6%42.3%
Players most similar to Alina Korneeva2 54.1%38.5%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Anna Blinkova, Marta Kostyuk, Leylah Fernandez, Magda Linette, Emma Navarro, Jaqueline Cristian, Sara Bejlek, Nao Hibino, Victoria Azarenka, Flavia Pennetta. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.