3.9 in singles, 3.6 in doubles: what should I do next year?

[Idaho MEP]

Those are approximations, obviously, but I'm clearly better at singles than doubles. I played 4.0 this past year and won more than 80% of my singles matches and about 50% of my doubles matches (including mixed). I ended up playing more dubs than singles this past year. I've been improving rapidly the past year-and-a-half or so, and I expect that will continue into this next year. So...

Option 1: Go all in on singles

I'm better at it. Win as many singles league matches for my team as I can and see if I can accumulate a bunch of tournament points in singles. Maybe I can be near the top of the list for my district/section. I'd still play some doubles (e.g., mixed league). My concern is that I improve and then get bumped to 4.5 next year based on my singles results, but my doubles level lags behind...and then I basically can't play doubles any more because I'm so far under level. I do like doubles, even though it's not where I shine.

Option 2: Play mostly doubles in an attempt to improve and hold down my rating

Focus on my doubles game as much as possible to try to improve there and hope that I have another 2-3 years at 4.0. Play singles when the captain asks me to, but request to play doubles, and don't play singles in tournaments. Cons: a) I won't win as much. b) Is there an honor concern here? Manipulating things to try to hold down my rating as I (possibly?) rise to 4.5 singles level?

Option 3: Somewhere in between

Mix of singles and doubles, and try not to worry about rating. Whatever happens, happens. Something like one or two singles tournaments, but not trying to rake in the points or anything.

 

[Cashman]

life is too short to worry about gaming your rating

just play what you enjoy

 

[TennisManiac]

Play singles. And don't worry. You're not going to get bumped to 4.5

 

[Idaho MEP]

Play singles. And don't worry. You're not going to get bumped to 4.5

That's certainly possible. But how would you know?

 

[Purestriker]

Those are approximations, obviously, but I'm clearly better at singles than doubles. I played 4.0 this past year and won more than 80% of my singles matches and about 50% of my doubles matches (including mixed). I ended up playing more dubs than singles this past year. I've been improving rapidly the past year-and-a-half or so, and I expect that will continue into this next year. So...

Option 1: Go all in on singles

I'm better at it. Win as many singles league matches for my team as I can and see if I can accumulate a bunch of tournament points in singles. Maybe I can be near the top of the list for my district/section. I'd still play some doubles (e.g., mixed league). My concern is that I improve and then get bumped to 4.5 next year based on my singles results, but my doubles level lags behind...and then I basically can't play doubles any more because I'm so far under level. I do like doubles, even though it's not where I shine.

Option 2: Play mostly doubles in an attempt to improve and hold down my rating

Focus on my doubles game as much as possible to try to improve there and hope that I have another 2-3 years at 4.0. Play singles when the captain asks me to, but request to play doubles, and don't play singles in tournaments. Cons: a) I won't win as much. b) Is there an honor concern here? Manipulating things to try to hold down my rating as I (possibly?) rise to 4.5 singles level?

Option 3: Somewhere in between

Mix of singles and doubles, and try not to worry about rating. Whatever happens, happens. Something like one or two singles tournaments, but not trying to rake in the points or anything.

If you get bumped you get bumped. Do what you enjoy and who cares if you get bumped to 4:5. Play singles at that level too.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

It depends on your goals.

if it's to enjoy yourself, play whatever mix gives you the most enjoyment. I might feel bored if I was winning close to 100% of my singles matches.

Since there is no separate NTRP for singles and doubles, you likely won't get bumped up no matter how well you do in singles unless you beat a lot of people at the top of the rating scale.

You can ask @schmke for a personalized report that will give you some insight into how close you are to the boundary.

 

[socallefty]

Play singles and doubles - you can become good at both. Play wherever the captain asks you to play. Practice doubles drills (including crosscourt half-court points if you have one practice partner) also when you have practice sessions. Learn to be a good partner with positive body language who has the knack to say the right things to make your partners play better. Read a book like the ‘Art of Doubles’.

Doubles puts a premium on shot accuracy, serving to targets, higher first serve %, not missing returns, good overheads and most importantly good net play including constantly moving your feet at the net. You can look up doubles net footwork videos I’ve posted multiple times in the past. If you practice improving those skills, it will improve your singles also and make you more of an all-court player who can change strategy as needed to win.

 

[Idaho MEP]

You can ask @schmke for a personalized report that will give you some insight into how close you are to the boundary.

Maybe I'll do that mid-year and see where I'm at then.

