Doubles groundstrokes — are they different?

[eb_tennis_247]

I’ve been playing lots of doubles at 3.5/4.0 level and I notice that there are many players who very successfully hit hacky, slicey, and pushing groundstrokes that would not work that well and at that level in singles, but are quite effective in doubles.

I find my singles groundstrokes not at effective because the balls are shorter, have less pace, are often chipped.

So, my question is:

• should one work on doubles-only similar choppy, fast and abbreviated groundstrokes for doubles wins, … or
• should one just work to tune singles top spin and flat groundstrokes for the narrower court and somewhat different pace

 

[Mark-Touch]

I’ve been playing lots of doubles at 3.5/4.0 level and I notice that there are many players who very successfully hit hacky, slicey, and pushing groundstrokes that would not work that well and at that level in singles, but are quite effective in doubles.

I find my singles groundstrokes not at effective because the balls are shorter, have less pace, are often chipped.

So, my question is:

• should one work on doubles-only similar choppy, fast and abbreviated groundstrokes for doubles wins, … or
• should one just work to tune singles top spin and flat groundstrokes for the narrower court and somewhat different pace

I also play a lot of doubles.
It depends on what your goal is for the matches.
If your goal is simply to win, then yes you need to re-tool your strokes to fit the doubles game.
The only time you can hit all out ground strokes is when you are at or behind the baseline and you are in a corner.
Then you will usually hit to the other corner.

But for pretty much all other strokes you need to abbreviate your swing, at times choke up on your grip,
go for placement rather than power. Use as much finesse as you can. Drop shots, angles, lobs, slices etc.

If your goal is like mine, to use the doubles as a session to practice certain strokes (in my case ground strokes)
then hit out for most of your shots and forget about the score.

 

[eb_tennis_247]

If your goal is like mine, to use the doubles as a session to practice certain strokes (in my case ground strokes)
then hit out for most of your shots and forget about the score.

I am actually with you on this. I fear that doubles style tennis will degrade my singles game. I play doubles to practice my game under pressure and to add some good elements — volleys, overheads.

 

[Steady Eddy]

I think it will improve your net game. Playing the net has fallen out of favor, and that could help your singles when your opponents aren't used to seeing someone at the net. If they continue to hit high, hard, drives, you'll have an easy time volleying them for winners.

 

[LuckyR]

If your singles game is as a counterpuncher, you're good to go for doubles. OTOH, if you're a power baseliner then you've either got to 1) be pinpoint accurate, 2) develop some slice, or 3) crank up the pace so your topspin groundies are difficult to handle.

 

[socallefty]

I find my singles groundstrokes not at effective because the balls are shorter, have less pace, are often chipped.

Are you saying you are unable to hit good shots because the balls you are getting in doubles are shorter, have less pace or are chipped with underspin? I don’t know if I’m misunderstanding you, but if this is the case, then it just means you have to learn footwork to get to short balls quickly, learn to generate your own pace and learn how to handle slice. Maybe all you know is how to counterpunch in singles when someone gives you pace and topspin.

For me, there is no difference between the ground strokes to hit in doubles or singles except the fact that you want to keep shots away from the opposing net guy which means that you have to keep the trajectory lower and you have to aim at targets well away from the net guy.

 

[toth]

I usually play on clay
For me in doubles i can and i must take the incoming ball earlier (we play one up one back), and in singles i rather take the balls a bit more behind - more higher ball, more loopy ralies.
I assume on faster surfaces it is different too.

 

[nyta2]

i started playing dubs, to *enhance* my singles play (specifically shots in the mid and forecourt)

I’ve been playing lots of doubles at 3.5/4.0 level and I notice that there are many players who very successfully hit hacky, slicey, and pushing groundstrokes that would not work that well and at that level in singles, but are quite effective in doubles.

I find my singles groundstrokes not at effective because the balls are shorter, have less pace, are often chipped.

So, my question is:

• should one work on doubles-only similar choppy, fast and abbreviated groundstrokes for doubles wins, … or

also useful in singles, against some opponents (or as a varaition within a match)...
short chips (to draw in players that like to play deeep behind the baseline)
fast/semi-abbreviated gs are useful when approaching on slower moving balls that you can take on the rise

• should one just work to tune singles top spin and flat groundstrokes for the narrower court and somewhat different pace

you could just focus on this... but you'll probably just be a 1 up 1 back type player (with you bashing from the baseline, hopefully trying to setup your net partner)... which obviously works in the pros too
but you'll probably need shots to counter doubles players that play 2 up (eg. lobs, dippers, along with your normal drive)

 

[ey039524]

Yes, for example, if you float balls down the middle, you're going to get your net partner tatooed. One way to get your opponents to float balls is to give your opponent low slices so they have to hit up on it, which will set up your net partner. The catch is if you slice, you need to keep it low and away from the net opponent. If I see someone prepping for a slice, I'm automatically pinching the middle and anticipating poaching their shot. At the 3.5/4.0 level, you'll get a lot of opportunities to poach a ball that sits up too much.

 

[Tenthinker]

At the 3.5-4 levels many doubles teams don’t really play that game the way it’s played at higher levels…ie get to and control the net, volley, smash, serving from wider position, signaling to server, etc. So, the types of shots you need to be good at at lower levels are more defensively foxy…putting the ball where either of your opponents can’t get it, or at least difficult for them. There aren’t a lot of fast paced shots like singles, other than occasional cross-court rallies away from the net players. I’d like to think playing both can complement each other with getting better with different types of shots, though, and there are some instructors who will do doubles oriented skills training sessions with groups. Personally I find playing mostly singles improves my game the most, and not all doubles is even enjoyable or good enough exercise.

 

[onehandbh]

I've been mostly playing doubles for the last few years and going back to singles has been challenging.

What I noticed.

Hitting with depth is much more effective in singles. Especially on returns.

Need better approach shots in singles and to pick the right time/opportunity. In doubles I can just charge the net any time bc there is much less distance and court to cover at the net.

Singles also requires much more foot speed /court coverage.

Easier to hide weaknesses and laziness in doubles.

 

[socallefty]

Unless someone has a huge serve that forces me to stay back after returns, I’m not hitting too many doubles groundstrokes. Generally a big priority for me is to try to get to net after the +1 shot on both serves and returns.

 

[Mark-Touch]

Unless someone has a huge serve that forces me to stay back after returns, I’m not hitting too many doubles groundstrokes. Generally a big priority for me is to try to get to net after the +1 shot on both serves and returns.

This means you are playing against/with decent players.

Most of the players I am playing with have poor movement.
I'd love to come to net as often as possible but I simply can't.
Any decent lob over my head and the point is basically theirs because my partner just can't get to these balls.

So I'm forced to play between the baseline and the service line most of the time.
Of course any offensive shot that pushes our opponents back, scrambling behind their baseline, I'll move up to net.

 

[socallefty]

Most of the players I am playing with have poor movement.
I'd love to come to net as often as possible but I simply can't.
Any decent lob over my head and the point is basically theirs because my partner just can't get to these balls.

Your own shot has to be good enough so that it is not easy to hit good lobs off it. If an opponent tries to lob, it should more often yield easy to moderately easy overheads for your team or errors by the opponent on the attempted lob. At lower levels, there are more lobfests because the shot quality is not good enough to prevent good lobs. I mostly play against 4.5 players and so the level is not that advanced.

Higher the level, the closer the net guy can stand to the net because it is not going to be too easy to hit good lobs off their partner’s serves and shots.

 

[Mark-Touch]

Your own shot has to be good enough so that it is not easy to hit good lobs off it. If an opponent tries to lob, it should more often yield easy to moderately easy overheads for your team or errors by the opponent on the attempted lob. At lower levels, there are more lobfests because the shot quality is not good enough to prevent good lobs. I mostly play against 4.5 players and so the level is not that advanced.

