RallyIQ

WTA · Right-handed · 3 charted matches · 2009–2015

Petra Cetkovska

Shot expected value

The share of points Petra Cetkovska 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 45% to the average player · 127 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
BH crosscourt 27% 51.0%±11.2 47.6%
BH through the middle 23% 50.3%±11.7 43.3%
BH down the line 18% 45.0%±12.5 46.8%
BH slice crosscourt 18% 44.4%±12.5 40.4%
BH slice through the middle 9% 31.9%±13.8 34.4%

Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side

position worth 43% to the average player · 77 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
FH crosscourt 38% 47.7%±11.7 46.7%
FH through the middle 30% 47.1%±12.5 41.3%
FH down the line 25% 48.7%±13.2 44.9%

Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your middle

position worth 50% to the average player · 77 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
FH crosscourt 39% 63.1%±11.2 52.7%
FH down the line 16% 51.4%±14.5 52.2%
BH down the line 13% 50.0%±15.0 50.0%

Long rally, 9+: drive to your backhand side

position worth 44% to the average player · 72 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
BH crosscourt 28% 51.5%±13.0 47.9%
BH through the middle 18% 35.0%±13.7 42.7%
BH slice crosscourt 17% 49.2%±14.5 38.7%
BH down the line 15% 43.1%±14.6 46.7%
BH slice through the middle 14% 39.0%±14.6 33.4%

Serve under pressure

Deuce court

1st serveUsageBreak ptWon when in
Wide 42% 33% ▼ 60% / 66%
Body 33% 33% 55% / 57%
T 25% 33% 69% / 68%

110 normal · 9 break-point 1st serves

Ad court

1st serveUsageBreak ptWon when in
Wide 31% 22% ▼ 55% / 66%
Body 23% 19% 53% / 56%
T 45% 59% ▲ 59% / 64%

86 normal · 27 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. A direction loses 0.19 points per 100 serves for every 10 points of habitual usage, measured from WTA 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 serveUsagePoints won
Wide41% 52.8%±9.2 n=49
Body33% 56.5%±9.8 n=39
T26% 54.9%±10.5 n=31

Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.83).

Ad court

1st serveUsagePoints won
Wide29% 47.5%±10.3 n=33
Body22% 47.5%±11.1 n=25
T49% 50.3%±8.9 n=55

Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.86).

Return by serve direction

Return points won against each serve direction, compared with the tour average.

ServeCourtDirectionPointsWonvs tour
1stAd courtBody 14 41% −2.6±12.2
1stAd courtT 35 38% +2.4±9.9
1stAd courtWide 29 29% −5.1±9.8
1stDeuce courtBody 15 48% +5.8±12.3
1stDeuce courtT 29 37% +4.5±10.3
1stDeuce courtWide 35 33% −1.4±9.6
2ndAd courtBody 21 50% −5.0±11.5
2ndAd courtT 2 52% −3.4±14.5
2ndAd courtWide 20 56% +2.6±11.5
2ndDeuce courtBody 35 57% +3.0±10.1
2ndDeuce courtT 10 57% +1.0±12.9
2ndDeuce courtWide 5 58% +3.7±13.7

Signature patterns

Recurring sequences that win more than Petra Cetkovska's own baseline, ranked by edge weighted by how often they're used.

Serve → +1

  1. Not enough data

Return

  1. Not enough data

Rally, consecutive own shots

  1. FH crosscourt → FH down the line used 27.6% · won 60% · −1.9±11.3 vs own baseline
  2. FH crosscourt → FH crosscourt used 26.3% · won 57% · −4.7±11.6 vs own baseline

Charted matches