Do doubles players get respect at your club?

socallefty

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
At my tennis club in SoCal, players who play exclusively 4.5/5.0 doubles don’t get as much respect as those who also play singles. It is because there are a lot of players at those levels (usually ex-college players) who excel at both singles and doubles. To get more respect, you have to be willing to play singles with the double-digit UTR rated juniors who train at the club academy and/or enroll in the Open tournaments we host frequently. It is Open level rec tennis without the limits of USTA-defined ratings leagues where you can be a national champion in USTA 3.5/4.0 leagues, but get your ass kicked every time at club events. The hierarchy of rating player caliber is like the pros where the best singles players are considered the best players.

Is it the same at your club where doubles only players don’t get considered amongst the best players at the club?
 
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I'd estimate that 99% of players at my club are doubles only. I don't think anyone judges others on whether they play singles or doubles. I do both, I'm 67 and play singles against guys ranging from 25 to 60. I play doubles three times a week against people ranging from late 50s to late 80s, and serve mostly what would be second serves when I play singles. I also play doubles once a week against guys in their early 40s to late 50s who are still very quick and hard hitters.
If anything, I think the people in their 80s still playing doubles are highly regarded for getting out there. Mostly what I hear from younger players is they hope they are still capable of playing at that age.
 
That's a very nuanced situation. I don't think it's as far as not respecting those players, but the doubles only guys are just not the same as people really mixing it up. I'm involved in around 8 club/tennis environments and no one really looks down on people or doesn't respect them if they don't play singles, however they aren't considered quite the same as those who do.

If someone only plays age restricted tennis and is like a 4.5 but only play s 40 and up doubles or 55 and up doubles, no one really considers them a real 4.5 .

I've never been in a club environment where you have to enter an Open tournament to be respected, that's a little extreme, why does your club even want a 3.5 or 4.0 in the Open tournament?

People who can physically only play doubles and not play like 2 singles matches in 100 degree heat in 1 day aren't looked down upon, they just aren't thought of in the same way, like they don't enter the mind when thinking of the best tennis players in a group or club setting.
 
FuzzyYellowBalls said:
That's a very nuanced situation. I don't think it's as far as not respecting those players, but the doubles only guys are just not the same as people really mixing it up. I'm involved in around 8 club/tennis environments and no one really looks down on people or doesn't respect them if they don't play singles, however they aren't considered quite the same as those who do.

If someone only plays age restricted tennis and is like a 4.5 but only play s 40 and up doubles or 55 and up doubles, no one really considers them a real 4.5 .

I've never been in a club environment where you have to enter an Open tournament to be respected, that's a little extreme, why does your club even want a 3.5 or 4.0 in the Open tournament?

People who can physically only play doubles and not play like 2 singles matches in 100 degree heat in 1 day aren't looked down upon, they just aren't thought of in the same way, like they don't enter the mind when thinking of the best tennis players in a group or club setting.
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Never minded singles but get kicked off the courts by 6-6:30 pm for league play. Plus singles are limited to an hour and must quit and sign-up for another court. Singles was fun 30-40 yrs ago but things change.
 
Ronaldo said:
Never minded singles but get kicked off the courts by 6-6:30 pm for league play. Plus singles are limited to an hour and must quit and sign-up for another court. Singles was fun 30-40 yrs ago but things change.
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Ewww, where is that, have to make sure I never move there. I've been lucky to never live somewhere that has time constraints on courts.
 
mmk said:
I'd estimate that 99% of players at my club are doubles only. I don't think anyone judges others on whether they play singles or doubles. I do both, I'm 67 and play singles against guys ranging from 25 to 60. I play doubles three times a week against people ranging from late 50s to late 80s, and serve mostly what would be second serves when I play singles. I also play doubles once a week against guys in their early 40s to late 50s who are still very quick and hard hitters.
If anything, I think the people in their 80s still playing doubles are highly regarded for getting out there. Mostly what I hear from younger players is they hope they are still capable of playing at that age.
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There are 2 80+ doubles players here in Key West. I always tell them goal 1 to be alive at their age. Goal 2 is to still be walking. Goal 3 is to be able to play tennis like they can


.
 
