I Formation in HS?

[A.Davidson]

Just a quick question: Does anyone use the I Formation in high school besides me?

Last year my partner and I used it to great effect, baffling players and rarely losing service games.

I was just wondering if anyone else ever uses this formation at all.

[redsoxrock930]

i sometimes do this, but it is very high risk

[A.Davidson]

Sox, where are you from?

All last season, I saw only one other team do this - a #1 doubles pair for a pretty strong school that used it 3 times over the course of a match.

It isn't very popular in the dirty South, apparently. :)

[redsoxrock930]

santa barbara and yes we are a very strong team

[soggyramen]

i use it on some of the weaker teams in our area and it works for some of the stronger ones as well but most of the time we're always up at the net as soon as we get the chance.

[10isDad]

i sometimes do this, but it is very high risk

If done right, it's not high risk. As long as both players know exactly their role on each point, it should give your team the benefit.

[Kaptain Karl]

One #3 Dubs team in our Region went very far with it. It's novelty got them much farther in the Regional Tourney than their skills would suggest.

Other teams used it for tactical and change-of-pace ... at least 10% of the time.

- KK

[yourmom08]

never heard of the I formation before, anybody care to enlighten me? it's obviously not big in Iowa.....but then again, neither is tennis as a whole in this state :???:

[A.Davidson]

The I Formation is where the net player sets up in the middle, and the server right on the center mark. Before the point, the net player gives a signal as to which way they will move. Then, after the serve, the net player moves one way and the server the other way. It throws off the return guy and makes a mishit or a weak return much more likely.

[cujays]

yourmom, where do you live in iowa

[Federer's pet goat Leanne]

I told my partner to do the I formation and I served underhanded. It was lots of giggles and bruises.

[DrewRafter8]

I did it when I was in high school. I love to volley, do it well, and stand in at 6'5".

I had a couple of my doubles teams last year try it. Especially one where I had a tall lefty who seemed to always get overheads.

[IanRichardson]

i never did it but i saw a team do it against our #1 doubles team last year. They won against our team easily but every time they tried the I formation they lost the point it seems.

[A.Davidson]

Drew, when you say a couple of your doubles teams, what do you mean?

Are you a coach for a USTA league, or a high school coach, or something else?

Interestingly, I've never had a coach bother to teach the formation to me - I looked it up on my own after I saw (I believe) Bjorkman/Mirnyi use it in '06.

[Zachol82]

I find the the I Formation is weak against an opponent with strong volley skills. Drop shotting right out of your partner's range (the 1 at the net) will pretty much assure them the point since you are way back at the baseline.

Best technique I've seen for doubles play? The simple 2 players at the net volleying.

[Serve n' Volley]

I find the the I Formation is weak against an opponent with strong volley skills. Drop shotting right out of your partner's range (the 1 at the net) will pretty much assure them the point since you are way back at the baseline.

Best technique I've seen for doubles play? The simple 2 players at the net volleying.

It's gonna be really hard to make that dropshot everytime...almost impossible. When people use the I Formation, they usually serve and volley anyways.

[dork2tennisstud]

I'm a 4.5-5.0 college club player now, and I've been using the I-formation on occasion since junior year of high school. I was only a good 3.5 or low 4.0 then, but it threw off my opponents' games. Tennis is like pitching in baseball, it's all about disrupting timing and making your opponent uncomfortable.

Any formation can work if it fits your game and you know how to use it.

[yourmom08]

hey cujays, i play for norwalk, if you know where that is

[lethalfang]

I told my partner to do the I formation and I served underhanded. It was lots of giggles and bruises.

You're trying to get your partner killed? Haha.

[Supernatural_Serve]

Tennis is like pitching in baseball, it's all about disrupting timing and making your opponent uncomfortable.That's an excellent point. Most players don't fully appreciate how important that goal is.

[flash9]

I find the the I Formation is weak against an opponent with strong volley skills. Drop shotting right out of your partner's range (the 1 at the net) will pretty much assure them the point since you are way back at the baseline. ...

I know of no one who stays in the I Formation once they serve. :confused: The whole point is that the net player will move one way or the other upon the serve. Ideally with the server charging the net. Obviously, it works best if the server can place his or her serve, and put it deep into the service box. If the server serves a slow shallow wide serve and his partner is to cover the line the returner should be able to just drive the return up the line for a winner. :(

I have not player High School Tennis for over 25 years, but we use it effectively in Men's League Tennis (USTA 4.0) against players who are just nailing their cross-court returns. It seems to bug them to have someone already right where they want to hit their return. :shock:

[DrewRafter8]

Drew, when you say a couple of your doubles teams, what do you mean?

Are you a coach for a USTA league, or a high school coach, or something else?

Interestingly, I've never had a coach bother to teach the formation to me - I looked it up on my own after I saw (I believe) Bjorkman/Mirnyi use it in '06.

High school, that's why it's taken me so long to read this post.

[vndesu]

during my freshman year me and my old doubles partner had used many formations.
of course t would only work with a strong yet accurate serve.
we had used the i formation but it seemed like the austriallian formation worked better.

but as of now we have splitted up 2 years ago and since then ive been playing singles.