Doubles Domination

GENERAL TIPS

THE GOAL

Your goal every point is to get to the net and stay at the net; and if you get pushed back, then get back to the net asap, keep your opponents away from the net and win the point at the net with a volley or overhead. By far the most points in doubles are won at the net. Not surprisingly, most points in doubles are lost from the back court.

There are six ways to get to net:

• Start there (or near there) as a net partner of the server or returner;
• Serve and volley;
• Approach shot;
• Sneak approach;
• Chip and charge;
• Run for a short shot by your opponents.

There are three ways to keep your opponents away from the net:

• Lob - either a chip lob or standard lob
• Keep the ball deep to them;
• Take over the net first.

As you can see, of those nine alternatives, you control eight of them. Learn all eight, practice all eight, become proficient at all eight and use all eight continuously and repeatedly in every match. And, while you are learning, learn how to offensively deal with short balls so that you control all nine options.

TEST AND EXPLOIT

Beginning with the warm-up (see WARM-UP, next section) and continuing throughout the match, continuously probe both opponents to discover their weaknesses. EVERYBODY HAS WEAKNESSES. Find them and then your first strategy becomes simple: attack those weaknesses mercilessly. Some examples - some obvious and some not:

• If one or both of your opponents are slow, make them run;
• If they like to stay at the baseline, hit drop-shots, short-angled shots and drop volleys;
• If they get too close to the net, lob them;
• If one has a weak backhand volley, pound shots at their backhand;
• If one doesn't move back well, lob her;
• If they love pace, hit them junk;
• If they have a great cross-court return, serve down the middle "T" to take away that shot or switch to the Australian formation (see Australian Formation section);
• If one has a weak second serve, move up to the service line to return it, intimidating them (see RETURNER section) and have your partner squeeze the center "T" (see RETURNER'S PARTNER section);
• If one has long arms or a two-handed backhand, then slice serves to their body.

THE "WARM-UP"

If possible, the traditional "warm-up" before matches should not be your actual warm-up. The intelligent player will have already warmed up their body, strokes and serve before the official "warm-up." The pros warm up for more than an hour before going on the court.

So, what should the "warm-up" be? A scouting session. Your main purpose during the warm-up is to study your opponents. What you want to look for:

• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What kinds of spin do they use?
• If you hit a ball right at them, do they take it with their forehand or backhand. Whatever they consistently choose is their favored, more reliable and more comfortable shot.
• How do they handle low slice shots?
• Do they bend their knees for low shots? For half-volleys?
• How do they handle deep topspin shots?
• Do they mostly slice their backhands? Do those float so as to be easily picked off at net?
• How do they move? Are they fast or slow?
• Do they move their feet in preparing for shots?
• How are their volleys? Consistent? Controlled?
• Which player is weaker at net? Which side is weaker?
• How close to the net do they like to stand?
• How are their overheads? Do they even practice their overheads during the warm-up? Not everybody does.
• What are their serves like? Pinpoint accurate or do they just land "wherever"?
• What spins do they use?

Learn as much as you can about the person you are warming up against, but also be looking at the opponent warming up with your partner so you get information about her game. And, before the match begins, discuss with your partner the detailed strengths and weaknesses of each opponent. Use that information to tweak your game plan. Maybe you want to hit balls right at the weaker opponent when he is at net. Maybe one of your opponents is slow and will have difficulty getting to drop shots? Maybe neither have practiced overheads so you should lob them to test them?

TACTIC: Insist on taking serves during the warm-up - not before each person serves their first service game. It is required by the USTA Code, Principle #4:

"A player should take all warm-up serves before the first serve of the match."

Doing so also gives you the chance to return practice serves from both opponents while standing on your returning side of the court so you can get used to both opponents' serves (if you wait to practice serves until just before your opponent serves for the first time, then the only one to get a chance to return the practice serve will be the deuce court returner.)

TACTIC: Do you want to show your opponents your strengths? If you and your partner both have great volleys, should you show them off during the warm-up? Or does doing so merely encourage your opponents to engage in a lob fest against you to avoid your great volleys? A difficult decision, but you certainly do not want to show off your best shots during the warm-up, except your overhead.

TACTIC: It is a good idea to show off your overhead during warm-up, if you have a great one. If you can intimidate your opponents with your overhead even before the match begins, you will discourage them from lobbing you and give you the immediate chance to play closer to the net.

WATCH THE BALL? (Not Necessarily/Not Always)

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING

• ~As the ball comes toward you from the other side of the net, do not watch "the ball." Rather, intensely focus on a small spot on the ball about the size of a quarter or, if you can discern any printing or color on the ball (or can see the seams), focus on that. You will need to practice this technique when not playing matches in order to make progress. But if you can succeed, you will find your rate of mis-hits dropping dramatically.
• ~Continue to watch the ball as it strikes your racquet, making sure you actually see the contact between ball and racquet. You should be able to see the yellow blur of the ball leaving your racquet (if not, then just notice the contact). Then, and only then, should you look up.
• ~ BUT, when you look up, do not follow the path of the ball across the net toward your opponent, as this deprives you of valuable information with which to be able to most quickly anticipate what kind of shot will be coming back at you. Rather, after seeing the yellow blur, immediately look at your opponent's racquet. You will also peripherally be able to see the ball.
• Does your opponent take a big or a short backswing?
• Is the angle of their racquet open-faced, closed or neutral?
• Is the racquet below the net tape so that their shot will have to be hit up to get over the net?
• Are they stepping forward into the ball for an offensive shot or backward away from the ball for a defensive shot?
• Will they have to reach for the ball, resulting in a weaker shot?

Watching your opponent's racquet will give you the quickest and most accurate information as to whether the coming shot will be offensive, defensive or neutral; whether it will be a drive or a lob; whether it will be topspin or slice; or whether it will be a soft touch shot. This will give you the earliest indication about whether you need to move toward the net for a volley or move back to cover a lob.

BALL PLACEMENT

The single most important aspect of doubles is knowing where to hit the ball and with what kind of a shot. There are a multitude of shots to hit in most situations. Do not "just get the ball back" as some suggest. Your object is to take the net on every point (with a serve and volley, a chip and charge return or an approach shot) and force a weak shot by your opponents so that you can then hit a winner. So, in effect, every shot that is not intended to be a winner or a completely defensive shot should be an approach shot designed to get you and your partner to the net and to force a weak reply. Most doubles points do not last even 6 shots. If you can get the ball to go to where you know it should go and follow the ball to the net to put it away, you can and should be able to end most points with three of your own shots.

This book will identify (1) those locations on the court to aim for and (2) those shots to use to hit to those locations. Learn WHERE to hit the ball in every situation, HOW to get it there, and the NEXT STEP to take after getting it there. Practice this at least as much as you practice your strokes.

TIP: As mentioned in the PRACTICE section below, you can actually practice shot selection at home by watching a recorded doubles match, stopping the action just before a player hits the ball and thinking about what the best shot would be. Do not do this by...