Doubles players - what to do when you are paired with a weaker partner

[directionals]

In my experience, when I'm paired with a much weaker player(same Ntrp, but almost a 0.5 difference), opponents will likely send the ball to the weaker player most of the time. What could the team do to increase their chance of winning when this happens?

I was talking to a coach the other day and he said that the team needs to poach a lot more than normal so the opponents can't target a specific player. I never thought about it I that way. I guess that kind of makes sense. Thoughts?

 

[LeeD]

Hit penetrating shots, cover the middle, never rely on consistency.

 

[Mr.Lob]

I played doubles a few days, my partner at the time really sucked. Just tell them to stand on top of the net and you'll cover the rest of the court. Otherwise they're volleying into the net, making tons of errors. If partner is playing back... then go for a winner the first chance you get. That is if they are picking on weak partner.

 

[Bionic slice]

I think mr lob has a good point, also make sure they cover the ally and make sure they get a serve in the box!!!

 

[jrs]

Still working on this one. One thing I tried was to position ourselves so that the partner gets to hit his favourite shot. In this case it was the lob - so the plan was he stays back lob and I play front court - trying to put away weak returns to net or mid court.

Sadly at match time - he decided he wants to volley and came to the net - we ended up loosing to a better team - never did find out if the strategy would have worked. Maybe next time.

 

[Turbo-87]

I played doubles a few days, my partner at the time really sucked. Just tell them to stand on top of the net and you'll cover the rest of the court. Otherwise they're volleying into the net, making tons of errors. If partner is playing back... then go for a winner the first chance you get. That is if they are picking on weak partner.

This is very good advice in my opinion. Just yesterday I was in this position with a guy I had never played with before. When he was at the net, he volleyed a lot of them into the net and became a target. He moved closer to the net and was more successful requiring the opponents to hit deeper. I can cover the ground when needed so it worked out. I poached whenever I could, although I wasn't as successful as I would have liked and got eaten up in the alley a few times.

 

[Avles]

I played doubles a few days, my partner at the time really sucked. Just tell them to stand on top of the net and you'll cover the rest of the court. Otherwise they're volleying into the net, making tons of errors. If partner is playing back... then go for a winner the first chance you get. That is if they are picking on weak partner.

Heheh, to this day I'd never realized why the first time I played doubles, my partner summoned me to confer and said "next point, try standing right next to the net."

it all makes sense now...

 

[cknobman]

Yell "DUCK!!!" a lot.

 

[LuckyR]

In my experience, when I'm paired with a much weaker player(same Ntrp, but almost a 0.5 difference), opponents will likely send the ball to the weaker player most of the time. What could the team do to increase their chance of winning when this happens?

I was talking to a coach the other day and he said that the team needs to poach a lot more than normal so the opponents can't target a specific player. I never thought about it I that way. I guess that kind of makes sense. Thoughts?

Poaching a lot when that is not your typical game is not a recipe for success. Think about it, if the other team is going to send every ball to your partner regardless (which is not that common of a strategy in my experience, but we're talking about your experience, not mine), then you guys have a serious advantage. You need to park the guy who is getting all of the action where it is a huge tactical error for the other team to hit the ball to him, namely on top of the net. After they lose a bunch of points, if they have a brain their heads they'll stop doing that, so you guys need to be able to switch back to having him play in a better partof the court because in a normal game there are serious problems with having him draped over the net.

 

[Captain Ron]

Poaching a lot when that is not your typical game is not a recipe for success. Think about it, if the other team is going to send every ball to your partner regardless (which is not that common of a strategy in my experience, but we're talking about your experience, not mine), then you guys have a serious advantage. You need to park the guy who is getting all of the action where it is a huge tactical error for the other team to hit the ball to him, namely on top of the net. After they lose a bunch of points, if they have a brain their heads they'll stop doing that, so you guys need to be able to switch back to having him play in a better partof the court because in a normal game there are serious problems with having him draped over the net.

Agree if the weaker player can volley at all.
However, I have played with some partners who were allergic to the net and couldn't volley a grapefruit. If that is the case, try parking them deep in a corner and you cover the other 3/4 of the court. Its tough because you can't get an advantage in court position but you can decide when to poach and enter the point (hint, do it early).
Also, most of net allergic players can at least lob something back deep. Not the best option but sometimes this is your best shot. I find the key is to keep the weaker player in their comfort zone and don't ask them to do to much.