Cashman said:
Time constraints are super important on free courts otherwise the only people who get to use them at peak periods are the people who don’t value their time
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What if I told you there are many places in the ole USA that have open courts whenever you want them, indoors too?
Not "free" though, but cheap.
 
FuzzyYellowBalls said:
What if I told you there are many places in the ole USA that have open courts whenever you want them, indoors too?
Not "free" though, but cheap.
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It depends where is convenient to play. My local park has 3 tennis walls and I much prefer to walk up the street and play there rather than drive across town. Unfortunately it is right next to the beach so they are in constant use during summer.

Recently the local council brought in a rule to restrict play to 30min blocks when people are waiting. It's been very good because you can easily count the current queue and work out whether you have time to sit and wait.
 
socallefty said:
At my tennis club in SoCal, players who play exclusively 4.5/5.0 doubles don’t get much respect. It is because there are a lot of players at those levels (usually ex-college players) who excel at both singles and doubles. You are always a second-class citizen just like in the pros if you refuse invitations to play singles. To get real respect, you have to be willing to play singles with the double-digit UTR rated juniors who train at the club academy and also enroll in the Open tournaments we host frequently. It is Open level rec tennis without the limits of USTA-defined ratings leagues where you can be a national champion in USTA 3.5/4.0 leagues, but get your ass kicked every time at club events.

Is it the same at your club?
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McEnroe and Navratilova would like to join this conversation.
Your members are ridiculous.
Elite current college players play doubles.
 
Maybe I should rephrase the OP. Some players get respected as the best players in the club hierarchy. It doesn’t mean others get disrespected if they play only doubles.
 
Creighton said:
I don't think there is any question that singles player tend to be the best players on any team. Seems to be a trend in every section/district I've played.
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Well, singles players tend to be the best singles players, but not all are any good on the doubles court. If a team consists of singles + doubles, then any team's "best" player could in fact, be a doubles player.
 
socallefty said:
Maybe I should rephrase the OP. Some players get respected as the best players in the club hierarchy. It doesn’t mean others get disrespected if they play only doubles.
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this is such a dumb thread

the best players are the best players

being one of the best players at a club involves being young and fit and spending a lot of time on a tennis court so it is no surprise that there is a lot of overlap with people who play both singles and doubles

but playing singles engenders no aura, I know a lot of terrible singles players

I should know, I am the best player at my club
 
JT_2eighty said:
Well, singles players tend to be the best singles players, but not all are any good on the doubles court. If a team consists of singles + doubles, then any team's "best" player could in fact, be a doubles player.
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I've just never seen this ever be an issue. Generally, the good singles players can play at least a half level above their singles rating in doubles. In singles you have to be able to hit all the shots well enough relative to your level. In doubles, you can hide your flaws.
 
socallefty said:
At my tennis club in SoCal, players who play exclusively 4.5/5.0 doubles don’t get as much respect as those who also play singles. It is because there are a lot of players at those levels (usually ex-college players) who excel at both singles and doubles. To get more respect, you have to be willing to play singles with the double-digit UTR rated juniors who train at the club academy and/or enroll in the Open tournaments we host frequently. It is Open level rec tennis without the limits of USTA-defined ratings leagues where you can be a national champion in USTA 3.5/4.0 leagues, but get your ass kicked every time at club events. The hierarchy of rating player caliber is like the pros where the best singles players are considered the best players.