 

[Idaho MEP]

Doubles puts a premium on shot accuracy, serving to targets, higher first serve %, not missing returns, good overheads and most importantly good net play including constantly moving your feet at the net. You can look up doubles net footwork videos I’ve posted multiple times in the past. If you practice improving those skills, it will improve your singles also and make you more of an all-court player who can change strategy as needed to win.

I've been working on my doubles mostly for the past year, and I find that as my dubs improves, my singles improves right along with it.

Two reasons I'm better at singles than doubles:

1. My athleticism is ahead of my skill.
2. Returns. I feel like returning in doubles is the hardest thing in tennis. In singles I have more flexibility to stand farther back and/or just float returns deep a lot of the time. As I've worked on returns for doubles, though, I find it improves my singles game along with it. So yeah: I've been working on it, but this is still a huge area of weakness.

 

[socallefty]

I've been working on my doubles mostly for the past year, and I find that as my dubs improves, my singles improves right along with it.

Two reasons I'm better at singles than doubles:

1. My athleticism is ahead of my skill.
2. Returns. I feel like returning in doubles is the hardest thing in tennis. In singles I have more flexibility to stand farther back and/or just float returns deep a lot of the time. As I've worked on returns for doubles, though, I find it improves my singles game along with it. So yeah: I've been working on it, but this is still a huge area of weakness.

The bold part is how it usually works.

I just saw that your name says you are an Idaho MEP and I assume that this means you don’t depend on power much to win in singles. You might want to ramp up that aspect of your game as having power on serves, returns and from the baseline helps to avoid the net guy and to hit passing shots when both opponents are at the net which you‘ll see more of as you advance in level.

 

[the_faceless_player]

I’m just happy to see another tennis player from Idaho. We do exist !

 

[mpnv1990]

I've been working on my doubles mostly for the past year, and I find that as my dubs improves, my singles improves right along with it.

Two reasons I'm better at singles than doubles:

1. My athleticism is ahead of my skill.
2. Returns. I feel like returning in doubles is the hardest thing in tennis. In singles I have more flexibility to stand farther back and/or just float returns deep a lot of the time. As I've worked on returns for doubles, though, I find it improves my singles game along with it. So yeah: I've been working on it, but this is still a huge area of weakness.

You would hate returning against me in doubles!

 

[antony]

Those are approximations, obviously, but I'm clearly better at singles than doubles. I played 4.0 this past year and won more than 80% of my singles matches and about 50% of my doubles matches (including mixed). I ended up playing more dubs than singles this past year. I've been improving rapidly the past year-and-a-half or so, and I expect that will continue into this next year. So...

Option 1: Go all in on singles

I'm better at it. Win as many singles league matches for my team as I can and see if I can accumulate a bunch of tournament points in singles. Maybe I can be near the top of the list for my district/section. I'd still play some doubles (e.g., mixed league). My concern is that I improve and then get bumped to 4.5 next year based on my singles results, but my doubles level lags behind...and then I basically can't play doubles any more because I'm so far under level. I do like doubles, even though it's not where I shine.

Option 2: Play mostly doubles in an attempt to improve and hold down my rating

Focus on my doubles game as much as possible to try to improve there and hope that I have another 2-3 years at 4.0. Play singles when the captain asks me to, but request to play doubles, and don't play singles in tournaments. Cons: a) I won't win as much. b) Is there an honor concern here? Manipulating things to try to hold down my rating as I (possibly?) rise to 4.5 singles level?

Option 3: Somewhere in between

Mix of singles and doubles, and try not to worry about rating. Whatever happens, happens. Something like one or two singles tournaments, but not trying to rake in the points or anything.

Improve your game and improve your results

 

[Idaho MEP]

I just saw that your name says you are an Idaho MEP and I assume that this means you don’t depend on power much to win in singles. You might want to ramp up that aspect of your game as having power on serves, returns and from the baseline helps to avoid the net guy and to hit passing shots when both opponents are at the net which you‘ll see more of as you advance in level.

Accurate. I can hit solid shots at times, but my natural tendency is to play more defensively. That works pretty well most of the time in singles, especially in return games. I serve pretty well and am reasonably comfortable at the net, so I serve and volley quite a bit in doubles. So the issue is less my service games and more return games when they have someone active at net: I really struggle to hit solid returns past an aggressive net player.

My greatest strength is court coverage, and that just matters far less in doubles. I have 5.0 athleticism with 4.0 serves and net play, and 3.5 returns and groundstrokes.

 

[Idaho MEP]

You would hate returning against me in doubles!

Maybe so. How do you mean? What's your level and style?

