Anyone else hate playing doubles ?

[Cindysphinx]

I don’t buy into this playing doubles helps your singles it’s just less time honing your singles skills. The poster who claimed modern top singles ATP players play doubles to help their volleying.....well no they play to get a feel for the surface or test out an injury. Volleying in doubles bears little comparison to singles where the approach shot is vital.

That's an interesting perspective. I mean, as I doubles player I know that playing singles will help my groundstrokes, and I would never say that playing singles robs me of time better spent on singles. So why wouldn't the same be true for singles specialists?

What you will learn in doubles is how to S&V, dig out volleys off our shoes, and control placement on every shot. Even more important, though, is you will develop confidence at net -- which is a big chunk of what it takes to take the net in singles.

I think, however, the main reason for a rec singles player to play doubles is because it gives you one more weapon in singles: The ability to finish points at the net. Oh, the times I have watched my 3.5/4.0 singles players struggling against a pusher, trying to urge my player telepathically to *come to net and feast on that soft, high cheese already*! But no. My player has no volley, so when she finally decides to come in she boots a basic volley no decent doubles player would miss. Then she starts the next point and does the same thing all over again.

Playing singles only will make you a one-dimensional singles player.

 

[maximus]

When I was in my teenage years to lates 20s, I was mainly a singles player - literally hated doubles. But when I was in my early 30s, I started loving doubles. The excitement is different. The ground and pound on groundstrokes and volleys gives me different kind of rush. Plus, there's the dynamics of teamwork!

 

[Deleted member 23235]

I don’t buy into this playing doubles helps your singles it’s just less time honing your singles skills. The poster who claimed modern top singles ATP players play doubles to help their volleying.....well no they play to get a feel for the surface or test out an injury. Volleying in doubles bears little comparison to singles where the approach shot is vital.

What level do you play?
When you play dubs do you just stay at the baseline when serving?
I started playing dubs to improve my singles... approach/volley/oh

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Volleying in doubles bears little comparison to singles where the approach shot is vital.

I agree that in singles the approach carries more weight because in doubles you have a partner to cover half of the net so it's less likely you'll get passed outright.

However, as a card-carrying S&Ver in both singles and doubles, IME, there is a lot of overlap in the volleying. My targets are different for both but the fundamentals are the same. Poor volleyers in singles simply stay away from the net. In doubles, your volleying skills will be tested [unless you spend all of your time at the BL] and, hopefully, improved.

 

[user92626]

If you're super competitive which is usually a good thing in sports then doubles can be very frustrating due to sucky partners and things that are out of your hands.

If you don't play in tournaments, it's virtually impossible to find 4 similar level players. Doubles tends to be a game instead of a physical sport.

Most of us semi healthy people can probably play 5 dub sets without feeling a thing. I always run out of time and players before my stamina/strength.

It's rather pointless to compare singles and doubles. Play what comes along or don't. I used to want to cry about lack of singles and very sucky doubles, but ..why bother.

(Today I won a bunch of new cans of balls from singles and doubles. I'm happy! )

 

[toby55555]

What level do you play?
When you play dubs do you just stay at the baseline when serving?
I started playing dubs to improve my singles... approach/volley/oh

I play team tennis (UTR 7.6) and always try to get to the net but it’s very different to singles where if you get to the net you either make the volley or lose the point as opposed to having to sometimes decide in a split second whether to cross or leave it to your partner and the targets are different. My best volleys are touch shots that seldom have any use in doubles.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

I play team tennis (UTR 7.6) and always try to get to the net but it’s very different to singles where if you get to the net you either make the volley or lose the point as opposed to having to sometimes decide in a split second whether to cross or leave it to your partner and the targets are different. My best volleys are touch shots that seldom have any use in doubles.

fair enough.
i personal get alot out of dubs, for my singles game...
specifically s&v... (serve, 1st volley, put away volley)
c&c - a tactic i often use against weak 2nd serves.
and returns (more focused/precise)

i can obviously get more practice just doing those things in singles... but in dubs i'm free to focus on my B,C,D game (for singles), in a context that rewards me (ie. it pays to get to net first)

 

[Dartagnan64]

I play team tennis (UTR 7.6) and always try to get to the net but it’s very different to singles where if you get to the net you either make the volley or lose the point as opposed to having to sometimes decide in a split second whether to cross or leave it to your partner and the targets are different. My best volleys are touch shots that seldom have any use in doubles.