Is it the same at your club?
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Having played at clubs in Southern California and now moving to the *******, I think this is kind of a coastal thing. Many (certainly not all) clubs in Southern California are very affordable because the competition for players is so high. It’s beautiful outside 360 days a year and many municipal courts are as nice as club courts. In my experience, this often led to affordable club fees. Obviously there are the swanky clubs and clubs that offer grass and/or clay courts that are more expensive, but when I left San Diego Barnes was less expensive than the clubs where I live now.
Because of the cost of club membership in the mid west it is almost exclusively people 40+ which means way less singles players. There’s also way fewer 5.0 players in general when you get away from the coasts.
 
I still think it depends. If you mean a 3.5 team, sure. But high level doubles is just a different game. There are 4.5-5.0 singles players that hate doubles, and for that reason, do not play well against comparable 4.5-5.0 doubles players. Of course, there are many high level players that know both games and sure, those guys are the "best" on the team. But my point is not all great singles players can hang at the same level in doubles.

But yea, many rec level 3.5-4.0+ singles players are probably fine at the same level in doubles, but it's not a universal.
 
JT_2eighty said:
I still think it depends. If you mean a 3.5 team, sure. But high level doubles is just a different game. There are 4.5-5.0 singles players that hate doubles, and for that reason, do not play well against comparable 4.5-5.0 doubles players. Of course, there are many high level players that know both games and sure, those guys are the "best" on the team. But my point is not all great singles players can hang at the same level in doubles.

But yea, many rec level 3.5-4.0+ singles players are probably fine at the same level in doubles, but it's not a universal.
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Agreed. Even at the pro level there are even some folks in the top 10 who get nervous when they approach the net. So it’s not a given that at the rec level a very good singles player is automatically a good doubles player.

Doubles requires different strokes and a different approach. Even an older doubles pair that has played together for a long time will beat two better and younger singles players who haven’t played much with each other and don’t approach the net much in singles.
 
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Observation! Why should I get more respect at the club playing singles than I would get from Da GF at home? She’s seen me at my best and most maladroit.
 
Creighton said:
I've just never seen this ever be an issue. Generally, the good singles players can play at least a half level above their singles rating in doubles. In singles you have to be able to hit all the shots well enough relative to your level. In doubles, you can hide your flaws.
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It's true, whether justified or not, if someone can't play singles physically the other players will use a qualifying adjective to describe them. Such as "he has great hands, great doubles player"...."When he plays with Jim, they are a hard doubles team to beat". Rarely would it be "He's a great tennis player".
 
JordanWinning said:
Having played at clubs in Southern California and now moving to the *******, I think this is kind of a coastal thing. Many (certainly not all) clubs in Southern California are very affordable because the competition for players is so high. It’s beautiful outside 360 days a year and many municipal courts are as nice as club courts. In my experience, this often led to affordable club fees. Obviously there are the swanky clubs and clubs that offer grass and/or clay courts that are more expensive, but when I left San Diego Barnes was less expensive than the clubs where I live now.
Because of the cost of club membership in the mid west it is almost exclusively people 40+ which means way less singles players. There’s also way fewer 5.0 players in general when you get away from the coasts.
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I find it's not the expense in the south, it's the population density problem. It's interesting the mid west is more $$$. In the south it's almost free to play, $20 for a ball machine indoors, $10 for clinics that are 1.5 hours. They still don't have enough bodies to play despite the cheap cost. Most cities have clubs that cost $100 a month.

Comparing that to Texas that has cheap and expensive clubs, but millions upon millions more people, and results in more players.
 
socallefty said:
At my tennis club in SoCal, players who play exclusively 4.5/5.0 doubles don’t get much respect. It is because there are a lot of players at those levels (usually ex-college players) who excel at both singles and doubles. You are always a second-class citizen just like in the pros if you refuse invitations to play singles. To get real respect, you have to be willing to play singles with the double-digit UTR rated juniors who train at the club academy and also enroll in the Open tournaments we host frequently. It is Open level rec tennis without the limits of USTA-defined ratings leagues where you can be a national champion in USTA 3.5/4.0 leagues, but get your ass kicked every time at club events.