 

[burosky]

I find the key is to keep the weaker player in their comfort zone and don't ask them to do to much.

Captain Ron hit the nail on the head. To have the best chance of winning the game in this situation is to put your partner in a position where he/she can play his/her best.

 

[LuckyR]

Agree if the weaker player can volley at all.
However, I have played with some partners who were allergic to the net and couldn't volley a grapefruit. If that is the case, try parking them deep in a corner and you cover the other 3/4 of the court. Its tough because you can't get an advantage in court position but you can decide when to poach and enter the point (hint, do it early).
Also, most of net allergic players can at least lob something back deep. Not the best option but sometimes this is your best shot. I find the key is to keep the weaker player in their comfort zone and don't ask them to do to much.

I cannot imagine such a player as you describe, but if they exist, I guess I'd rather not play at all...

 

[Captain Ron]

I cannot imagine such a player as you describe, but if they exist, I guess I'd rather not play at all...

Try social doubles and many low level/entry teams if you want to find them. They are out there, I've played with a few.
As you move up in ability/experience this issue goes away.

 

[directionals]

Poaching a lot when that is not your typical game is not a recipe for success. Think about it, if the other team is going to send every ball to your partner regardless (which is not that common of a strategy in my experience, but we're talking about your experience, not mine), then you guys have a serious advantage. You need to park the guy who is getting all of the action where it is a huge tactical error for the other team to hit the ball to him, namely on top of the net. After they lose a bunch of points, if they have a brain their heads they'll stop doing that, so you guys need to be able to switch back to having him play in a better part of the court because in a normal game there are serious problems with having him draped over the net.

Well, a key part of the issue is how to protect my partner's ego. I can't just tell him (or her in mixed) to get on top of the net. That's like me telling him that he sucks. I've heard suggestions to park partner at the doubles alley and then you cover the rest of the court. I actually think that's a pretty good idea except that I don't know how to tell a partner to do that without hurting his/her ego.

You would be amazed how many people don't know they're the weaker one in a doubles team. One time I was playing a tournament with a gal and I told her our opponents are always sending the ball her way and ask what we needed to do. Of course she said she didn't think the opponents were targeting her.

 

[anubis]

In my experience, when I'm paired with a much weaker player(same Ntrp, but almost a 0.5 difference), opponents will likely send the ball to the weaker player most of the time. What could the team do to increase their chance of winning when this happens?

I was talking to a coach the other day and he said that the team needs to poach a lot more than normal so the opponents can't target a specific player. I never thought about it I that way. I guess that kind of makes sense. Thoughts?

You can't prevent your opponents from hitting the ball to your partner and avoiding you altogether. What you can do, however, is be more aggressive at the net. Really stay on top of the net so you cut off the angles.

When your partner is serving, you can sometimes sacrifice your position to hit a winning volley as well.

 

[918baller]

I have a lot of experience playing with weaker partners, here are my steps to success:

Mental:
Encourage and motivate your partner: be a team leader on the court and always encourage, especially when you are down. Your partner will be more relaxed and play better.
Be positive and maintain focus: it is easy to get discouraged if your partner misses several returns. Keep focused, win your points, keep giving your partner chances.

On Court:
Dominate, be aggressive and put the ball away: as the better player your role should be to win or set up winning positions. Make your opponents worry about where you are with plenty of movement.
Win your Serve: one less game to worry about.

Tactical:
Be aware of tactical situations and change them if needed: see what is working and what is not. As the better player it is your job to fix it or at least change situations.
Give suggestions not orders: try to keep to a minimum and always give a reason for the suggestion.

 

[Ironwood]

How about being paired recently with a much weaker partner in a club mens 1 set round robin, who decides he is going to direct how we play. His direction was mostly sound basic stuff, except he insisted on taking the back hand and had trouble getting any wide serves back...and recognizing his lack of mobility, guess where most serves went! The evening was meant to be a fun mens night so I just went along, but we lost all three sets played....and I'm sure he's complaining to his friends that he had a partner who couldn't hold his own! Funny how many club players have an inflated sense of their playing ability.

 

[Alchemy-Z]

This typically happens to me in Mixed so I do as follows:

1- Play backhand side - that way I get the last crack at breaking our opponent - or getting us back to duece to give my partner another chance.

2- Poach often when they are serving to help them hold serve.

