Game plan

Rinky Hijikata v Brandon Nakashima

Every number combines what Rinky Hijikata does well with what Brandon Nakashima allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Rinky Hijikata wins, best of 3 44%90%: 11%–82% · best of 5: 43%

Serve points won 60.0% / 61.2% Rinky / Brandon · tour 65.7%

Strengths only, no similarity priors 44%serve 60.0% / 61.2%

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. Both were charted enough in the last three seasons, so those carry the most weight. The result is then nudged by Rinky Hijikata's record against Brandon Nakashima'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

Career	Rinky	Brandon
Direction choice	+0.05 ±0.09 better than 70%	−0.01 ±0.07 better than 54%
Shot selection	+0.25 ±0.27 better than 75%	−0.11 ±0.14 better than 38%
Execution	−0.22 ±0.71 better than 57%	+0.79 ±0.43 better than 91%
Points left on the table	2.53 ±0.15 lower than 57%	2.50 ±0.10 lower than 60%

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: Rinky Hijikata +1.40, Brandon Nakashima +0.98. 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.

Rinky Hijikata serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Rinky wins	v Brandon	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	48%	67%	74%	68.5%±6.3	44% ▼
Body	8%	53%	66%	56.4%±12.8	0% ▼
T	43%	69%	79%	73.5%±6.4	56% ▲

Optimal v Brandon Nakashima: +0.6±0.7 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 serve	Now	Rinky wins	v Brandon	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	50%	77%	75%	78.7%±5.8	63% ▲
Body	6%	63%	67%	67.1%±12.7	0% ▼
T	44%	72%	74%	74.5%±6.4	37% ▼

Optimal v Brandon Nakashima: +0.4±0.7 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.

Brandon Nakashima serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Brandon wins	v Rinky	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	52%	73%	75%	75.0%±5.7	65% ▲
Body	5%	64%	65%	65.4%±12.8	0% ▼
T	43%	78%	71%	73.9%±6.1	35% ▼

Optimal v Rinky Hijikata: +0.4±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +0.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serve	Now	Brandon wins	v Rinky	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	54%	72%	75%	74.6%±6.2	50% ▼
Body	9%	69%	58%	65.1%±13.6	0% ▼
T	37%	72%	74%	74.5%±6.3	50% ▲

Optimal v Rinky Hijikata: +0.6±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +0.9 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.

Rinky Hijikata returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Brandon	Value
FH through the middle	53%	+4.3	−0.6	+1.7	+5.3±2.4
FH crosscourt	29%	+5.5	+1.0	+3.4	+10.0±4.1
FH down the line	14%	+1.7	−1.0	−1.2	−0.5±4.2
FH slice through the middle	4%	−4.2	+0.8	−0.4	−3.8±2.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.5±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (222 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Brandon	Value
BH through the middle	38%	+6.4	+2.1	−0.3	+8.3±2.4
BH crosscourt	28%	+8.8	−2.7	+0.4	+6.5±3.2
BH down the line	12%	+4.2	−2.2	−0.3	+1.7±4.3
BH slice through the middle	11%	−4.2	−0.6	+0.4	−4.4±2.4
BH slice crosscourt	8%	+0.5	−1.3	+2.1	+1.3±2.9

Lean BH through the middle: +3.9±1.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (222 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Brandon	Value
FH through the middle	49%	−3.5	+0.6	−1.0	−3.8±2.6
FH crosscourt	36%	−0.2	+1.2	+1.5	+2.4±4.2
FH down the line	14%	−1.8	±0.0	+1.7	−0.1±4.2

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.4±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (77 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Brandon	Value
BH through the middle	39%	−2.9	−0.1	+2.3	−0.6±2.2
BH crosscourt	35%	+1.0	+2.4	−0.2	+3.2±2.9
BH down the line	22%	−0.2	+0.6	+1.4	+1.8±4.7
FH inside-out	5%	+1.0	+0.5	+1.7	+3.1±3.1

