Mixed doubles tournament Rules

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Nickac

New User
Ok so I'm playing in my first mixed couples comp and I have some questions about etiquette.

I have a pretty strong and fast first serve. What rules do I follow. Do I haut take pace off of it or do I hit her my second serve which is a kick.

I have plate mixed doubles in the past and kinda just followed what the other guy serves. I have had guys that don't care and hit to my partner at probably 120mph. In fact I have never really seen guy hold back to much. So I haut copy there speed.

Also what are some other unspoken rules. I want to play fair and don't want to be labeled an a-hole. I also want to win though.
 
N

Nickac

New User
So your telling me if I serve 115mph and that gets me a lot of free points. Then serve 115mph to the girl.
 
goober

goober

Legend
Nickac said:
So your telling me if I serve 115mph and that gets me a lot of free points. Then serve 115mph to the girl.
Click to expand...

Tournament tennis= played to win unless this is some kind of "friendly club tournament" and you are going to see these people again. Serving hard at somebody is not bad form. Headhunting or hitting someone who has basically conceded the point would be. If you are obviously going to win you can dial it back, if the outcome is in doubt go all out.
 
Costagirl

Costagirl

Banned
Nickac said:
Ok so I'm playing in my first mixed couples comp and I have some questions about etiquette.

I have a pretty strong and fast first serve. What rules do I follow. Do I haut take pace off of it or do I hit her my second serve which is a kick.

I have plate mixed doubles in the past and kinda just followed what the other guy serves. I have had guys that don't care and hit to my partner at probably 120mph. In fact I have never really seen guy hold back to much. So I haut copy there speed.

Also what are some other unspoken rules. I want to play fair and don't want to be labeled an a-hole. I also want to win though.
Click to expand...

gooberac said it well.

If this is country club or club tennis and you will see these people again, do play nice by not railing a ball eye level while she's at net. Many times kick serves are just as gnarly to return cause they are nasty bounces. I'd probably give her a first with a bit of pace taken off. Play to win but play nice as nothing gained by humiliating someone at a much lesser place in their game. Win but win graciously....it's so much cooler to do it that way.
 
Mauvaise

Mauvaise

Rookie
goober said:
Tournament tennis= played to win unless this is some kind of "friendly club tournament" and you are going to see these people again. Serving hard at somebody is not bad form. Headhunting or hitting someone who has basically conceded the point would be. If you are obviously going to win you can dial it back, if the outcome is in doubt go all out.
Click to expand...

This.

Serve whatever will get the most free points or weak returns. Depending on what level the woman is, you might find that she'll have a hard time returning the kicker than your fast-paced first serve, so whichever one works best, use that one.
 
N

Nickac

New User
I really appreciate all this advice. This is a club tournament. I find that even playing these people non tournament they are competitive but also nice and fun people. I have never played a tournament here so maybe they play the same or maybe they are more serious when it comes to a tournament. I guess I will find out.
 
N

Nickac

New User
I'm sure exactly how fast but it's a lot faster then mine and I serve probably close to 100 maybe like 90 or 95. But I guess it's near impossible to guess a speed unless you have a radar. These guys are fresh out of college where they played
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Nickac said:
I'm sure exactly how fast but it's a lot faster then mine and I serve probably close to 100 maybe like 90 or 95. But I guess it's near impossible to guess a speed unless you have a radar. These guys are fresh out of college where they played
Click to expand...

Ah that makes sense then. I still can't think of them as "club" players
 
L

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Actually....
If you have a 120 mph serve, the girl on the other side of the net would have less problems returning it than your second serve.
Imagine a twist and slice from a guy who really CAN serve flats at 120. The twists would hop easily 6' high off the ground, while the slice would curve so far off the court that the returner would need to take 3 steps to get to it.
Most females 4.5 and over practice against guy's flat first serves, so at least can lob it back, or volley/slice it back CC to your court.
 
OrangePower

OrangePower

Legend
Actually....
If you have a 120 mph serve, you're at a level where you won't have a problem winning rec mixed dubs, no matter what you do.
 
S

sam_p

Professional
In my experience most strong women players (4.5 or 5.0) have more trouble handling a substantial kick serve than a hard flat one (as someone else mentioned upstream). If they are 4.5-5.0 women who play mixed, they've faced plenty of power serves and will a) not be upset at seeing more and b) probably handle it better than you imagine. As always though the most effective thing is to change up location, speed and spin.

If I find yourself playing against weaker women players in mixed (just socially, I gave up 8.0 a few years ago after moving to 4.5 myself) then I am loath to hit a big first serve a) because I don't want to harass them and b) they can't handle spin at all anyway usually and it's honestly more effective to hit a kicker first serve at a very high %.
 
N

Nickac

New User
Awesome thanks for all your responses. I will experiment with both and see which one seems to be more effective
 
M

MeHere2PlayTennis

New User
sam_p said:
In my experience most strong women players (4.5 or 5.0) have more trouble handling a substantial kick serve than a hard flat one (as someone else mentioned upstream). If they are 4.5-5.0 women who play mixed, they've faced plenty of power serves and will a) not be upset at seeing more and b) probably handle it better than you imagine. As always though the most effective thing is to change up location, speed and spin.

If I find yourself playing against weaker women players in mixed (just socially, I gave up 8.0 a few years ago after moving to 4.5 myself) then I am loath to hit a big first serve a) because I don't want to harass them and b) they can't handle spin at all anyway usually and it's honestly more effective to hit a kicker first serve at a very high %.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. A well placed spin serve is much better in mixed. At a social tournament, the rules are definitely different, so it is best to just hit well placed balls and not have to defend yourself for petty perceptions.
 
S&V Specialist

S&V Specialist

Rookie
I can serve very big, 120+ avg. 1st serve (sometimes upwards of 130 if it's really cranked). I find kickers and slices can be much more successful in mixed, but you still have to keep your opponent honest with some flat serves throughout the match.
 
MisterP

MisterP

Hall of Fame
Well, I'm really new to tennis and playing in 3.0 and I would feel like a jerk if I blasted my first serve at my 2.5/3.0 female opponent. Maybe that is sexist. Maybe it is silly. I don't know. All I can tell you is that I have a really hard time with it.

Last weekend I played in a local tournament and I noticed that all of the female players were receiving serve inside the baseline. And I was confused by this. I am thinking "OK, she has to know I have a big serve, so why the heck is she standing 2 feet inside the baseline? Is she expecting me to hit my second serve? Am I supposed to hit my second serve?" It's tough. I know you all will say "Just go for it!" but there is a big part of me that is saying I should just go for a kicker and let her at least have a chance.
 
J

jrs

Professional
I recall Daniel Nestor saying in mixed doubles - he hits it at the woman as hard as he can - that's the strategy the pros use!
In Socials - might want to tone it down. Tournaments - well you know how the pro's play it!
 
G

Govnor

Professional
If it's a higher level of play, I don't see the issue. If it's competitive, then it doesn't matter how hard you're serving....it's still competitive.
 
A

Alchemy-Z

Hall of Fame
For me I always follow this

Tournament- 100% on service games
League- 80%-90% as this is more casual but still competition
Socially - 50% - I basically just place it low paced and practice trying to win the points without my serve as a weapon.

so when I actually play tournament if my serve is off I will have confidence in holding serve by playing the points out.
 
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