[symplee]

I wonder if players will be able to use this to prepare for opponents. For example, knowing where to hit and "seeing how they typically react" and then predicting where they'll most likely to return the ball.

If so, this could be expanded to other sports, maybe even team sports, where you can test set plays against the simulated defense.

[JohnBooty]

    If so, this could be expanded to other sports, maybe even team sports, where you can test set plays against the simulated defense. 

I could see this potentially having some value.

The challenge is that in sports, the opponent you face on a given day isn't "the statistical average of their past performances" - they are facing you with a game plan tailored specifically for them versus you, and their game plan will evolve over the course of the contest depending on what's working and what isn't working.

For example, "Nadal likes to hit the ball to Federer's backhand" is, statistically, true. It's basic tennis strategy. But the on-court reality is more nuanced. Nadal is going to vary that approach on the fly based on his opponent and how well that strategy is working on a given day.

Modeling this for a simulation would have to be similarly nuanced, with the simulation not just replicating Nadal's overall statistical tendencies, but how those tendencies evolve over the course of a match based on various conditions and his success or lack of it.

Of course, some aspects of Nadal's game are more easily modeled than others. If an opponent was training to face Nadal on a clay surface, I could simulate that with a single line of code: "Game Over." =)

[chrisco255]

Why wouldn't they just use actual replay footage for that and not some generated sprite?

Simulated match ups have been done on pro sports video games for years. But they're not that useful because a model is not reality.

[renewiltord]

Presumably:

* Hard to find all replays against that shot

* Time consuming to review

This would work as compression over that space. However, I don't watch tennis and know nothing about sport. This may be an insignificant improvement.