Doubles Problem

[Jonny]

I've been finding it really hard to adjust to doubles and just never really feel comfortable in a doubles match. I played a knockout doubles match last night and just couldn't get into the game at all. I wasn't very uncomfortable at the net and felt like i needed to hit big groundstrokes from the back of the court which weren't really coming off as well as they would in a singles match. I also feel under more pressure as well because I don't like to let my partner down when he is playing good tennis and i'm not.

Does anyone else struggle when playing doubles?

 

[aidenous]

Like anything else it takes time and practice and in no time you'll be comfortable in doubles. Have your partner work with you and communicate.

 

[Cindysphinx]

When you say you "couldn't get into the game," do you mean you couldn't get interested, or do you mean you couldn't get involved in the rallies while at net?

If the latter . . . well, sometimes you just have to be really brave. On 40-love or 40-15, tell your partner to hit a good serve up the middle, and when the receiver drops his head hustle across the net and pick that baby off.

If you miss, laugh your head off. If you make it, the receiver will be terrified of you for the rest of the match.

As for your groundies, keep those puppies low and dipping with topspin. Don't worry so much about hitting the baseline.

Doubles is a blast! Hang in there!!!!!

 

[AP328]

Like anything else it takes time and practice and in no time you'll be comfortable in doubles. Have your partner work with you and communicate.

Wait...you're supposed to communicate in doubles?? Is this new?

j/k


Doubles can be fun, but it does take time. I actually like to volley, but don't like to come to the net playing singles. Doubles has allowed me to volley more and improve a lot.


EKU rocks!

 

[BabblingPsychopath]

Wait...you're supposed to communicate in doubles?? Is this new?

Hell yeah! I yell "yours" a lot.

 

[lostinamerica]

Hell yeah! I yell "yours" a lot.

I don't play in New Hampsire but you sound alot like my doubles partner.

 

[PimpMyGame]

Doubles is great, but more about placement than power and depth. Keep it away from that guy/girl at the net and try to get yourselves to the net first. Use lots of topspin to keep the baseliner at the baseline. Be careful using slice as the ball will move slower and allow the volleyer time to rush across and pick it off.

Take 25% off first serves and aim for consistency. Down the middle gives less opportunity for the returner to find a nice angle (meaning your partner at the net can move to a more central position), and serves into the body work well too.

Communicate - keep your partner geared up, don't be dismissive if he/she makes a mistake. Keep talking, maybe use some sign to let your partner know that you will "stay like a rock" or "fly like a bird".

Play percentage tennis at the baseline, but also keep moving if at the net - if you move across to take on a volley and you miss it, don't worry, carry on doing your thing.

Be careful playing lobs, for some reason people who never play this shot seem to think they have carte blanche when in a doubles match. I'd suggest only one in 4 end up as a winner, and statistically you're better off blasting one straight down your opponent's throat.

By the way - at my club night yesterday, I took on two "B" team players and was paired with a 60-something lady who was by far the weakest player on court. We were consistent, made few mistakes and crushed our opponents 6-2.

Finally, don't be disheartened if you feel you're not in the game, or letting your partner down. Keep apologies to a minimum and concentrate on getting your game on track. Next time it may be your partner who's not firing on all cylinders. It's about motivation and also letting your partner play their game. Understand each other's strengths and weaknesses and try to laugh, it's good for your tennis relationship.

 

[Jonny]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I played a lot of mixed league matches over the winter and was finding it hard to get into the doubles routine after playing singles for so long. I honestly don't know what it is that i'm finding so difficult because i hit the ball well from the back of the court in a singles match but then when i hit the same shot in a doubles match it doesn't seem to work as well and i'm not as consistent. The only thing I can think of is maybe because i'm not getting into as much of a rhythm because the points are normally a lot shorter than they are in a singles match and i'm not hitting as many balls? I'll take the advice yous have given me anyway and practice a bit on doubles play and see how i get on in future matches.

 

[QuietDaze]

Someone else who feels my pain! I'm a singles player as well and have a really hard time with doubles. Some of it guilt over mistakes because there's SO much pressure. I also have decent shots from the baseline in singles and I've found that they don't work as well in doubles is because there's 2 other people on the court. The opponent you're trying to get around and your partner who you don't want to nail in the back. At least that's what's going through my mind. Not to mention the sheer confusion of not being sure of where you're supposed to be on the court.

I know I need to play doubles more to get comfortable and in fact have a little tourney this weekend. It's getting easier for me now that my partner and I have some standard communication like 'switch', 'got it' and 'yours' oh and ever necessary 'help'. What we're working on now is not beating ourselves up so much and refraining from giving each other that 'look' when we make an error. (we're married so we don't try to hide it.)

Good luck and keep working on it. At least you know you have another singles person struggling with doubles.

 

[aidenous]

Hell yeah! I yell "yours" a lot.

Yep, when my wife and I play she uses that word a lot.