 

[Jst21121]

Should just play and not really take ratings seriously. There are players I’ve played with that are rated “3.0” but easily can be 4.0+ and there are 4.0 that I’m like what how? You should be 3.0.

I dunno maybe at 4.5-5+ you will see true college level athletes but I feel like 3-4.0 ish can be meshed together into an amateur league where everyone is sorta in the same league. Of course there are difference between 3-3.5-4...but sometimes i feel like those differences are minimal.

 

[cks]

I dunno maybe at 4.5-5+ you will see true college level athletes but I feel like 3-4.5 ish can be meshed together into an amateur league where everyone is sorta in the same league

Interesting.

I've played three (3) seasons of USTA league starting in January 2022. I've participated in both 3.0 and 3.5 leagues, and I've found a notable difference between these two (2) divisions. One thing that surprised me this year was to see "how wide" 3.0 and 3.5 can be in match play. When I first started out in league play I thought a 3.5 was "x". Now when someone says they are a 3.5, I wondering if they are a low 3.5, mid 3.5 or high 3.5.

 

[Idaho MEP]

I dunno maybe at 4.5-5+ you will see true college level athletes but I feel like 3-4.0 ish can be meshed together into an amateur league where everyone is sorta in the same league. Of course there are difference between 3-3.5-4...but sometimes i feel like those differences are minimal.

I was about .500 in doubles this year at 4.0, so it's not like I'm terrible. But when I played against a truly top tier 4.0 team, I didn't belong on the court. Only happened a couple times, but there was nothing I could do. Amplify that if I had to play against high-level 4.5 doubles teams. (Thing is, I'm fairly certain I could beat those top tier 4.0 doubles players in singles.)

 

[eah123]

I think if you want to get good at something, you need to focus on it. If you want to get a lot better at doubles, there’s nothing wrong with spending a year or more just learning everything you can about it, which includes playing as many matches as possible, and ignoring singles play for a while.

 

[TennisOTM]

I think there would be many advantages for USTA if they started issuing separate level ratings for singles and doubles. I realize that this would be heavy logistical lift, and would make self/appeal/computer/etc. rating designations and other rules even more confusing than they already are. But putting those cons aside, imagine the benefits:

A player like OP could achieve and play 4.5 singles while staying 4.0 doubles and have a great time playing both leagues. On the flip side I think there are many doubles-specialist league players who would love to play singles occasionally but are not good enough singles players at their level - they could get playing time at the next lower level to scratch their singles itch.

This could be a win-win for the players and USTA: more chances to play both singles and doubles for the players who enjoy both, and more league fees for USTA.

Another advantage could be thwarting the tactic of "hiding" above-level singles players in doubles matches to purposely keep their rating low (and no more of OP's "honor concern" that people are thinking he is doing that).

Perhaps the logistical headaches of this kind of change are too great to overcome for USTA. I wonder if UTR has any designs on creating team singles/doubles leagues that would demonstrate the advantages - and maybe USTA could use WTN (after fixing its problems) to experiment with something.

 

[mpnv1990]

Maybe so. How do you mean? What's your level and style?

I’m a 3.5. I have a very strong net game. I had a guy tell me during the middle of a match that he missed a return wide because he was afraid of me poaching. He’s a 4.0 now.

 

[eah123]

Accurate. I can hit solid shots at times, but my natural tendency is to play more defensively. That works pretty well most of the time in singles, especially in return games. I serve pretty well and am reasonably comfortable at the net, so I serve and volley quite a bit in doubles. So the issue is less my service games and more return games when they have someone active at net: I really struggle to hit solid returns past an aggressive net player.

My greatest strength is court coverage, and that just matters far less in doubles. I have 5.0 athleticism with 4.0 serves and net play, and 3.5 returns and groundstrokes.

You just need to practice returns with this drill.

 

[Idaho MEP]

You can look up doubles net footwork videos I’ve posted multiple times in the past.

Where should I look for these?

 

[Idaho MEP]

I think if you want to get good at something, you need to focus on it. If you want to get a lot better at doubles, there’s nothing wrong with spending a year or more just learning everything you can about it, which includes playing as many matches as possible, and ignoring singles play for a while.

Ya know, this is where I'm at. Thanks. Helpful thoughts.

 

[socallefty]

Where should I look for these?

You can’t be flat-footed at the net as experienced doubles players will target you at the net with hard shots if they see that. Check out these videos on doubles footwork at the net.

 

[jimmy8]

Play both, doubles helps your singles volleying. Your doubles will help you keep your singles rating down so you can stay in 4.0.

