Doubles strategies

[FiReFTW]

Ok so we started playing doubles every sunday now, just a little group of ours.

Another guy of a similar level as me, also trains and has good strokes, powerful serve etc..
Girl that is his doubles partner and girl that is my doubles partner are weaker players, they can play and hit solid strokes but more prone to errors, not as good movement, not that good net play, serve is not that fast tho not bad for rec standards.

Now im asking you guys for some strategies.

Last week we lost 4:6 6:7, before that we lost 3:6 4:6

Give me some little tips of tactics to try or strategies to try as im not a very experienced doubles player

I feel like im very good at net and good volleys and overheads and win many points there (been working on volleys and overheads lately often and it shows), but I think the biggest problem we have is the other guy, he has very good volleys and hands and he played alot of doubles so he moves well at net and anticipates and cuts off balls and its sometimes quite hard to get the ball past him, he just intercepts and kills the volley, and when I speed up the swing so the ball is faster I can get past him at times, but my girl partner doesn't have a powerful stroke so he tends to easily intercept her shots and they are not that fast so he just kills the volley into me or into the open court and theres nothing anyone of us can do about it.

 

[njhmusicman]

Do you hold serve most of the time but your partner gets broken a lot?

 

[FiReFTW]

Do you hold serve most of the time but your partner gets broken a lot?

Not really, my partner serve is not that strong but the other girl returns are fairly slow and I can easily pick them off, the guy returns better but I still get to some balls, so its not really that much of a problem since I tend to get involved alot at net.

 

[njhmusicman]

Not really, my partner serve is not that strong but the other girl returns are fairly slow and I can easily pick them off, the guy returns better but I still get to some balls, so its not really that much of a problem since I tend to get involved alot at net.

Ok, so is the problem that the male opponent is getting to to many balls and winning a lot of points that way? Or how are you losing the majority of the points that you lose?

 

[ubercat]

Playing with ladies is a lot of fun socially. Tennis wise I find it very hard to get them to loop. Ladies seem to naturally like that kind of baseball bat stroke. Maybe try introducing her to slice. Like anything with a lady don't suggest she has a gap. Say that you really need to work on your net game because it sucks. get her to practice slow sliced passing shots away from the net player with plenty of side spin.

slices is a more forgiving shot you can hit it later. And as long as you can train her to use side spin even if it pops up it's not that easy a volley to kill

 

[FiReFTW]

Ok, so is the problem that the male opponent is getting to to many balls and winning a lot of points that way? