Haddad Maia vs Zheng: Zhuhai Final Analysis (WTA Elite Trophy)
Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated Qinwen Zheng to cap off a perfect week in Zhuhai. She became the first Elite Trophy champion in both singles and doubles in the same year, without dropping a set.
Both finalists won 70% of 1st serve points. But while Haddad Maia won 42 1st serve points, Zheng played 43 1st serve points (won 30). Opposing 1st serve percentages (Haddad Maia 72%, Zheng 44%) account for this disparity and played a decisive role in the final result. Haddad Maia won precisely 12 more points in the match (97 vs 85).
The match summary table suggests Zheng’s return forced errors as the difference-maker. Zheng finished with 28 return forced errors, 16 more than Haddad Maia. This stat is even more significant as a tie emerges by adding up rallying stats. Haddad Maia hit 4 less winners (20 vs 24) but she made 4 less rallying errors (1 less UFE and 3 less rallying forced errors).
Breakdown of points by rally length evidences that the match was front-loaded, with half of the points (91 of 182) lasting 2 or less shots. Therefore, serve and return dynamics were decisive.
Serve
As pointed in the intro, Haddad Maia had a much higher 1st serve % (72% vs 44%) and both players won 70% of 1st serve points. Haddad Maia also finished with a better win % on 2nd serve points (50% vs 44%).
Zheng out-aced Haddad Maia by a 9-1 score. Most of Zheng’s aces were delivered in set 1. In set 2, Zheng served 2 aces and all of her 6 DFs. As the match went on, it seems like Zheng fatigued. She had spent over 8 hours on court in her previous matches, including a 3h15 semi-final versus Lin Zhu the day before.
In a match decided in 2 tie-breaks, all could have been different with one racquet swing. The 1st set TB in particular, was a nail-biter with each player holding 3 set points before Haddad Maia closed it 13-11 on her 4th SP. But a few serve-related stats certainly favoured Haddad Maia to win each TB:
1st set TB: Haddad Maia made 9 of 12 1st serves (75%) while Zheng made 3 of 12 1st serves (25%).
2nd set TB: Haddad Maia made 6 of 6 1st serves (100%) while Zheng made 1 of 5 1st serves (20%). She also served 2 DFs.
Return
There were plenty of returns errors:
Haddad Maia missed 19 returns (9 vs 1st serves; 10 vs 2nd serves).
She seemed intent on stepping inside the court to attack 2nd serves, and she stuck to it even though she accumulated 7 return unforced errors.
Zheng missed 30 returns.
The majority of Zheng’s misses were on 1st serve returns (25 of 30).
Zheng struggled with 21 FH return errors.
Haddad Maia had a slight edge on return points won (44% to 36%).
Haddad Maia held a break point in 6 return games but ended up breaking serve only in half of those games (3 breaks). In contrast, Zheng managed to break 3 times and it corresponded to all 3 return games in which she reached BP.
A few more serve and return details arise from serve distribution tables.
1st Serves
Haddad Maia favoured wide serves.
Zheng struggled to win points with the exception of “lefty serves” wide on the AD side.
Zheng made a combined 10 return errors on 18 “body FH” 1st serves.
Zheng served more frequently down the T. She served 8 aces and had a win-rate above 80%.
On less frequent wide serves, Haddad Maia managed to win around 60% of points.
2nd Serves
Haddad Maia opted for 2nd serves targeting the BH (Zheng managed to hit a few run-around FH returns on the Deuce side).
Zheng preferred 2nd serves directed towards the “body FH” side of Haddad Maia.
In addition to serve and return stats, a few other features were relevant:
net approaching;
Haddad Maia’s BH;
Zheng’s FH.
Strategy Stats
Once rallies developed, moving forward in the court yielded great results. Haddad Maia won 10 of 11 points while Zheng won 11 of 15 points.
Both players were below 50% at the baseline. Haddad Maia managed to be 5% better (48% vs 43%) and she also had the edge on baseline duels (won 44 points and lost 39).
Haddad Maia’s BH was very consistent, It totalled a low 3 UFEs, while generating 7 winners.
Zheng’s FH did a lot of damage. It produced 22 winners, with an excellent +9 ratio of FH winners-UFEs. However, its impact gets reduced once 31 FH forced errors are considered.
The strokes breakdown table backs the above statements and shows that:
19 of Zheng’s FH forced errors were on returns.
FHs were predominantly hit during rallies. Both players struck 63% of rally shots as FHs.
After a freak shower incident before her debut in WTA 1000 Guadalajara and 3 losses in the following 4 matches, Zhuhai was the perfect bounce-back for Beatriz Haddad Maia.
“It's a very special week for me. When I came to Asia, I had stitches in my fingers in the first round of Beijing and now I'm finishing the season with a trophy in my hands.”
— Beatriz Haddad Maia
With her 3rd career WTA Tour title (and biggest to date), she is once again at the doorsteps of the Top-10. Now, she must be eagerly waiting for the 2024 season to start!
Beatriz Haddad Maia (WTA #21) vs Qinwen Zheng (WTA #19)
WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai - Match Data and noteworthy stats
Set by Set Stats
Points won by Rally Length
Breakdown of points won by rally length shows:
Haddad Maia had a 7-point advantage on short points (0-4 shots) and medium points (5-8 shots).
Zheng had the edge on longer rallies (9 or more shots), winning 2 more points.
Rallying performance maps
The majority of FH winners were down the line (70% for Haddad Maia and 63% for Zheng).
Points won breakdown
This final section gives a last, broader look at the match by presenting how each player won points. Points are listed according to their frequency (highest to lowest) and are named in relation to the last touch on the ball. For simplicity, groundstrokes hit from the 5th shot onwards are grouped together.
Breakdown by side (FHs or BHs)
Points won on winners are highlighted in violet. Points won due to opponent’s errors are highlighted in grey Breakdown by error type (UFEs or FEs)
Thumbnail photo credit: official WTA Tour twitter.
To find out more about the stats published here, please visit the following post.