Best way to set partners

[SGM1980]

Has anyone had to put people together as doubles partners on a team before? What's the best way to go about it?

I'm a new captain and the majority of the ladies on my team (3.0) don't have set partners within the group. They're willing to play with anyone but I'm not sure how to go about trying out combinations.

What sorts of questions should I ask them? Should I put a baseliner and a net player together? We have some ladies really pushing against the 3.5 mark who hit and play hard, some very good 3.0 players who play a slower lobbing game but still get to everything, and some older ladies who have good shots and placement but not much mobility. Also at least one 2.5 who is improving rapidly but still a weaker player.

What do you guys recommend? Just let the ladies who are friends play together and not worry about game styles?

And yes, I realize that this is just 3.0 and we're just social ladies and we just play for fun, but we'd also like to do as well as we can and improve, so anything constructive you could add would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[beernutz]

Disclaimer: I have only been a captain once and knew all my players pretty well beforehand.

I think in your case I'd go with your first instinct to let teams self select. Placing teams on courts can be a political hot potato but if everyone is just out for fun and there aren't playoff aspirations then that won't matter as much.

When in doubt I tried to match up players with similar styles. For example if I had two players with good groundstokes who hated the net and two net monsters whose groundstrokes weren't dependable I tended to put like kinds of players together.

That way at least losing teams could not blame the style of play of their partner for their loss.

 

[tennis tom]

You have shown great courage to enter into the fray here! Get your racquet up and prepare yourself! Since Cindysphinx disappeared from here to teach her hubs to play things have waned here. Maybe you and your gals can bring excitement back to Talk Tennis Adult. The best thing would be to have your ladies post videos while playing for the most accurate assessments, sans warm-ups is best to best to observe complete range of motions.

Good Luck!

 

[schmke]

It sounds like this team primarily wants to have fun and perhaps hasn't set going to playoffs as a major goal. If that is the case, I'd focus on playing players that will A) have fun together and B) do well together.

The do well together can be tricky as there are lots of variables, but if you have team practices, vary the partners some and see who seems to gel together.

But if some of the players have some history of playing league matches together, you can look at past record and results too. Note that just seeing who won or lost together doesn't give a complete picture as that doesn't factor in the strength of the players they were playing.

If there is some player history and you really want to know who plays the best with who, the partner report section of my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Team Reports shows how each player's matches with each of their partners rated so you can see what the algorithm thinks a player's best partner is.

 

[kevrol]

I'll add that if you have players who struggle with mobility you need to pair them with someone that can cover the court.

 

[OrangePower]

I'll add that if you have players who struggle with mobility you need to pair them with someone that can cover the court.

Definitely this. Also you end up with one player being more athletic/powerful but perhaps inexperienced and less consistent, and the other more crafty/strategic and with more match experience. Generally a good combination.

Of course they have to get along and enjoy playing together - goes without saying.

 

[eelhc]

Throw availability into the mix and this gets significantly more complicated. Oftentimes you'll be left with picking a lineup from a limited number of available players.

Other folks have made good suggestions...

One rule you should always follow is that anyone who complains about their partner (to the partner, captain, other team members, etc..) should only play singles.

 

[Mongolmike]

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Pretty sure after the first match you will get PLENTY of suggestions of who is good, who isn't, I don't want to play with her, how come she got to play 3rd line and I didn't, etc.

 

[McKedy]

A lot of it's going to be trial and error. Chemistry plays a big role, so the players need to get along well together or their play will suffer. Once you find a winning team, don't break it up! Keep them together and they'll build on their success and improve even further based on the repetition of playing together.

 

[Cindysphinx]

You have shown great courage to enter into the fray here! Get your racquet up and prepare yourself! Since Cindysphinx disappeared from here to teach her hubs to play things have waned here. Maybe you and your gals can bring excitement back to Talk Tennis Adult. The best thing would be to have your ladies post videos while playing for the most accurate assessments, sans warm-ups is best to best to observe complete range of motions.

