RallyIQ

Game plan

Yue Yuan v Andrea Petkovic

Every number combines what Yue Yuan does well with what Andrea Petkovic allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Yue Yuan wins, best of 3 30%90%: 8%–63% · best of 5: 25%
Serve points won 54.3% / 58.3% Yue / Andrea · tour 56.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 32%serve 54.5% / 58.1%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Yue Yuan's record against Andrea Petkovic's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −4.7 on serve, −9.2 on return vs expectation (129 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

CareerYueAndrea
Direction choice−0.12 ±0.13
better than 32%
−0.18 ±0.14
better than 21%
Shot selection+0.42 ±0.17
better than 91%
+0.39 ±0.15
better than 89%
Execution−0.34 ±0.54
better than 41%
−0.77 ±0.60
better than 24%
Points left on the table2.45 ±0.23
lower than 69%
2.70 ±0.22
lower than 35%

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.

Yue Yuan serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowYue winsv AndreaMatchupOptimal
Wide42%60%64%57.6%±8.957% ▲
Body26%58%61%61.8%±10.211% ▼
T33%63%73%69.1%±9.832%

Optimal v Andrea Petkovic: +0.5±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +6.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowYue winsv AndreaMatchupOptimal
Wide43%64%69%67.5%±9.158% ▲
Body29%61%55%60.0%±10.214% ▼
T28%59%62%56.3%±10.228%

Optimal v Andrea Petkovic: +0.5±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +5.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Andrea Petkovic serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAndrea winsv YueMatchupOptimal
Wide39%66%69%69.6%±8.354% ▲
Body28%58%67%67.9%±9.612% ▼
T33%62%75%70.2%±10.134%

Optimal v Yue Yuan: +0.3±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +0.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAndrea winsv YueMatchupOptimal
Wide36%67%65%67.1%±9.351% ▲
Body25%50%58%51.3%±12.110% ▼
T39%60%67%62.6%±9.939%

Optimal v Yue Yuan: +1.1±1.2 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +5.7 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.

Yue Yuan returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreaValue
FH through the middle50%+4.2+0.7+1.1+5.9±2.9
FH crosscourt34%+5.3−0.2+2.0+7.2±4.3
FH down the line15%+1.5−0.9−0.1+0.5±4.5

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.7±3.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (155 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreaValue
BH through the middle53%+6.0+3.0+1.3+10.4±2.7
BH crosscourt26%+7.7+1.5+2.1+11.4±3.6
BH down the line21%+2.2−0.7+2.7+4.2±4.6

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.1±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (117 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreaValue
FH through the middle56%−3.2−0.6−1.4−5.2±2.9
FH crosscourt33%+0.5+0.5+0.9+1.9±4.1
FH down the line11%−0.6+3.4−0.8+2.0±4.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.9±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (45 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreaValue
BH through the middle50%−2.6−0.8+0.9−2.5±2.7
BH crosscourt35%+1.5−1.5+2.5+2.5±3.5
BH down the line15%−0.5−0.7+1.4+0.2±4.1

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.9±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (52 returns charted)

Andrea Petkovic returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv YueValue
FH through the middle58%+4.2+1.7−0.2+5.6±2.8
FH crosscourt30%+5.3−0.1+0.7+5.9±4.3
FH down the line10%+1.5−2.5−0.4−1.3±4.7
FH slice through the middle2%−6.7+1.0+0.4−5.3±2.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.1±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (307 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv YueValue
BH through the middle48%+6.0+2.1−1.3+6.8±2.8
BH crosscourt34%+7.7−0.1+0.6+8.2±3.7
BH down the line15%+2.2+6.4−4.2+4.3±4.6
BH slice through the middle3%−6.2+0.5±0.0−5.7±1.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +1.7±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (182 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv YueValue
FH crosscourt54%+0.5+0.9+0.4+1.8±4.4
FH through the middle46%−3.2+0.8+1.3−1.1±3.1

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.3±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (63 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv YueValue
BH through the middle51%−2.6+2.1+0.4−0.2±2.8
BH crosscourt32%+1.5−0.1+2.2+3.6±3.6
BH down the line13%−0.5+2.5+5.8+7.7±4.8
FH inside-in5%+0.7−3.3+0.4−2.2±3.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +1.7±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (104 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.

Yue Yuan

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to the middle · return+3.4±2.4+1.0+2.4
BH to their backhand · return+3.0±3.5±0.0+3.0
FH to their forehand · return+2.9±4.3+0.7+2.3
FH to their forehand · serve +1+2.8±3.8−0.3+3.0
BH to their backhand · rally+2.2±2.8+1.6+0.7
FH to their forehand · rally+0.9±2.9±0.0+1.0

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · serve +1−2.9±3.6−2.4−0.6
BH to their forehand · rally−2.9±4.5−2.1−0.8
FH to their backhand · serve +1−2.0±4.1−4.4+2.3
BH to the middle · rally−1.7±2.1−0.8−0.8
BH to their backhand · return +1−0.9±3.5+0.3−1.2

Andrea Petkovic

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return +1+9.2±4.3+4.0+5.1
BH to their forehand · return+7.4±4.6+6.5+0.9
FH to the middle · serve +1+3.7±2.7+0.4+3.3
FH to the middle · return+3.4±2.4+2.7+0.7
FH to the middle · return +1+1.9±2.7+0.7+1.3
BH to their backhand · return+1.8±3.4+0.1+1.7

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1−3.9±3.8−1.2−2.7
BH to the middle · return +1−1.8±2.6−2.3+0.5
BH to the middle · serve +1−1.7±2.6−0.9−0.8
BH to their forehand · rally−0.9±4.7−1.7+0.8
BH to their backhand · serve +1−0.6±3.6−2.1+1.5

Against Andrea Petkovic-like opponents

Yue Yuan vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–52.6%38.5%
Players most similar to Andrea Petkovic1 47.7%30.2%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Anna Blinkova, Elina Svitolina, Jasmine Paolini, Maya Joint, Emma Raducanu, Maria Sakkari, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Lena Friedsam, R. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.