Doubles strategy

[Kobble]

Well, we have all played with lower players at one point or another. So, we inevitably run into the tennis version of keep away when playing doubles. You know, when you have a play on 1 out of every 4 balls that comes on your side of the net, because they fear losing control of the point. Basically, I become a spectator in something I am theoretically participating in. Normally, I wouldn't care about this sort of thing and just move on, however, I have yet to be on the winning team in 3 sets. I have never lost worse than 6-3, but this is getting to me fast. I particularly struggle with a lack of rhythm, it is my kryptonite. Whether groundstrokes or volleys I simply have to keep things on a roll. One of my solutions was to S&V more so I can groove my volleys better. I definitely have to pay more attention to strategy, because being the superior ball striker doesn't mean squat when you don't have enough opportunities to impose it. Any other suggestions would be great?

[10nisNe1?]

never be in front of your weak partner cause once that ball passes you, bye-bye. forget about offence, because your team cant. concentrate on a good defence and waiting for the other team to make the error. this is of course assuming that the players in the other team are not both 5.0 or above. if that be the case, cheer up, no one is going to blame you for loosing the match. :)

[skuludo]

You can turn the doubles game into singles. Try to get your partner really close up to the net on the same half as the other net person. And setup of a half court rally with your opponent. Keep using this play until the end.

[Kobble]

You can turn the doubles game into singles. Try to get your partner really close up to the net on the same half as the other net person. And setup of a half court rally with your opponent. Keep using this play until the end.

That is a great idea.

[skuludo]

The reason why I suggest putting your partner really really close to the net is because a botched volley can be a very deadly drop volley. This means it is quite hard to pass this net player providing that the net player has some decent reactions to make a volley really close up at net. If your enemy is trys to hit the net player with a groundstroke you are almost guranteed a point upon a decent contact. However your partner will be very vulnerable to the lob so cover those for him. Caution in your half court rally make sure you hit deep all the time. This strategy has a vulnerable opening where when you hit a short ball the opponent may come in and hit a cross court shot that goes behind your partner at the net. A higher percentage play would be to hit the ball closer to your partner down the line. The closer you hit to your partner the less angle you provide for your opponent to hit behind your partner, thus short balls won't kill you.

In summary there are 2 major weaknesses that your opponents could exploit. Lob the net man, and hitting behind your partner. Make sure to cover the lobs and give little angle for your opponents to work with to hit behind your partner.

[volleyman]

Another option, which I have used successfully before, is to start poaching a lot. Poach off of first serves, second serves and service returns. Do this even if your partner's serve isn't that good. Mix it up a lot to keep your opponents guessing.

This requires good communication with your partner to work, but if you do it right, you get more balls to hit and the chance to play with your opponents minds. You can manufacture a win against a superior team this way.

Of course, if you try this strategy without communicating with your partner, or you don't mix things up, you'll lose 6-0. :D

[skuludo]

That poaching strategy is standard doubles with proper cooperation from partner as stated above. I get the feeling that your partner's groundstrokes really suck, so I don't think the person can keep the ball in play in the back court consistantly. Maybe a 2.0 to 3.0 level. Also I fear that your partner may have no directional control on groundstrokes. Hence I suggest to get your partner to poach maybe a better option since your partner is really close up at net. Use this as a element of surprise to get a couple of free points. This play maybe combined with the turn the game to singles strategy. I suggest your partner be 1 or 2 inches away from the net.

[papa]

Playing with a weak partner can be an absolute pain especially when the game turns into "keep away". If its a "social" situation/club tennis, I'll often just ask the other side if they want me to just sit and watch or do they want to play tennis - it works to some extent. I ran into this exact situation in an inter-club league the other day and it got absolutely silly.

[Kobble]

If my partners just had a better lob we would be ok. They throw up too many short lobs that are just lunch meat for this other player who has a competent overhead. Also, their second serves stink, and they sit up nicely for the opponents to direct right back at my partner. This allows the "keep-away" trend to continue. I hate to be a ball hog and charge the net off of everything, but I think it is what I have to do.

If its a "social" situation/club tennis, I'll often just ask the other side if they want me to just sit and watch or do they want to play tennis - it works to some extent.

LOL, Have you every experienced the scenario in which your partner dumps just so the group can make sure your on the losing team? This happened to me once with a different group of people, and it was a complete joke. They would make a special effort to ensure that my serve got broken the most. It was not only obvious that they were trying harder on my serve, but my partner would brick every weak return I would draw off my serve. He would even shank the ones that were obviously going long. I felt I needed to serve 4 aces to hold serve.

[kevhen]

Pick your doubles partners wisely or if the club is making you play with crappy players, talk to the club manager and quit playing in the league. Find your own partner who is an equal and that you like to play in before continuing in doubles.