Good Luck!

Wait! I'm not dead yet!

I would send them an email and ask them three things, in strict confidence.

1. Who do they want as a partner?

2. Have them describe their own style, and ask them for strengths they like in a partner as well as weaknesses they can tolerate.

3. Ask which receiving side is their stronger side. Don't ask which side they like, because everybody will say they can play any side.

Then make some matches. If a pair does well or if both people write to you to praise the pairing, keep them together.

Cindy -- who can't abide partners who get pinned in the back corner because they can't transition

 

[McLovin]

Maybe you and your gals can bring excitement back to Talk Tennis Adult.

Sounds erotic. Is it anything like Talk Tennis After Dark?

 

[dlk]

I've often wondered how captains determine the partners. I feel a practice session w/rotating partners would help garner a hint of who meshes with who.

Believe it or not, my best doubles success occurs when I am the stronger player. I 've played with guys who are far better than me, but they go for too much and commit a lot of UEs; doubles has far less winners than singles.

 

[SGM1980]

Thanks for the suggestions! Especially yours, Cindy. I'll put that into practice asap. A lot will depend on people's availability, but at least we'll have a starting-off point!

Thanks, everyone!

 

[MisterP]

Definitely recommend a practice session. Not playing full matches, but a best of 3 or 5 games or possibly a set. Then rotate partners.

 

[spot]

First find out people's preferred receiving side. This is going to drive everything else.

My personal preference is to pair similar types of players together. Put people who like to get to the net together. Put people with good groundstrokes together. I know many like to put a net person with a baseliner but they ignore the times when the baseliner is at the net and the net player is back. You put baseliners together and they can protect each other when they are at the net and net players will get to the net together.

For women's at that level the next thing would be court coverage. Putting 2 immobile players together is very very difficult. Try and put a mover on the court at every line.

And the last one is that for women's tennis the personality dynamics matter a great deal. Ask if there are people that everyone would like to try playing with. And then be ready to hear about the list of people that anyone does not want to be paired with- that normally is volunteered without being asked.

 

[TennisCJC]

You want partners to be roughly of equal ability because if one is significantly weaker than the other, your opponents will find the weakness and the better partner will not see many balls.

Sorting out styles and personalities may take some time. But, mixing a good server with a good returner is a good thought. You also want to consider speed and have at least 1 player that moves well on the team as 2 slow players will struggle with lobs and short balls.

 

[Bionic slice]

If I was a capt of new team or don't know some players game very well. I would the more seasoned players what their thoughts are on some of the teammates. Have this conversation individually and tell them the reason is so you can field the best team each week.
If you have a familiar players, ask who do you like to play with or would prefer to play with? Who do they dislike or would prefer not playing with?
I if was captain, If possible, I would try and organize the group together to play a couple of friendly matches with everyone on the team, playing sets or matches to see how people gel together. Then, ask everyone if you would be ok playing with so and so? At 3.0 I would imagine most would be happy just playing. If you can make a once a week thing, it could be good to rotate players or teams so players can get used to playing other players or teams.
ID your strongest players to see if they are good at doubles and singles as sometimes you might need to call on them for singles.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Cindysphinx]

You want partners to be roughly of equal ability because if one is significantly weaker than the other, your opponents will find the weakness and the better partner will not see many balls.

Sorting out styles and personalities may take some time. But, mixing a good server with a good returner is a good thought. You also want to consider speed and have at least 1 player that moves well on the team as 2 slow players will struggle with lobs and short balls.

Yes.

This is huge. It is tempting to try to win two lines by pairing a weak and a strong player on two lines. Don't do it unless they beg you to.

The reason is that the weak player will stand there like a potted plant, waiting for the strong player to get the win. The strong player will overplay. Meanwhile, the opponents know how to get east points.

Nah. Put two weak players out there and they will try their hardest. They may even win.