Lean BH crosscourt: +1.8±2.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (153 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Brandon Nakashima returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Rinky	Value
FH through the middle	48%	+4.3	−1.1	+1.1	+4.3±2.4
FH down the line	19%	+1.7	−1.5	−0.7	−0.6±4.3
FH slice through the middle	14%	−4.2	+1.0	+0.9	−2.2±1.9
FH crosscourt	11%	+5.5	+0.6	−0.2	+5.9±4.4
FH slice down the line	4%	−4.3	+0.9	±0.0	−3.4±2.2

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.9±4.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (771 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Rinky	Value
BH through the middle	38%	+6.4	+0.2	+1.7	+8.3±2.5
BH crosscourt	29%	+8.8	+1.2	+1.2	+11.2±3.3
BH slice through the middle	12%	−4.2	+0.1	+0.1	−3.9±2.4
BH down the line	10%	+4.2	−1.3	−1.9	+1.1±4.6
BH slice crosscourt	8%	+0.5	−3.1	+0.1	−2.5±2.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.7±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (648 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Rinky	Value
FH through the middle	62%	−3.5	−1.0	+1.6	−2.9±2.7
FH crosscourt	21%	−0.2	+3.2	+0.6	+3.6±4.4
FH down the line	17%	−1.8	−0.7	−3.1	−5.5±4.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +5.6±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (228 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Rinky	Value
BH through the middle	50%	−2.9	−0.6	+3.3	−0.2±2.3
BH crosscourt	34%	+1.0	+1.9	+3.1	+6.1±3.1
BH down the line	11%	−0.2	+0.7	+1.9	+2.4±4.9
BH slice through the middle	4%	−11.3	−1.2	±0.0	−12.5±1.5
BH slice crosscourt	2%	−4.0	−0.1	±0.0	−4.1±1.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.4±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (387 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 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.

Rinky Hijikata

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their forehand · return	+11.4±6.3	+4.4	+7.0
FH to their forehand · serve +1	+11.3±5.4	+5.2	+6.1
BH to the middle · return	+6.9±3.4	+4.0	+2.9
BH to their backhand · rally	+5.4±3.8	+2.1	+3.3
FH to the middle · serve +1	+5.1±3.9	+3.8	+1.3
FH to the middle · return	+3.8±3.6	+3.2	+0.7

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their backhand · rally	−3.7±4.6	−1.8	−1.9
FH to their forehand · return +1	−3.3±6.0	−2.5	−0.8
BH slice to the middle · rally	−0.7±3.4	−0.9	+0.1
FH to their backhand · return +1	−0.2±6.2	−5.4	+5.2
BH to the middle · rally	−0.1±3.0	+0.2	−0.3

Brandon Nakashima

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their forehand · serve +1	+7.2±5.3	+5.5	+1.8
FH to their backhand · serve +1	+5.0±5.0	+5.8	−0.9
BH to the middle · return	+4.9±3.4	+0.9	+4.0
FH to the middle · rally	+3.4±3.4	+2.6	+0.8
BH to their backhand · rally	+3.3±3.8	+0.7	+2.6
FH to the middle · return	+3.2±3.6	−0.4	+3.5

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their backhand · return	−6.9±5.7	−4.8	−2.2
FH to their forehand · rally	−3.1±4.5	+2.7	−5.8
BH to their forehand · rally	−2.1±5.9	−4.3	+2.1
FH to their backhand · rally	−1.4±4.4	−1.7	+0.3
BH to their forehand · return	−1.0±6.6	+0.1	−1.1

Against Brandon Nakashima-like opponents

Rinky Hijikata v	Matches	Serve pts won	Return pts won
All charted opponents	–	59.6%	35.2%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Casper Ruud, Karen Khachanov, Marcos Giron, Jaume Munar, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Taylor Fritz, Gregoire Barrere, Tennys Sandgren. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.