3- play terrible in warm up so not to give the other team their "game plan" right out of the gate and fight hard for an early break before they catch on who not to hit too anymore (has worked for 3 matches but once the area league people know you it's off the table as an option)

4-pump up my partner- if they make a good shot normally comment like - "there's a classic (partners name) shot" so to imply maybe they are getting dialed in and give the other team some doubt.

5- keep it light hearted being a weaker player you already know you are so no more pressure is going to help- make it fun laugh off the missed and help them stay loose.

6- keep points short- any rally is a chance for them to re-direct to your partner every ball you get is your chance to score your team the point.

7- typically keep the weaker player at net so you can clean up the back court and move in on the approach shots to close the net with your partner and in many cases you can set them up for easy put aways

 

[directionals]

Good stuff, 918baller and Alchemy!

In league matches, I say stuff like "Good try!", "Keep trying and we'll get it next time." I don't know if that adds to my partner's anxiety or not. I also high-five when we win a point.

Anyway, in social, and especially mixed games, I just laugh and giggle and don't care much if we win or not

 

[eelhc]

Here's a simple one... Put the weak player on the deuce side regardless of their comfort zone... Far less critical points on that side.

 

[Alchemy-Z]

Good stuff, 918baller and Alchemy!

In league matches, I say stuff like "Good try!", "Keep trying and we'll get it next time." I don't know if that adds to my partner's anxiety or not. I also high-five when we win a point.

Anyway, in social, and especially mixed games, I just laugh and giggle and don't care much if we win or not

At the end of the day you just have to remember why you are on court-FUN

sometimes the dumb errors are better to have a chuckle about then be upset with.

anytime I make a bone headed error I will typically say "and that's why i never went pro"

 

[jaggy]

Hold back a step as they usually are prone to being lobbed and you will have to cover

 

[RetroSpin]

>>You would be amazed how many people don't know they're the weaker one in a doubles team.<<

Haha, so true. What a coincidence that everyone here is always the stronger player.

 

[LuckyR]

Well, a key part of the issue is how to protect my partner's ego. I can't just tell him (or her in mixed) to get on top of the net. That's like me telling him that he sucks. I've heard suggestions to park partner at the doubles alley and then you cover the rest of the court. I actually think that's a pretty good idea except that I don't know how to tell a partner to do that without hurting his/her ego.

You would be amazed how many people don't know they're the weaker one in a doubles team. One time I was playing a tournament with a gal and I told her our opponents are always sending the ball her way and ask what we needed to do. Of course she said she didn't think the opponents were targeting her.

Well half of people who play tennis are the "weaker" player on the doubles team, this is a given and actually no big deal. The vast majority of the time it doesn't matter, since hitting to the weaker player when they are playing the stronger position is a huge tactical error. This is akin to the singles "strategy" of hitting the ball to the weaker wing mindlessly.

Regardless of what players say, they know they aren't as good as their partner, so you aren't giving them information they don't already know. The problem usually isn't the the weaker player is clueless that they are weaker, it is that the stronger player is making way too big a deal about it.

 

[ECUmedford]

I've had the same problem two matched into playing in a combo league. The first guy it was his first time playing doubles and a league match ever. So they targeted him like crazy. He hits great during practice but he was sailing his shots out every time because he shortened his swing. I don't think he'll make this mistake anymore. We improved from 6-0 first set to 6-4 in the second.

My second match was with a guy that hits serves and groundstrokes harder than any pro I have ever seen in my life...of course they weren't even close to finding the court or service box. Even simple wide open put away shots were blasted to the middle of the fence. Next time I'm just gonna tell them to be a good 3.0 player and dink it over the net.

 

[bigislander]

Still working on this one. One thing I tried was to position ourselves so that the partner gets to hit his favourite shot. In this case it was the lob - so the plan was he stays back lob and I play front court - trying to put away weak returns to net or mid court.

Sadly at match time - he decided he wants to volley and came to the net - we ended up loosing to a better team - never did find out if the strategy would have worked. Maybe next time.

That would've been a good strategy: weaker player at the backcourt especially if he has an adequate lob, because he would have a better chance of getting the ball in play where you can play aggressive and cutoff anything within reach.

Even during your serve or return suggest that he play from behind the baseline. Better opponents will target and can regularly force errors if he would be anywhere inside of the court; especially the transition area. Been the stronger in 8.0 mixed and the weaker in Open men's with this strategy that paid off.