 

[BabblingPsychopath]

Yep, when my wife and I play she uses that word a lot.

My partner and I occasionally have that ball hit between us that neither of us goes for. The point over, we turn to each other, both say "yours", then have a laugh.

 

[Svenskpor]

I hear ya. My biggest problem playing doubles is being the net guy when my partner is serving. I either don't get to the returns or they hit it right at me and I hit a terrible volley back.

 

[aidenous]

My partner and I occasionally have that ball hit between us that neither of us goes for. The point over, we turn to each other, both say "yours", then have a laugh.

Down the middle is a great shot. Our pro drills us about how we tend to pay more attention to the lines when it's the more difficult shot. He says we get more upset when one shot goes down the line then several shots down the middle. In other words we seem to take it personal when they hit down the line but if it goes down the middle we shrug it off.

He's usually right and keeps saying the same things over and over. I guess with us older people it takes longer to sink in.

 

[MacKenzie]

Down the middle is a great shot. Our pro drills us about how we tend to pay more attention to the lines when it's the more difficult shot. He says we get more upset when one shot goes down the line then several shots down the middle. In other words we seem to take it personal when they hit down the line but if it goes down the middle we shrug it off.

God if that's not the truth! :grin:

 

[QuietDaze]

Down the middle is a great shot. Our pro drills us about how we tend to pay more attention to the lines when it's the more difficult shot. He says we get more upset when one shot goes down the line then several shots down the middle. In other words we seem to take it personal when they hit down the line but if it goes down the middle we shrug it off.

He's usually right and keeps saying the same things over and over. I guess with us older people it takes longer to sink in.

Too funny because Hubby and I both do the exact same thing. We're like 'hey the pros don't even get the ones down the middle.' lol

 

[raiden031]

I have a hard time with doubles. For one I can never get in a rhythm because I spend so much time not hitting the ball, and then I get caught off guard when the ball comes at me. I can't seem to return because I'm too concerned with the netman poaching, so I either hit the ball long, wide, into the net, or right to the net man. Plus I get frustrated if I'm playing with a partner who hits too many UEs because it negates any good shots by me (I'm sure they feel the same way about me sometimes). I double fault alot because way too much time goes by between my service games, so I lose that rhythm. I'm not a good volleyer and tend to overhit or shank most of my volleys.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Our pro has us do a drill sometimes that seems to help with Frozen Middle Syndrome. You know, that disease that afflicts doubles players where they either both stand there flatfooted as the ball sails between them untouched, or they bash their skulls together going for the same ball up the middle?

We play a game where the alleys don't count. That makes it most advantageous to hit up the middle, so we get more practice communicating about those tough up-the-middle balls.

Cindy -- who constantly gets chewed out for saying "MINE!!!" as she hits the ball instead of before

 

[Jonny]

Good to see i'm not the only one anyway.

quietdaze and raiden you seem to suffer from the same problems that I do. I never feel relaxed when playing doubles and always end up going for too much which normally results in me hitting the ball out or wide. I'm not great at the net either so I don't even have a plan b when the baseline play aint working.

Saying that, i do enjoy doubles - I just need to get to grips with it. It's the freedom in singles i find more comfortable and hitting more balls helps a lot too.

 

[BabblingPsychopath]

Our pro has us do a drill sometimes that seems to help with Frozen Middle Syndrome. You know, that disease that afflicts doubles players where they either both stand there flatfooted as the ball sails between them untouched, or they bash their skulls together going for the same ball up the middle?

We play a game where the alleys don't count. That makes it most advantageous to hit up the middle, so we get more practice communicating about those tough up-the-middle balls.

Cindy -- who constantly gets chewed out for saying "MINE!!!" as she hits the ball instead of before

For me I don't think the problem is communication, but more that fine line between "reacting" and "thinking". In singles *every* ball is yours, there is no decision to make. In doubles I react nicely when the ball is clearly mine. Those up the middle causes hesitation ... "should I get this one" ... whatever I decide it is usually too late. My regular partner and I are both perhaps not aggressive enough, not wanting to come off as "ball hogs" making wild swings at a show we only have half a chance of hitting back.

 

[MacKenzie]

I sometimes watch some evening tennis matches (usta) at a private tennis club up the street. I watched this men's doubles match last night. The young guys had to be 5.0's or 5.5's. They were great!

I couldn't wait to see what THEY did that I don't do. cough, cough. :sad: They SELDOM hit the ball down the side lines. Four out of five shots were hit down the middle automatically (without thinking). And they seldom double faulted and almost aways held their serve.

It was then I realized, I don't THINK doubles when playing double; I think singles.

 

[gbeast]

Like anything else it takes time and practice and in no time you'll be comfortable in doubles. Have your partner work with you and communicate.

I just played my VERY FIRST doubles match in a tournament and have never played with my partner and have only played doubles 4 times EVER in my life.
I won the match easily but had to forfeit when the scheduling changed.

Either I am a natural or I watched and studied enough.