Higher the level, the closer the net guy can stand to the net because it is not going to be too easy to hit good lobs off their partner’s serves and shots.

I'm not talking about my shot.
If I camp out at the net, the opponents first off will almost always try to avoid my side.
When they hit to my partner, they will often hit a shot that the opponents can then lob over my head.

I simply can't play the net with most of my partners, due to their poor movement.

 

[socallefty]

I'm not talking about my shot.
If I camp out at the net, the opponents first off will almost always try to avoid my side.
When they hit to my partner, they will often hit a shot that the opponents can then lob over my head.

I simply can't play the net with most of my partners, due to their poor movement.

I thought this thread was about doubles groundstrokes being hit by the server or returner as their partners will be at the net from the start of the point and don’t hit groundstrokes unless they go back to cover a lob.

It sounds like you are talking about 2-back formations which is not a formation I see much. If one partner is much weaker than the other, then 2-back formations don’t work well either as almost all shots will be directed by the opponents to the weaker player at the baseline. I’ve seen 2-back sometimes when the server is hitting such big serves that the returners can’t get the return consistently past the opposing net guy and it works sometimes if both baseline players are equal in level and one can’t be targeted too much.

 

[Mark-Touch]

I thought this thread was about doubles groundstrokes being hit by the server or returner as their partners will be at the net from the start of the point and don’t hit groundstrokes unless they go back to cover a lob.

It sounds like you are talking about 2-back formations which is not a formation I see much. If one partner is much weaker than the other, then 2-back formations don’t work well either as almost all shots will be directed by the opponents to the weaker player at the baseline. I’ve seen 2-back sometimes when the server is hitting such big serves that the returners can’t get the return consistently past the opposing net guy and it works sometimes if both baseline players are equal in level and one can’t be targeted too much.

Yes that's what I'm forced to play, with most of my partners.
Yes my opponents try to avoid hitting to me most of the time.
Because my partners are such poor movers, I need to cover not only my side,
but also the fore-court of my partners side.

 

[LuckyR]

Unless someone has a huge serve that forces me to stay back after returns, I’m not hitting too many doubles groundstrokes. Generally a big priority for me is to try to get to net after the +1 shot on both serves and returns.

I have the same goal, but rely on chip returns (low pace, low trajectory) instead of ripping +1 shots.

 

[socallefty]

Yes that's what I'm forced to play, with most of my partners.
Yes my opponents try to avoid hitting to me most of the time.
Because my partners are such poor movers, I need to cover not only my side,
but also the fore-court of my partners side.

If stuck with a much weaker partner who is also much weaker than our opponents, here is what I’ve found to be somewhat effective.

• On my serves and returns, I have my partner stand very close to the net so that they can at least block and put away some easy volleys that I hopefully set up for them.
• On my partner’s serves and returns, I stand in what I call centerfield - close to the center line inside the service box about 4-5 feet in front of the service line. I take the middle away, give only a smaller part of the court for my partner to cover, take most lob options away while being vulnerable only to the DTL shots which is over the high part of the net and less easy to execute. I usually get a lot more shots at the net plus overheads than I would if I stood in a more typical position closer to the net and also take more court away from my opponents so that they make more errors trying to target my partner. My partner won’t get them to hit too many ball to me at the net otherwise if I stand at my normal spot. And 2-back is a waste of time as I won’t see any balls with a much weaker partner standing next to me at the baseline. So, it is the least unfavorable of only difficult options available and gives me as the stronger player more shots to influence the outcome.

We still might not win, but will get a closer match under the circumstances. But only if my partner is willing to accept his role - if he is a weak player who in addition doesn’t want our formations to minimize the balls hit to him, then it is game over from the start.

 

[socallefty]

I have the same goal, but rely on chip returns (low pace, low trajectory) instead of ripping +1 shots.

Try to get to the net quickly with whatever option is best shot selection at that time - hard deep shots, wide shots, slices, lobs, good shots at the net guy can all work if executed properly and the serve caliber allows it.