 

[Mr.Lob]

That would've been a good strategy: weaker player at the backcourt especially if he has an adequate lob, because he would have a better chance of getting the ball in play where you can play aggressive and cutoff anything within reach.

Even during your serve or return suggest that he play from behind the baseline. Better opponents will target and can regularly force errors if he would be anywhere inside of the court; especially the transition area. Been the stronger in 8.0 mixed and the weaker in Open men's with this strategy that paid off.

Guy at net will be eating forehand or smashes off partners weak lobs. Doubtful he'll have many chances to cutoff anything on a lob.

 

[escii_35]

(3.5-4.0) If you are playing with a singles person with non pusher groundies they will give you good serves and either high precision or high pace shots. Your job is be ready for a chumpy reply and put it away.

The problem happens when both the opponents have a fluid net game and solid overheads.

Manage your frustration during your service games and don't get cranky. Your pard will be less then helpful finish off that wonderful serve you just managed.

As a craptastic dubs player I avoid it until I see a cooler of beer is involved. Mixed is fun because unless they are a top flight 3.5F-4.5M team there is always a target somewhere to take advantage of. Also, my pard never gets mad at me for sitting back on her serve :twisted:

 

[tennis tom]

If you have a big serve, it may not help you if your weak partner can't put your opponent's setters away for winners at the net. You may be better off taking something off your serve, allowing your opponents to screw up their return and giving you more time to get in.

Or--tell your weak partner to just sit down on the bench, read a paper, tennis instruction book or a rule book and you'll do the rest.

 

[AtomicForehand]

If you have a big serve, it may not help you if your weak partner can't put your opponent's setters away for winners at the net.

This.

Or when your weak partner can't recognize ANY put-away ball, and you wonder just why you are working so hard to set them up.

 

[Captain Ron]

This.



Or when your weak partner can't recognize ANY put-away ball, and you wonder just why you are working so hard to set them up.

It is very tough when you work hard to set them up for something they don't/can't handle.
Drives me crazy when they don't put away an easy volley. Of course, I'm sure it drives them crazy when I can't hold my own on a cross court groundstroke exchange they set me up for by nicely staying home and covering the line
Funny how it is so easy for me to see the weaknesses in my partners games but not their strengths. I'm going to try and remember to look for their strengths!

 

[tennisdad65]

Get used to losing ... a lot. Just have fun playing and use this as an opportunity to improve your game.

 

[directionals]

I'll run into this situation again this weekend. I'm going to play first-strike tennis and keep the points short, hopefully with the points going my way.

When I played with a weak partner before, I would poach a lot when my partner was serving. The opposing team eventually figured out and then lobbed their returns. It became very hard for me to even have a chance to touch the ball during my partner's serve. Any last minute tips?

 

[beernutz]

Get used to losing ... a lot. Just have fun playing and use this as an opportunity to improve your game.

This. Unfortunately I am not mentally strong enough to do this so I just avoid playing with UE machines altogether. It has cost me some social tennis playing opportunities but I sleep a lot sounder.

 

[Captain Ron]

I'll run into this situation again this weekend. I'm going to play first-strike tennis and keep the points short, hopefully with the points going my way.



When I played with a weak partner before, I would poach a lot when my partner was serving. The opposing team eventually figured out and then lobbed their returns. It became very hard for me to even have a chance to touch the ball during my partner's serve. Any last minute tips?

Find where the weaker partner is most comfortable and put them there and keep them there. You do/cover everything else!
If they like to stay back and hit from the baseline, cover every thing at net and your side. If they like to volley and poach, stay back and cover the court so they can play their game. Remember, even things that aren't your cup of tea, you are still better at.
Don't make them finish the point, keep the pressure off them and let them do what they can. Good luck and have fun!

 

[tennis_ocd]

This.

Or when your weak partner can't recognize ANY put-away ball, and you wonder just why you are working so hard to set them up.

95% of returners are focused on going cross court away from the net person. Sometimes it's just better to permit them to do this.

Thought of this thread last week while playing mixed with a new partner. I was initially active at net and in dogfight. She couldn't move or play net but slowly realized she was more than capable of holding her own on cross court rallys -- even against the man, if I just covered the line and stayed out of her way. Coasted remainder of match.

 

[smboogie]

To me it's all for fun, even with a weaker partner. I keep encouragement up. For warmups I never play better than my partner, just keep it to their level so as not to give away too much, I'd rather let my opponent figure it out (this could also mean dogging easy points early during a game).