Is it the same at your club?
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i play both, and generally agree, that folks only really ask, "who won the (singles) tournament?"...
that said, i got alot of respect for really good doubles players, especially the ones that can't move as much, but can still control the ball amazingly well (i've been beat by many doubles specialists that i would crush in singles)
my doubles game has definitely helped my singles game.... though still not even close to being competitive with double digit utrs.
agree that i definitely give more props to folks who will put themselves on the line and play open tourneys (i've been bageled at many :P)... i wish my club hosted more...
 
Creighton said:
I don't think there is any question that singles player tend to be the best players on any team. Seems to be a trend in every section/district I've played.
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I think it is particularly true at 4.5+ levels. At lower levels, it is mostly self-taught players and some of them might specialize in playing only singles or doubles. Especially younger 3.5/4.0 guys might be decent at singles, but have never played much doubles. Conversely, you have older guys who learned tennis late and just stuck with playing doubles mostly.

At 4.5+ levels, most players likely played junior tennis under coaches all the way till high school or college and know the nuances of singles and doubles. Of course, only a few of them continue to keep playing singles as they age over 50 while the rest stick to doubles as it suits their fitness and schedules better. The guys who still grind away at singles at a high level over the age of 50 generally work out more and train their fitness in order to be ready for 3-set singles matches and playing back-to-back matches in tournaments.
 
jaxadam said:
So ex-D1 guys who ping pong back and forth between 4.5 and 5.0 over the years that are old enough to play 55, which does not have a singles line, then go to sectionals then go to nationals, are not “real 4.5’s?” Gotcha
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Yes, that is correct, unless they are also playing some kind of 18s singles competition. If I am reading this post correctly you are talking about yourself or someone you know who never plays singles and only plays 55 and over doubles, including sectionals and nationals?

Whether you realize it or not, others don't consider those guys the best players in a tennis environment, nor are they "true" 4.5s. They are great, master, doubles players though. There are plenty of ex division 1 25-30 year old 4.5s .
 
FuzzyYellowBalls said:
Yes, that is correct, unless they are also playing some kind of 18s singles competition. If I am reading this post correctly you are talking about yourself or someone you know who never plays singles and only plays 55 and over doubles, including sectionals and nationals?

Whether you realize it or not, others don't consider those guys the best players in a tennis environment, nor are they "true" 4.5s. They are great, master, doubles players though. There are plenty of ex division 1 25-30 year old 4.5s .
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I’ll be sure to let everybody know.(y)
 
FuzzyYellowBalls said:
Yes, that is correct, unless they are also playing some kind of 18s singles competition. If I am reading this post correctly you are talking about yourself or someone you know who never plays singles and only plays 55 and over doubles, including sectionals and nationals?

Whether you realize it or not, others don't consider those guys the best players in a tennis environment, nor are they "true" 4.5s. They are great, master, doubles players though. There are plenty of ex division 1 25-30 year old 4.5s .
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Let’s not change the original point of this thread which as someone stated correctly was a dumb one. I see the original post has since been edited as OP saw most disagreed with his original stance.

Let’s not bring up nationals and sectionals or that there might be folks good at both singles and doubles.

This was a simple original post where the assertion was made that you have to play singles to get respect in a given club. As others have pointed out there are many crappy singles players out there as well and many excellent players who play doubles predominantly as they no longer have the wheels or stamina to play singles. Lumping them all into two giant buckets of singles vs doubles players never made any sense.
 
socallefty said:
Conversely, you have older guys who learned tennis late and just stuck with playing doubles mostly.
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I fall into this camp. I started off playing just doubles, but I did start playing singles after I started to take weekly private lessons.
 
JT_2eighty said:
Q: Do doubles players get respect at your club?
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I'm not a member of a tennis club. My HOA maintains five (5) tennis courts for our use. Any player (singles or doubles) at 4.0 NTRP and above gets my respect. These players show me that with hard work and persistence, one is able to improve.
 
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