ATP · Right-handed · 8 charted matches · 1996–2002
Albert Costa
Archetype: Avoids the wide serve · Ad-court slider
Against an average opponent
Serve and return points won, refitted against every opponent at once so a record built on weak or strong opposition is put on the same scale. Career, all surfaces, with a 90% margin. Raw is the plain share of points won.
Value per 100 shots
Points gained per 100 shots compared with an average tour player in the same position, adjusted for the strength of the opponents faced, with a 90% margin (shots clustered by match). Raw is before the opponent adjustment. Built on 4,402 shots.
Shot expected value
The share of points Albert Costa goes on to win after each option in the positions they face most often, shrunk toward tour average when the sample is small. Showing the 8 most-used options; teal marks the best one with at least 30 shots.
Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side
position worth 46% to the average player · 401 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH crosscourt | 38% | 46.3%±6.2 | 47.6% |
| BH through the middle | 15% | 49.0%±9.3 | 43.7% |
| BH down the line | 12% | 45.3%±9.9 | 46.4% |
| FH inside-out | 12% | 52.0%±10.0 | 51.8% |
| FH inside-in | 8% | 62.6%±11.1 | 54.7% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 7% | 46.9%±11.8 | 42.5% |
| FH through the middle | 4% | 42.2%±13.2 | 45.2% |
Long rally, 9+: drive to your backhand side
position worth 46% to the average player · 291 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH crosscourt | 40% | 51.2%±7.1 | 48.0% |
| BH down the line | 15% | 52.0%±10.3 | 46.5% |
| BH through the middle | 13% | 38.2%±10.6 | 43.8% |
| FH inside-out | 11% | 52.9%±11.4 | 52.6% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 7% | 47.2%±13.2 | 42.1% |
| FH inside-in | 6% | 54.9%±13.3 | 54.3% |
Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side
position worth 44% to the average player · 207 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| FH crosscourt | 53% | 54.5%±7.2 | 46.6% |
| FH down the line | 33% | 41.5%±8.6 | 44.7% |
| FH through the middle | 14% | 33.3%±11.1 | 41.5% |
Return +1: drive to your backhand side
position worth 44% to the average player · 162 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH crosscourt | 43% | 51.0%±8.7 | 46.9% |
| BH through the middle | 19% | 44.3%±11.4 | 43.0% |
| BH down the line | 17% | 40.1%±11.8 | 44.2% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 11% | 45.2%±13.3 | 40.9% |
| FH inside-out | 6% | 54.4%±15.0 | 51.7% |
Serve under pressure
Pressure predictability index −9 How much less varied Albert Costa's first-serve direction gets on break points. Positive means easier to read. Based on 81 break-point first serves.
Deuce court
| 1st serve | Usage | Break pt | Won when in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 43% | 25% ▼ | 67% / 73% |
| Body | 11% | 15% | 68% / 63% |
| T | 45% | 60% ▲ | 71% / 75% |
367 normal · 20 break-point 1st serves
Ad court
| 1st serve | Usage | Break pt | Won when in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 65% | 61% | 64% / 73% |
| Body | 8% | 18% ▲ | 57% / 63% |
| T | 27% | 21% | 69% / 72% |
305 normal · 61 break-point 1st serves
Is the serve mix in equilibrium?
Game theory says a well-mixed server wins equally often with every direction they use. If one direction wins more, it's underused and points are being left behind. This is the minimax test Walker and Wooders ran on Wimbledon finals, applied to every charted first serve. Win rates include faults. "Optimal" allows for returners reading a habit. No measurable response (−0.05 ± 0.15 points per 100 serves for every 10 points of habitual usage), measured from ATP servers whose mix drifted between matches. Shifts stay within the range servers' habits actually vary, the only range that response was measured over.
Deuce court
| 1st serve | Usage | Points won | Optimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 42% | 58.5%±5.8 n=164 | 41% ▼ |
| Body | 12% | 55.8%±9.4 n=45 | 0% ▼ |
| T | 46% | 59.9%±5.6 n=178 | 59% ▲ |
Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.73).