I will also sit a very weak partner up tight on the net or way back at the baseline and then I will end up covering 2/3 of the court and take everything I can get to and when I do go to net will cheat to the center and dare them to pass me down my line. You just need to stay aggressive if you are the stronger partner and not twiddle your thumbs.

[10nisNe1?]

i would not dare poach against a team that has players on the same skill or above as i am. it would be humiliating. whether you poach or not, good players know how to keep the ball away from you. so i think the best strategy is the one where your partner stands close to the net and you take care of the rest of your team's side of the court. if they hit it to your partner, hopefully he/she has a volley to end the point, one way or another. of course the two things to consider are that you make sure you hit deep groundstrokes so that your partner does not get nailed on the net. and, hmm, how does your partner get that close to the net in the first place if he/she is serving/receiving?

[10nisNe1?]

also, think of it this way. you're in a team, and too much poaching can devastate your partner. in case you cant end the point, you'll be devastated. the key is "prevention" not "intervention."

[Bungalo Bill]

Pick your doubles partners wisely or if the club is making you play with crappy players, talk to the club manager and quit playing in the league. Find your own partner who is an equal and that you like to play in before continuing in doubles.

I will also sit a very weak partner up tight on the net or way back at the baseline and then I will end up covering 2/3 of the court and take everything I can get to and when I do go to net will cheat to the center and dare them to pass me down my line. You just need to stay aggressive if you are the stronger partner and not twiddle your thumbs.

LOL, this is lousey play for doubles. You probably get away with this because you are playing weak teams at a low level. But if I saw you position your weak partner up tight to the net or deep at the baseline - you would get eaten alive and you would be running all over the place - getting out of position and opening a tremendous hole in the court. LOL

[kevhen]

This is for when you (a 4.0) play with a 3.0 against 3.5s. You want your partner to do as little damage as possible so you put the 3.0 up on the net or as I usually do back on the baseline covering their alley while I cover the middle and my alley and taking everything I can get to. I will go to net on a low or deep ball and cheat to center and force them to pass down the alleys. Again this is a 4.0 and 3.0 playing against 2 3.5 players and it works and can be a winning or at the very least competitive strategy. This thread is about playing doubles with lower ranked players. Do you ever play doubles with players ranked a couple levels below you? Yes you will have to run, but since you are the best player on the court you can still find ways to win if you are good enough.

[Bungalo Bill]

This is for when you (a 4.0) play with a 3.0 against 3.5s. You want your partner to do as little damage as possible so you put the 3.0 up on the net or as I usually do back on the baseline covering their alley while I cover the middle and my alley and taking everything I can get to. I will go to net on a low or deep ball and cheat to center and force them to pass down the alleys. Again this is a 4.0 and 3.0 playing against 2 3.5 players and it works and can be a winning or at the very least competitive strategy. This thread is about playing doubles with lower ranked players. Do you ever play doubles with players ranked a couple levels below you? Yes you will have to run, but since you are the best player on the court you can still find ways to win if you are good enough.

By the way how is your net game? Doesnt sound like you have a good one.

[kevhen]

My net game is at a weak 4.0 level, better than most 3.5s but I need some serious drilling to get it up to the level where I think it should be.

How is your net game? Is your 14.7 ounce racquet easy to manuever at net when your opponents rip dipping passing shots at you? Is your racquet still headlight with all that tape?

[Bungalo Bill]

My net game is at a weak 4.0 level, better than most 3.5s but I need some serious drilling to get it up to the level where I think it should be.

How is your net game? Is your 14.7 ounce racquet easy to manuever at net when your opponents rip dipping passing shots at you? Is your racquet still headlight with all that tape?

Rip dipping passing shots???? :shock:

If a ripping dipping passing shot goes by it is not because of my racquet (although I would love to blame the racquet). If that happens it is because am out of position.....soooooooooooo...I try to mainly volley with my legs and feet more then my arm! :P

If it was too heavy, don't you think I would change it? Geeez... :lol:

My net game is great! I love the racquet. Always manuverable. 8)

Surprised you dont know that volleying has more to do with your legs and feet then your racquet. Afterall, I am not lifting a sludge hammer up! :lol:

[kevhen]

OK, so maybe I need to volley with my legs more, but some guys hit so hard you don't have much time to react and need quick hands at net and a heavy racquet like 15 ounces seems like it would be hard to wield when 80-90mph passes come my way, but you give me hope.

Is your racquet still headlight or is it head heavy with all that added tape? I used to use evenly balanced frames but now am on the headlight side. I haven't really experimented with head heavy since I have always heard that you lose control with a slower head heavy racquet. Just curious. Is your racquet head heavy or head light?