Angled touch volleys are a staple of the good doubles player. It's how you beat those 1 up 1 back teams that proliferate low level doubles.

It is true in doubles the targets are less generous even though the court is wider. But targets are a mental thing not a physical thing. You want to work on your net technical skills in a match situation. The technical aspects of volleying and overheads apply to both doubles and singles. You just face them far more often in a doubles match.

If you're super competitive which is usually a good thing in sports then doubles can be very frustrating due to sucky partners and things that are out of your hands.

Plenty of super competitive people play team sports and learn not to get frustrated. They learn a) how to boost their teammate's spirits, b) how to focus on their job and not someone else's c) how to work with other people to a common goal. Control is a fallacy so it's best to get that kind of thinking out of your head and play more team sports.

 

[Ruark]

I certainly much prefer singles, it just gives me a lot more freedom to build and dictate points with my groundstrokes, having a lot more space to work with.

Same here. I prefer single player sports: "me against him," which usually translates into "me against myself." I have no interest whatsoever in doubles. None. Zero. Zilch.

 

[johnwah]

i havent read this whole thread.. but I cant stand doubles...

 

[Dartagnan64]

Same here. I prefer single player sports: "me against him," which usually translates into "me against myself." I have no interest whatsoever in doubles. None. Zero. Zilch.

I've always been a single player sport person myself but I will say I've learned more useful life lessons from team sports than from any singles experience.

But I've also learned from experience that you can't change anyone's mind once it's made up and if you are already decided that team sports are useless, you aren't likely to change that opinion based on the experience of someone else.

 

[The Green Mile]

Doubles is amazing if the three other players are of similar or higher level than you. The tactics used are a lot more fun and entertaining for me personally and I've gotten lazy with my fitness over the last few months, so I can kind of get away with it in doubles, singles, not so much I think once you're at a specific skill level, doubles gets a whole lot more fun. I did not like it as much when I was in my earliest years of playing tennis.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

If you're super competitive which is usually a good thing in sports then doubles can be very frustrating due to sucky partners and things that are out of your hands.

But what about all of the super-competitive people that play teams sports? They not only have potentially one sucky person to deal with but a multitude.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I play team tennis (UTR 7.6) and always try to get to the net but it’s very different to singles where if you get to the net you either make the volley or lose the point as opposed to having to sometimes decide in a split second whether to cross or leave it to your partner and the targets are different. My best volleys are touch shots that seldom have any use in doubles.

Interesting: most of my touch volleys occur in doubles. Hitting a winner past 2 people is a "touchy" proposition. In singles, oftentimes it's enough to find the open court [of which there is so much more].

 

[NTRPolice]

Playing doubles as a winning singles player will show you just how little control over the ball you actually have. In singles, you can get away with a lot of sloppy shots, even for clean winners. My girlfriend found this out when we played 8.0 mixed dubs for the first year. She went like 12-1 in singles as a 4.0 woman, but we went 0-5 in mixed. We both eventually became 4.5's and still struggle with doubles. We dont even attempt 9.0 mixed, and only play non-USTA leagues together.

I hardly play singles these days, but when I do, the first thing's I think about are serving and returning being a lot easier. In singles, you can get buy with a decent kicker both first and second serves. With returns, anywhere at "firm pace" is generally fine. In doubles, you gotta serve hard to protect your partner. You also have to return into a small 1/3 of the court most of the time, and if you cant, you better hit your return really hard and low. Lob returns of course dont count!

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

My best volleys are touch shots that seldom have any use in doubles.

As a counterpoint, if I play singles and volley well, my opponent's comment after the match is invariably "you must be a good doubles player".

I never get the reverse compliment.

 

[user92626]

But what about all of the super-competitive people that play teams sports? They not only have potentially one sucky person to deal with but a multitude.

What about them???

Do you know one way or another about their frustration/happiness?

This report says Lebron was frustrated about his team... So what I suggest is true. Does happen.
https://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/lebron-james-frustrated-012417

 

[user92626]

Plenty of super competitive people play team sports and learn not to get frustrated. They learn a) how to boost their teammate's spirits, b) how to focus on their job and not someone else's c) how to work with other people to a common goal. Control is a fallacy so it's best to get that kind of thinking out of your head and play more team sports.

There's also plenty of people who skip the team version and focus on the individual version, like Federer, Nadal, etc. And, in tennis specifically I believe people would choose the latter over the former any day if they had the aptitude. Professional doubles is second tier to singles.

 

[Sakkijarvi]

I have a large bunch of tennis buddies that play singles and get in about 3 matches a week like clockwork. When it is all said and done I play 120+ matches - a lot of them before work, get up at 6 AM routine. I play doubles occasionally, perhaps 15 a year. Tennis is my exercise mental and physical, so akin to someone else × at the gym, for what it's worth.

Many singles matches go the distance, best of 3, and push the 2½ to 3 hour limit. Especially during the outdoor season - but also indoors as we time slot to allow for 'real' matches like this. Nothing against doubles - and I played 4.0 and 4.5 dubs, USTA ... there is NO COMPARISON to the workout. A long singles match you get acquainted with 'the wall and have to push past it. Needless to say, most of my singles regulars are 10-20 years younger than me - my age group is mostly doubles players for the usual reasons - less pressure on mind, body and schedule.

I hit with a couple of local tennis pros - the outdoor variety. They play doubles primarily. When these guys get up the willingness to play singles, they invariably lose - with the requisite comments about being "doubles players". What I find a common weakness with these dubs specialists is - they are used to hitting a lot of volleys from a stationary position - 'at the net'. When they come in behind approach shots in singles, they are often half a step late, not ready to deal with a ball right at them, on the move, and so on. They also tend to have ok serves, good enough for doubles but not powerful enough to stop returns to the open court, with no man at the net forcing returns to be more directional.

When I play in with my two different dubs groups I enjoy their company, good guys. But if that was all my tennis could be, I would never be interested in tennis.

 

[Moveforwardalways]

Tour level players supplement with doubles for one reason - a few easy checks. The prize money isn’t what it is for singles, but you can pick up a few thousand bucks to off set the costs of traveling (or whatever) and losing early in a singles tournament. This idea that they are adjusting to a surface or testing an injury or working on volleys- nope.

 

[Moveforwardalways]

I have a large bunch of tennis buddies that play singles and get in about 3 matches a week like clockwork. When it is all said and done I play 120+ matches - a lot of them before work, get up at 6 AM routine. I play doubles occasionally, perhaps 15 a year. Tennis is my exercise mental and physical, so akin to someone else × at the gym, for what it's worth.

Many singles matches go the distance, best of 3, and push the 2½ to 3 hour limit. Especially during the outdoor season - but also indoors as we time slot to allow for 'real' matches like this. Nothing against doubles - and I played 4.0 and 4.5 dubs, USTA ... there is NO COMPARISON to the workout. A long singles match you get acquainted with 'the wall and have to push past it. Needless to say, most of my singles regulars are 10-20 years younger than me - my age group is mostly doubles players for the usual reasons - less pressure on mind, body and schedule.

I hit with a couple of local tennis pros - the outdoor variety. They play doubles primarily. When these guys get up the willingness to play singles, they invariably lose - with the requisite comments about being "doubles players". What I find a common weakness with these dubs specialists is - they are used to hitting a lot of volleys from a stationary position - 'at the net'. When they come in behind approach shots in singles, they are often half a step late, not ready to deal with a ball right at them, on the move, and so on. They also tend to have ok serves, good enough for doubles but not powerful enough to stop returns to the open court, with no man at the net forcing returns to be more directional.

When I play in with my two different dubs groups I enjoy their company, good guys. But if that was all my tennis could be, I would never be interested in tennis.

^^^ speaking the stone cold truth ^^^

 

[Moveforwardalways]

Doubles is amazing if the three other players are of similar or higher level than you. The tactics used are a lot more fun and entertaining for me personally and I've gotten lazy with my fitness over the last few months, so I can kind of get away with it in doubles, singles, not so much I think once you're at a specific skill level, doubles gets a whole lot more fun. I did not like it as much when I was in my earliest years of playing tennis.

Right on. Doubles at 3.5 and below is a miserable experience.

 

[The1AndOnly]

People who don't know how to properly play doubles hate doubles - People who know how to properly play doubles love doubles

Not a dig at the OP but if you really find yourself not enjoying doubles you should try to learn from a more experienced doubles player about strategy and shot selection. Playing and watching good doubles is almost as fun as good singles!

 

[NTRPolice]

Tour level players supplement with doubles for one reason - a few easy checks. The prize money isn’t what it is for singles, but you can pick up a few thousand bucks to off set the costs of traveling (or whatever) and losing early in a singles tournament. This idea that they are adjusting to a surface or testing an injury or working on volleys- nope.

Have to agree. They can also be after "points" too. Not everyone is a dedicated singles player. Sometimes singles players on their way out could be interested in doubles points, or one of the two players mostly plays doubles. Doubles is also easier to be competitive at, as ranked singles players can still have a chance at a title, whereas ranked doubles players are never going to win a singles title, lol.

The idea that they are testing an injury, testing a surface, ect. is likely wrong. These guys play tennis for a living. They can travel to a tournament weeks in advance. They are not like amateurs who get there the night before they play and have to find a drugstore to find ibuprofen. Their whole entourage may even travel with them if they are a top pro.

 

[Dartagnan64]

There's also plenty of people who skip the team version and focus on the individual version, like Federer, Nadal, etc. And, in tennis specifically I believe people would choose the latter over the former any day if they had the aptitude. Professional doubles is second tier to singles.

But the reason people focus on singles may be as simple as money and have nothing to do with preference. Fans like to watch the one on one gladiatorial sparring of singles tennis. So it makes more money. So players focus on it.

And if you think singles tennis isn't a team sport you don't understand tennis. Yes for 3 hrs a match you are out there on your own, but everything you do in between is heavily teamwork oriented. And it leads to frustration sometimes.

And in actuality, the only thing that causes frustration is losing. Where that frustration is directed is arbitrary. Singles players will blame coaches or trainers. Doubles players will blame partners. Grounded players will look more inwards rather than at their team. People don't like losing and like to find blame. In rec tennis, sadly the only thing to blame other than yourself is your equipment. Hence the very popular Racket and Strings subforums.

 

[Dartagnan64]

Many singles matches go the distance, best of 3, and push the 2½ to 3 hour limit. Especially during the outdoor season - but also indoors as we time slot to allow for 'real' matches like this. Nothing against doubles - and I played 4.0 and 4.5 dubs, USTA ... there is NO COMPARISON to the workout. A long singles match you get acquainted with 'the wall and have to push past it. Needless to say, most of my singles regulars are 10-20 years younger than me - my age group is mostly doubles players for the usual reasons - less pressure on mind, body and schedule.

At a certain age, that singles workout becomes "wear and tear". You might not be there yet. But you play 4.5 singles on hard courts long enough and the effect adds up.

Nice thing about playing some doubles and singles at younger age is when you are 75 and playing dubs exclusively, you know what the heck you are doing.

 

[penpal]

People who don't know how to properly play doubles hate doubles - People who know how to properly play doubles love doubles

I might add one more - people who know how to properly play doubles can learn to hate doubles if they are saddled with a partner who doesn't know how to properly play doubles.

I like doubles, especially MxD with my wife because we have learned it together, we talk about our strategies/tactics often, and we're near the same level. Recently though, I've been playing more doubles with other guys (4.0 level) and have been surprised, and if I'm being honest, a bit agitated at the general lack of doubles understanding. Several of these guys seem to think you should always serve out wide to the ad side to get to the right-handed players backhand (ok, but I'm not going to be able to poach much and help you win your service game a bit easier), they call out "Yours!" when we're both at the net, the opponent hits a lob over them, and they don't feel like shuffling back to hit an overhead, they argue that forehand should always take the middle volley, etc, etc.

And they aren't interested in learning any different. Heck, one of my partners argued with the teaching pro the other day who was telling him he should aim his serves down the T more frequently.

After awhile, it's enough to drive a guy back to singles.

 

[user92626]

I have a large bunch of tennis buddies that play singles and get in about 3 matches a week like clockwork. When it is all said and done I play 120+ matches - a lot of them before work, get up at 6 AM routine. I play doubles occasionally, perhaps 15 a year. Tennis is my exercise mental and physical, so akin to someone else × at the gym, for what it's worth.

Many singles matches go the distance, best of 3, and push the 2½ to 3 hour limit. Especially during the outdoor season - but also indoors as we time slot to allow for 'real' matches like this. Nothing against doubles - and I played 4.0 and 4.5 dubs, USTA ... there is NO COMPARISON to the workout. A long singles match you get acquainted with 'the wall and have to push past it. Needless to say, most of my singles regulars are 10-20 years younger than me - my age group is mostly doubles players for the usual reasons - less pressure on mind, body and schedule.

I hit with a couple of local tennis pros - the outdoor variety. They play doubles primarily. When these guys get up the willingness to play singles, they invariably lose - with the requisite comments about being "doubles players". What I find a common weakness with these dubs specialists is - they are used to hitting a lot of volleys from a stationary position - 'at the net'. When they come in behind approach shots in singles, they are often half a step late, not ready to deal with a ball right at them, on the move, and so on*. They also tend to have ok serves, good enough for doubles but not powerful enough to stop returns to the open court, with no man at the net forcing returns to be more directional.

When I play in with my two different dubs groups I enjoy their company, good guys. But if that was all my tennis could be, I would never be interested in tennis.**

Right on with my observations, especially the bolded parts.

*There was this guy in our group who was seemly pretty good at the net in doubles -- and all we played were dubs. Most (elder) players couldn't hit past him. One day he and I happened to play a set of singles due to lack of enough players for a dub. Amazingly he didn't come to the net once in any meaningful way that I could remember. I beat him 6-0 and he claimed that he just wanted to warm up while waiting for others to show up.

**That's why I said before that dubs is a more like a game rather than a sport, especially the way recreational adults approach it. Like darts and board or bowling. Even out of shape, old men can play for hours, 4, 5 sets.

Sometimes a dub is so much "gaming" that all the players can focus on is to make a certain shot (or a few shots), ad nauseam, and be frustrated when they cannot.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Tennis is my exercise mental and physical, so akin to someone else × at the gym, for what it's worth.

There's nothing wrong with that of course. And yes, of course playing singles is more exercise than doubles. Granted.

But please understand that getting a workout is not why I play tennis. It's not even near the top of the list.

I play tennis for (1) fun; (2) friendships; (3) the challenge of improving at something; (4) the challenging of figuring out an opponent and outsmarting them; (5) motivating me to stay fit.

What I find a common weakness with these dubs specialists is - they are used to hitting a lot of volleys from a stationary position - 'at the net'. When they come in behind approach shots in singles, they are often half a step late, not ready to deal with a ball right at them, on the move, and so on.

Now, I have to take issue with this. I grant that you have seen what you have seen.

But I would say that in general, the volleys and net play of a 4.0 doubles specialist is lightyears ahead of the volleys and net play of a 4.0 singles specialist. Apples to apples, in other words. Maybe a doubles specialist who comes to net is not effective, etc, but they are going to be way more effective than a singles specialist who comes to net -- why is why singles specialists often don't come to net when they could.

But yes, singles specialists are better at singles than doubles specialists.

But if that was all my tennis could be, I would never be interested in tennis.

Your call. If doubles did not exist, I would still play tennis in the form of singles because singles is better than no tennis at all. I just would wind up retiring from tennis much earlier in my life due to injury than I will if I play doubles instead.

 

[Dartagnan64]

I might add one more - people who know how to properly play doubles can learn to hate doubles if they are saddled with a partner who doesn't know how to properly play doubles.

I like doubles, especially MxD with my wife because we have learned it together, we talk about our strategies/tactics often, and we're near the same level. Recently though, I've been playing more doubles with other guys (4.0 level) and have been surprised, and if I'm being honest, a bit agitated at the general lack of doubles understanding. Several of these guys seem to think you should always serve out wide to the ad side to get to the right-handed players backhand (ok, but I'm not going to be able to poach much and help you win your service game a bit easier), they call out "Yours!" when we're both at the net, the opponent hits a lob over them, and they don't feel like shuffling back to hit an overhead, they argue that forehand should always take the middle volley, etc, etc.

And they aren't interested in learning any different. Heck, one of my partners argued with the teaching pro the other day who was telling him he should aim his serves down the T more frequently.

After awhile, it's enough to drive a guy back to singles.

I tell everyone in my circle of doubles to read the Art of Doubles. If they do, they'll at least understand what I'm trying to do and not undermine it.

But I totally agree that there are players that don't understand doubles, don't want to improve at doubles, don't care to figure out why certain things should be done a certain way. Hate playing with them and usually halfway through a match I'll just shut off and start going through the motions myself.

But give me a partner that is attentive, wants to improve and is willing to try different things and we have a grand time. Work on formations, signalled poaches, two up and two back variations.

 

[Dartagnan64]

Your call. If doubles did not exist, I would still play tennis in the form of singles because singles is better than no tennis at all. I just would wind up retiring from tennis much earlier in my life due to injury than I will if I play doubles instead.

Or you could just play one-on-one doubles which is what I often do with my wife. Uses doubles skills in a singles format playing always cross court. Less wear and tear than full court singles.

 

[NTRPolice]

I tell everyone in my circle of doubles to read the Art of Doubles. If they do, they'll at least understand what I'm trying to do and not undermine it.

But I totally agree that there are players that don't understand doubles, don't want to improve at doubles, don't care to figure out why certain things should be done a certain way. Hate playing with them and usually halfway through a match I'll just shut off and start going through the motions myself.

But give me a partner that is attentive, wants to improve and is willing to try different things and we have a grand time. Work on formations, signalled poaches, two up and two back variations.

One thing about doubles is that it actually requires training and experience to be good at it. In singles, as long as you can get the ball in play, you can win. In doubles, how you get the ball in play is what matters most. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each formation, maximizing your offensive capabilities by net play, ect. all make a difference.

Doubles is a very tactical game. In singles, if you can hit cross court that's all you really need up until the 5.0 level really. In doubles, you cant even win at 3.5 or 4.0 without good returns and high amount of net activity.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

What about them???

Do you know one way or another about their frustration/happiness?

This report says Lebron was frustrated about his team... So what I suggest is true. Does happen.
https://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/lebron-james-frustrated-012417

I never suggested or meant to imply that people don't get frustrated. You deal with the frustration or you find another sport. In tennis, that could mean simply switching to only singles. But what do players of football/basketball/baseball/soccer/hockey do? Take up tennis?

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

What I find a common weakness with these dubs specialists is - they are used to hitting a lot of volleys from a stationary position - 'at the net'. When they come in behind approach shots in singles, they are often half a step late, not ready to deal with a ball right at them, on the move, and so on.

I have the opposite experience: doubles players tend to be much better volleyers because they're constantly getting hammered at, especially when one or both opponents are at net along with you. How often does that happen in singles when both are at net? Very rarely. On the whole, I get much easier volleys to deal with in singles because I don't have to worry about the net man. True, I get passed a lot more.

The only time I volley from a stationary position is when it's a reflex volley and I don't have any time to move. Otherwise, I'm always trying to optimally position myself in doubles and singles.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

Or you could just play one-on-one doubles which is what I often do with my wife. Uses doubles skills in a singles format playing always cross court. Less wear and tear than full court singles.

love playing 1v1 dubs.
played a 1v1 dubs promo tourney where i got to play 2 former atp guys
now it's part of my staple of practice drills when preparing for a usta dubs match

 

[Dartagnan64]

love playing 1v1 dubs.
played a 1v1 dubs promo tourney where i got to play 2 former atp guys
now it's part of my staple of practice drills when preparing for a usta dubs match

Yes it works a whole different skill set. More front to back movement and less side to side. Since I mostly play doubles in tournaments, adding that to my practice time with my wife is really helpful. Learning to dig her low flat shots off my shoelaces is a skill most singles player are unfamiliar with.

 

[Gemini]

Nope. I don't hate doubles or singles. I'm embrace them both. Different mindsets. Different skill sets. One complete player.

 

[bobbything]

I used to hate doubles because I wasn't very good at it. I preferred singles because I played the rabbit's game pretty well. That said, in the last decade, I much, much prefer doubles to singles. Mainly for a few reasons.

(1) I began to better understand how to play doubles. It requires so much more thinking than singles does. You can't just outlast your opponent(s). It's much more of a chess match. You also have to be much more precise with your shots. It's a completely different game than singles. I also got much, much better at the net. I'm much more comfortable at net once I'm up there.

(2) The social aspect of it, as you get older, is much more appealing.

Over the years I've developed into a pretty decent doubles player by focusing on my return of serve. Low, heavy balls, cross-court will win you the point often. I'm not a great serve-and-volleyer so I tend to stay back. Probably 75% of the time. But I hit a pretty heavy ball so I'm typically able to keep the net guy at bay while keeping balls at the feet of the server (if they come in). If they stay back, even better.

All this said, the more doubles I play, the more my singles suffers (which, I'm fine with). I get in a good groove of keeping the ball cross court and hitting certain shots in doubles. In singles it's just different angles and you change directions of the ball much more often. Two different games, IMO.

 

[Dartagnan64]

Two different games, IMO.

I'd say they are two variations of the same game. Much like 9 Ball and Snooker. Or best ball matchplay twosomes vs singles stroke play in golf. Or 5 pin and 10 pin bowling. Or 301 vs Cricket in darts.

Many sports have variants to spice things up and develop different skills. Doubles and singles are variants of the same game still requiring the same basic skill of hitting a tennis ball over the net into a rectangular court. They both generally use all the various strokes of tennis but in different frequencies. But they do have markedly different strategies.

 

[leech]

Until 2010, I had played 25+ years of singles. Today I play both singles and doubles in equally amounts, but my singles days are coming to an end, due to two back surgeries. In 2010 stopped playing singles in league matches (for one year) so I could learn and grow as a doubles player. I've played tennis for 30+ years and was terrible at doubles until I committed to learning doubles. I'm glad I took a year off of singles in 2010 to learn doubles. I wished I had done it sooner. I missed a lot of fun Combo Doubles leagues throughout the years by being a singles only player.

One thing I don't regret is missing the all the drama of Mixed Doubles during that time.

I'm similar to @g4driver in that I played almost no doubles (except for the occasional social match with my wife) until I started USTA league play in 2012. Prior to that, my only form of organized tennis was in a singles ladder. Even in my first year of league tennis, I played exclusively singles (as a 3.5). When I got bumped up to 4.0 the following year, I had to learn to play doubles. I sucked at it....I had difficulty avoiding the net person while returning serve, I didn't understand doubles strategy, and I was not confident or proficient at net.

Five years later, while I do enjoy playing singles, I play doubles 90 percent of the time and have become pretty comfortable with my net game and figuring out doubles tactics. So I say give it time, and take your lumps in the first year or two as you learn the doubles game. And volunteer to play singles for your team, join a singles league, or enter tournaments to keep up your singles skills.

(In contrast to @g4driver, I do enjoy mixed doubles...7.0 MXD is perhaps my favorite league)

 

[Deleted member 23235]

main reasons i hated doubles:
*I didn’t know how to play
*my super awesome fh did not work
*I couldn’t volley, so I opted always hit my super awesome fh from the baseline
*when I was the best player on court, it was a game of keep away from me (I was always the best player on a doubles court, because the good doubles players never invited me to play, because i sucked at dubs)
*I hated getting beat by old guys who knew how to play dubs... “oh yeah, let’s play some singles so i can show you my super awesome fh”
*my serve sucked (which gets my partner creamed)
*if I did by chance get to play with good players,... they always took “my ball” (ie poached)
*its really boring guarding the doubles alley, and I still lost despite doing my job well
*get out of rhythm serving infrequently (did I say my serve sucked)
*I hate when my partner can’t volley (did I say my serve sucked... ie 2nd serve sitter)
*good dubs teams won’t “man up” and exchange geoundstrokes cc with me
*good dubs teams hit nothing but junky low volleys with no pace (won’t let me show off my super awesome fh)
*my partner always wants to talk to me
*opponent at net won’t sit still and just let my super awesome cc fh go through
*I always lose because I have a crappy partner, especially the kind that steal my ball, and won’t stay on their side
*

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

main reasons i hated doubles:
*I didn’t know how to play
*my super awesome fh did not work
*I couldn’t volley, so I opted always hit my super awesome fh from the baseline
*when I was the best player on court, it was a game of keep away from me (I was always the best player on a doubles court, because the good doubles players never invited me to play, because i sucked at dubs)
*I hated getting beat by old guys who knew how to play dubs... “oh yeah, let’s play some singles so i can show you my super awesome fh”
*my serve sucked (which gets my partner creamed)
*if I did by chance get to play with good players,... they always took “my ball” (ie poached)
*its really boring guarding the doubles alley, and I still lost despite doing my job well
*get out of rhythm serving infrequently (did I say my serve sucked)
*I hate when my partner can’t volley (did I say my serve sucked... ie 2nd serve sitter)
*good dubs teams won’t “man up” and exchange geoundstrokes cc with me
*good dubs teams hit nothing but junky low volleys with no pace (won’t let me show off my super awesome fh)
*my partner always wants to talk to me
*opponent at net won’t sit still and just let my super awesome cc fh go through
*I always lose because I have a crappy partner, especially the kind that steal my ball, and won’t stay on their side
*

And thus a new acronym was born: MSAFH.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

And thus a new acronym was born: MSAFH.

no idea what that means

 

[AtomicForehand]

I actually prefer doubles to singles, but can't find an aggressive partner who knows how to play the net or set me up at the net, so I play singles. Drives me crazy--I have a huge serve that in itself sets up points for easy putaways half the time, and I can't stand it when my partners let weak replies go through to me, or otherwise fail to recognize when they have a point-ending shot.

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

When morbidly obese non-athletes can excel at doubles,
it tells me not to waste my time with this fake ass version of tennis.

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

3.5 dubs = lots of volley practice (big serves, erratic hit CC strokes)
4.0 dubs = zero volley practice (dink serves, CC strokes)
4.5 dubs = lots of volley practice (big serves)

Best volley practice? Hiring a coach to fire balls at you for an hour straight.
More volleys than an entire season of USTA dubs.

 

[NLBwell]

First, you don't play doubles to improve your tennis game. You just don't hit the ball enough.
You can get better at doubles-specific stuff but you need to practice and play singles to improve your overall game.

To me, doubles is a fun social event. Singles is competing in tennis.

 

[Ruark]

First, you don't play doubles to improve your tennis game. You just don't hit the ball enough.
You can get better at doubles-specific stuff but you need to practice and play singles to improve your overall game.

To me, doubles is a fun social event. Singles is competing in tennis.

That pretty well sums it up. As a 65+ Singles player, I simply can not find anybody to play with, although there are senior doubles teams on every block. I've been to a number of them, and like you said, it's primarily a 2.0 - 3.0 fun social event, just swing-and-giggle. Sure, they're fine people and everybody has fun and all that, but that's not what I'm looking for. I want to "compete in tennis," as NLBwell put it, develop my skills and prepare for some major Cat II Super Senior tournaments in the fall and spring, but the last thing in the world these guys want is somebody coming in and getting all "serious" about everything.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

no idea what that means

lol, i just got it...

 

[Dartagnan64]

First, you don't play doubles to improve your tennis game. You just don't hit the ball enough.
You can get better at doubles-specific stuff but you need to practice and play singles to improve your overall game.

To me, doubles is a fun social event. Singles is competing in tennis.

To me singles is just hitting and doubles is the chief competition. The pressure of not letting a team mate down makes it more competitive for me. In singles, I can let up at any time and the only person I affect is myself. The motivation can stray if there is little riding on the game. Even in a social doubles match I've still got a partner I don't want to flub up for. So I'm more motivated to play well.

But I'm a believer in playing both games as different challenges with the same basic premise. Just like I enjoy bicycle touring and mountain biking. Both are on bicycles but require different skill sets entirely. Both are having a good time on bicycles. Just like singles and doubles are having good times with a tennis racket.

And I hit the ball plenty enough times in doubles to get better. If I'm not then I'm playing doubles wrong. The secret of good doubles is knowing how to goad your opponent to hit at you when it's ill advised to do so.