Optimal mix: +0.4 per 100 first serves.
Ad court
| 1st serve | Usage | Points won | Optimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 64% | 56.7%±5.0 n=236 | 61% ▼ |
| Body | 10% | 54.2%±10.2 n=35 | 0% ▼ |
| T | 26% | 57.5%±7.3 n=95 | 39% ▲ |
Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.83).
Optimal mix: +0.5 per 100 first serves.
Exploitability 0.45 points per 100 first serves What the optimal mix would win over the current one, both courts. More exploitable than 100% of ATP servers. Tested on matches they weren't fitted on, ATP mixes picked this way win 0.33 per 100 first serves on average.
Repeating the previous direction to the same court: −8.3±5.3 points per 100 against switching. Negative means returners read repeats. Tour-wide, repeating costs women about 0.4 points per 100 and costs men nothing, so men's returners don't measurably anticipate direction. (332 repeats, 405 switches.)
Return by serve direction
Return points won against each serve direction, compared with the tour average.
| Serve | Court | Direction | Points | Won | vs tour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ad court | Body | 10 | 43% | +5.8±12.9 | |
| 1st | Ad court | T | 61 | 25% | −3.4±7.4 | |
| 1st | Ad court | Wide | 120 | 30% | +2.9±6.2 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | Body | 21 | 35% | −1.4±11.0 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | T | 104 | 27% | +2.2±6.3 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | Wide | 75 | 28% | +0.6±7.2 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | Body | 35 | 49% | −0.4±10.2 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | T | 18 | 56% | +6.5±11.8 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | Wide | 109 | 47% | −1.2±7.0 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | Body | 75 | 51% | +2.1±8.0 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | T | 58 | 53% | +3.6±8.7 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | Wide | 56 | 54% | +5.9±8.8 |
Signature patterns
Recurring sequences that win more than Albert Costa's own baseline, ranked by edge weighted by how often they're used.
Serve → +1
- Wide serve (ad court) → BH crosscourt used 4.3% · won 60% · −1.7±11.4 vs own baseline
- Wide serve (deuce court) → FH crosscourt used 5.3% · won 60% · −1.6±10.8 vs own baseline
- T serve (deuce court) → FH down the line used 6.3% · won 60% · −1.6±10.3 vs own baseline
- Wide serve (ad court) → FH inside-in used 6.3% · won 60% · −1.6±10.3 vs own baseline
- Wide serve (ad court) → FH crosscourt used 5.1% · won 59% · −2.4±10.9 vs own baseline
Return
- vs wide serve (deuce court) → FH through the middle, mid used 7.0% · won 55% · +5.1±11.6 vs own baseline
- vs wide serve (ad court) → BH crosscourt, mid used 12.6% · won 51% · +1.7±9.8 vs own baseline
- vs wide serve (deuce court) → FH crosscourt, mid used 7.0% · won 51% · +1.2±11.6 vs own baseline
- vs wide serve (ad court) → BH through the middle, mid used 6.6% · won 46% · −3.8±11.7 vs own baseline
Rally, consecutive own shots
- BH crosscourt → BH down the line used 4.9% · won 55% · +7.5±9.6 vs own baseline
- BH crosscourt → FH inside-out used 2.9% · won 54% · +6.5±11.2 vs own baseline
- FH crosscourt → FH down the line used 6.1% · won 52% · +4.4±9.0 vs own baseline
- FH down the line → BH crosscourt used 4.4% · won 53% · +4.9±10.0 vs own baseline
- FH crosscourt → FH crosscourt used 5.3% · won 51% · +2.6±9.5 vs own baseline
Discovered sequences
Mined from every me → opponent → me run of three shots, with no templates. Ranked by how much more often Albert Costa wins the point once the sequence happens, weighted by how often it happens. Think of them as chess openings.
- BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt → BH down the line used 1.3% · won 57% · +7.1±10.8 vs own baseline · +14.9 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Lleyton Hewitt (9/12)
- FH crosscourt → FH down the line → BH crosscourt used 0.9% · won 56% · +6.5±11.9 vs own baseline · +14.8 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Lleyton Hewitt (3/9)
- BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt → BH through the middle used 0.7% · won 55% · +4.7±12.5 vs own baseline · +15.8 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Juan Carlos Ferrero (3/6), Lleyton Hewitt (5/7)
- BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt → FH inside-out used 0.7% · won 55% · +4.7±12.5 vs own baseline · +10.3 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Lleyton Hewitt (7/11)
- FH down the line → BH crosscourt → FH inside-out used 0.9% · won 51% · +1.1±11.9 vs own baseline · −0.2 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Juan Carlos Ferrero (6/7)
- BH through the middle → FH crosscourt → FH crosscourt used 0.7% · won 51% · +1.2±12.7 vs own baseline · +8.0 vs tour on the same sequence
Strengths and vulnerabilities
Value per 100 shots compared with the average player hitting (strengths) or facing (vulnerabilities) the same shot. Only shot types seen at least 120 times.
Hurts opponents most with
| FH to their forehand · serve +1 | +4.1 | 120 |
| FH to their backhand · rally | +1.7 | 401 |
| BH to their backhand · rally | +1.2 | 266 |
| FH to their forehand · rally | +0.8 | 336 |
| T 1st serve · deuce court | −0.4 | 178 |
Most exposed to
| FH to their backhand · serve +1 | −2.1 | 122 |
| BH to their backhand · rally | −1.2 | 332 |
| FH to their backhand · rally | −1.0 | 349 |
| FH to their forehand · rally | −0.5 | 314 |
| T 1st serve · deuce court | +0.2 | 200 |
Active players who are best at the shot in the top weakness: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brandon Nakashima, Rinky Hijikata, Thiago Seyboth Wild, Jannik Sinner
Tactical fingerprint
Each bar shows how far a style trait is from the ATP average, in standard deviations.
| Wide serves · ad | 64% | |
| Run-around forehands | 35% | |
| Avg rally length | 4.8 | |
| Forehand share | 59% | |
| 1st serve in | 65% | |
| Drop shots / shot | 2.5% | |
| Chipped returns | 20% | |
| BH down the line | 22% | |
| T serves · deuce | 46% | |
| FH down the line | 30% | |
| Points at net | 11% | |
| Wide serves · deuce | 42% | |
| Backhand slice | 16% | |
| Point-ending shots | 21.6% | |
| Serve & volley | 1% | |
| Unforced errors / shot | 8.6% | |
| Deep returns | 15% | |
| Through the middle | 17% | |
| T serves · ad | 26% |
Plays most like
- Carlos Moya 1997–2007 plan v
- Sergi Bruguera 1990–1997 plan v
- Alex Corretja 1995–2002 plan v
- Juan Carlos Ferrero 2000–2009 plan v
- Rafael Nadal 2003–2024 plan v
- Fernando Verdasco 2005–2022 plan v
- Tommy Robredo 2003–2022 plan v
- Hugo Dellien 2019–2023 plan v
Closest from another era
- Hugo Dellien 2019–2023
- Thiago Seyboth Wild 2019–2026
- Dusan Lajovic 2014–2025
Charted matches
- Albert Costa v Juan Carlos Ferrero Roland Garros F · Clay · 9 Jun 2002
- Albert Costa v Andre Agassi L Rome Masters QF · Clay · 10 May 2002
- Albert Costa v Lleyton Hewitt L Davis Cup World Group F RR · Clay · 8 Dec 2000
- Gustavo Kuerten v Albert Costa L Rome Masters QF · Clay · 12 May 2000
- Albert Costa v Alex Corretja W Hamburg Masters F · Clay · 10 May 1998
- Pete Sampras v Albert Costa L Cincinnati Masters SF · Hard · 9 Aug 1997
- Albert Costa v Renzo Furlan L Davis Cup World Group QF RR · Hard · 4 Apr 1997
- Albert Costa v Thomas Muster L Monte Carlo Masters F · Clay · 28 Apr 1996