[Bungalo Bill]

OK, so maybe I need to volley with my legs more, but some guys hit so hard you don't have much time to react and need quick hands at net and a heavy racquet like 15 ounces seems like it would be hard to wield when 80-90mph passes come my way, but you give me hope.

Is your racquet still headlight or is it head heavy with all that added tape? I used to use evenly balanced frames but now am on the headlight side. I haven't really experimented with head heavy since I have always heard that you lose control with a slower head heavy racquet. Just curious. Is your racquet head heavy or head light?

An honest question deserves an honest answer...it is still head light. The last time I played with a head heavy racquet, it messed up my arm. Never again.

The Volkl Tour 10 is a head light racquet for starters. I normally do not like to tinker with the balance except to get it to feel more beefer. Kevhen, I remember you told us you used to play football. Then you should know that it takes time to get used to a certain weight.

You should try to practice with the Power Disc for about 20 minutes during your practices. You will see how quickly you can beef up your racquet and it will still feel manueverable. Since I play both doubles and singles - my racquet (for me) has to be head light.

There will always be times when you will get caught and the ball will get by you. But that was more to do with your anticipation and your legs. I agree with you that you do need quick hands but nine times out of ten it is the way your feet and legs move that cause a volley to plunder.

If a guy hits a blasting hair raising shot at me, I can also say that I have a high chance I will mis-hit on the strings, with a heavier racquet I increase my chances to handle the blow and control the ball. This gives me a bring-it-on mentality.

I also do not volley with onehand on the backhand - but with twohands. I use my legs to get my positioned correctly.

[kevhen]

Yes, I need to work on using my legs more and bending the knees on my vollies while still moving forward. I will hit one hand and two hand backhand vollies depending on how much time I have (less time one hand). I read in the Stan Smith book you should hit a backhand volley even when the ball is on your right hip.

Is most of the weight of your racquet in the handle? What is the balance point? To add 3 ounces to that Tour 10 frame and still be headlight would mean some of it would have to be below the frame, I would think.

Did you get a scholarship to SDSU? How much did you improve during college? I think you would move up alot in skill level playing everyday and against quality players too.

[Bungalo Bill]

Yes, I need to work on using my legs more and bending the knees on my vollies while still moving forward. I will hit one hand and two hand backhand vollies depending on how much time I have (less time one hand). I read in the Stan Smith book you should hit a backhand volley even when the ball is on your right hip.

Is most of the weight of your racquet in the handle? What is the balance point? To add 3 ounces to that Tour 10 frame and still be headlight would mean some of it would have to be below the frame, I would think.

Did you get a scholarship to SDSU? How much did you improve during college? I think you would move up alot in skill level playing everyday and against quality players too.

Ask Edberg what made his volley so great and he would say his feet.

I don't know so much about Stan Smith's recommendation so I won't comment. The volley should be struck with your body positioned in a 45 degree angle. This is what you want when you turn your shoulders. The shoulder turn and the legs/feet do the most work on the volley.

When you position your body in a 45 degree angle this should naturally place your racquet correctly for the "punch" "slap" "hit" or whatever you want to call it.

Your body should move forward towards the ball on that 45 degree angle. I try to make a U shape on either side with my racquet to my shoulder.

The weight from your body and the shoulders making a turn back into the ball is all you need for an excellent volley.

You need to keep a firm wrist and execute the volley from the shoulder not the wrist.

Keep your focal vision on the ball and look at it like it is your last hope of living.

Also, because you are tall you really need to bend and use your legs to hit the volley more then most players. The shoulders will prepare the racquet, the hand will take the impact, but the legs and the lower body provide the timing. You should be first in line to purchase the AP belt when it comes on the market.

If you video yourself, make sure you get your feet in the video. Most players improving their volley have a backward wasted step. In other words, in order to prepare to move into the ball they first take a step back. It takes some practice to overcome this bad habit.

Oh yeah a lot of the weight is down below! :)

[JohnThomas1]

I would play it like they player slightly lower level mixed here. If you're that worried about competing anyways. When serving put the partner on top of the net. Remember the vital volleying rule, the worse the volleyer the easier it is to volley closer to the net. You cover all lobs over them and expect a decent share too. This is ok tho, you get to hit more ball and that's good. If your partner sets you up on returns give up ground or go back to the baseline. Again, you might get more balls back there. When your partner serves you might consider reversing your side if you think it might help.

[Marius_Hancu]

Didn't see it mentioned, might help:
guide to tennis doubles strategy and tactics
http://www.operationdoubles.com

[Bungalo Bill]

Didn't see it mentioned, might help:
guide to tennis doubles strategy and tactics
http://www.operationdoubles.com

LOL, is this guy for real?