 

[ratherlosethanpush]

You could also look at doubles stuff on YouTube from players like Jamie murray and gigi fernandez or coaches like louis cayer. They'll cover things like positioning and movement.
If I was stateside I'd attend a camp that gigi runs.

 

[Cashman]

If I was stateside I'd attend a camp that gigi runs.

bring ya chequebook

 

[Idaho MEP]

My singles and doubles UTR ratings have diverged -- about 7.0 singles and 5.5 doubles . Based on this chart, it does seem like I should be 4.5 in singles and 4.0 in doubles.

 

[stapletonj]

2 things:

more doubles will help your volleys

more doubles will help your returns

okay three - your lobbing skills should improve some as well

okay four, your up and back movement

 

[zaskar1]

Those are approximations, obviously, but I'm clearly better at singles than doubles. I played 4.0 this past year and won more than 80% of my singles matches and about 50% of my doubles matches (including mixed). I ended up playing more dubs than singles this past year. I've been improving rapidly the past year-and-a-half or so, and I expect that will continue into this next year. So...

Option 1: Go all in on singles

I'm better at it. Win as many singles league matches for my team as I can and see if I can accumulate a bunch of tournament points in singles. Maybe I can be near the top of the list for my district/section. I'd still play some doubles (e.g., mixed league). My concern is that I improve and then get bumped to 4.5 next year based on my singles results, but my doubles level lags behind...and then I basically can't play doubles any more because I'm so far under level. I do like doubles, even though it's not where I shine.

Option 2: Play mostly doubles in an attempt to improve and hold down my rating

Focus on my doubles game as much as possible to try to improve there and hope that I have another 2-3 years at 4.0. Play singles when the captain asks me to, but request to play doubles, and don't play singles in tournaments. Cons: a) I won't win as much. b) Is there an honor concern here? Manipulating things to try to hold down my rating as I (possibly?) rise to 4.5 singles level?

Option 3: Somewhere in between

Mix of singles and doubles, and try not to worry about rating. Whatever happens, happens. Something like one or two singles tournaments, but not trying to rake in the points or anything.

 

[zaskar1]

Idaho
Like someone else said, why do you worry about your ratings? Just have fun.
i guess if you are worried about getting bumped to 4.5, you should probably play more doubles to get your rating
diluted a bit. but if your doubles winning percentage improves, you might have to tank some matches.
USTA is "so competitive"
z

 

[Idaho MEP]

...you might have to tank some matches.

I definitely would not do that.

i guess if you are worried about getting bumped to 4.5, you should probably play more doubles to get your rating
diluted a bit.

That's the question. But it's not just about the rating: it's about trying to get better at doubles for its own sake and to try to close the gap with my singles.

Like someone else said, why do you worry about your ratings? Just have fun.

Yeah. I do feel like I'm gonna be primarily a singles player for men's league going forward: captains know that's where I'm gonna help the team most.

If I do get bumped, there's some disappointment in that I will be a very weak 4.5 doubles player. So that means I'm a liability in mixed league, tri-level, etc.

 

[am1899]

Don't worry about it. Just play tennis and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Idaho MEP]

Play singles. And don't worry. You're not going to get bumped to 4.5

A year later: I did in fact get bumped to 4.5.

Play singles and doubles - you can become good at both. Play wherever the captain asks you to play.

I played mostly singles in men's league, but a fair bit of doubles in tournaments and mixed league. I do feel like I improved in doubles quite a bit this year, although my singles is still ahead. I have definitely grown in confidence that I can compete reasonably well against a lot of 4.5 doubles teams with the right partner.

 

[Ziatennis89]

Hi! 4.5 player here who used to be primarily a singles player my whole tennis life but now mostly plays doubles. (By the way, I am still probably a better singles player than doubles, but I switched over to doubles exclusively because I just find it much more fun to play.)

Anyway, the first thing I would say in response to your post is that in my experience, it seems there’s often an unfair double standard in adult USTA leagues: “Singles players” who aren’t as good at doubles seem to be or feel compelled or pressured (either by themselves or others) into working on becoming better at doubles. On the other hand, though, I’ve rarely ever heard “doubles players” express concern for needing to work harder to become better at singles. All of this is to say that I don’t think you should feel like you HAVE to be as good at doubles as you are at singles. And in fact the higher up you go in play level/NTRP, I feel it becomes increasingly less likely you’ll actually consistently encounter league players who are equally good at singles and doubles. So my response to your inquiry would be to spend time playing whichever you enjoy the most and let whatever happens happen regarding your skill level and rating.