I tend to be faster and cover all lobs either way since I play with older guys and have more consistent strokes/serves.
On my serve I work to get them a good setup shot to make points and gain confidence early.

I think it's just part of the league and what can make it fun but I know the guys on both teams I play so there are rarely any surprises on game day.

 

[chatt_town]

Hopefully the person can half way volley. In which case, I try to encourage them to stay on the net. I also try to serve the ball where it will hopefully come back to me. For example...most one handed backhands don't direct the ball up the line that well from the ad court...so I serve the ball to their backhand hoping it comes back to me and not my partner. In the deuce court...same thing if I can. There will be some times you can't do this but it helps if you are hitting most of the balls. The other thing is I try to have them play the deuce court where I can hit most of the overheads and forehands from the middle of the court.

In my experience, when I'm paired with a much weaker player(same Ntrp, but almost a 0.5 difference), opponents will likely send the ball to the weaker player most of the time. What could the team do to increase their chance of winning when this happens?

I was talking to a coach the other day and he said that the team needs to poach a lot more than normal so the opponents can't target a specific player. I never thought about it I that way. I guess that kind of makes sense. Thoughts?

 

[kingcheetah]

I think the key is for both players to stay active, poach more than usual, mix up what you're doing. When you're the serving team, always have a strategy as far as where the serve is going and where the partner will go...make the opponent have to think. I can handle playing with a player that may be weaker, as long as they play a style I can gel with. If they're too busy playing conservatively in the alley, or putting all their serves out wide where the opponents have angles, it could be a long day for me, as I like to play actively and attack the middle... in that case I think the key for the more aggressive player is to stay active, but not try to force anything (which is tough, as pushing in doubles isn't a very good plan, so you want to end the points early.)

 

[Bud]

Plant him/her right on the net and tell them not to move.

 

[luvn10is]

I take live ball drills from a coach who teaches great strategy. He's taught me how using a variety of planned switches and poaches can help keep your opponents off your partner and turn a match.

We have one play called switch on serve. The receiver returns the ball as normal. As soon as the ball bounces, we switch sides. Sometimes the opponent is so focused on the ball they don't even see us move. Other times they see movement and miss or they change their stroke and don't hit it as well as they want. You can do this with both players at the baseline or one up/one back.

On serve, we signal every point. In this situation, in addition to the standard stay and go, we add two more; fake and no.

Fake means we both fake. This is a hard fake, not the soft head and shoulders kind. You actually have to take a quick step or two in the off direction before hustling back into position. Your opponent only has a chance to glimpse your positions before they must deal with the ball. If you sell it, they'll think you've switched when you really haven't gone anywhere.

The no literally means nothing. I use it mostly with people who don't like to poach or who don't poach well and end up staying more often than not. That's what makes them easy targets. My partner gives the dummy signal, I say 'No', they signal stay, the ball goes into play and we both fake hard. Often, the opponent is thinking we're finally going to switch and they end up hitting the ball to where they think the weaker person is going. But this will stop working quickly if the weaker player doesn't actually poach every once in a while. The beauty with this one is it works just as well with people who poach a lot. If you move it around in different formations such as Australian and I, it gives the opponent a little extra to think about.

The most important thing is when you're not switching you must fake. You're just wasting good sweat for nothing if you do one without the other. Also, talk about every switch before you make it. Do nothing in the blind. And don't overdo it. The more you switch, the wider the middle becomes. Besides, a little switching goes a long way. You only have to do it once or twice every game or two to plant the seed that the only thing your opponent can expect is the unexpected.

And no matter how hard it is, play nice with your weaker partner. In my 20+ years, I've only had to deal with a handful of people who thought they were too good to be on the court with me and only a couple of them were stupid enough to show it. In those cases, I lobbed a lot. And the more vile my partner acted, the shorter my lob became. Just saying.

 

[directionals]

Just wanted to post an update - I decided to play first strike tennis. In the first set, I held my service games, and tried to finish the point almost every time I had a chance to hit the ball. I poached quite a bit in my partner's service games. Unfortunately, my partner didn't want to poach. We came close to going to a tiebreak. In the second set, our opponents caught on and sent most of the balls to my partner. We only got 1 game in the second set. Lesson learned - I should have done some poaching after my partner hit her returns. That might have given me more chances to hit the ball.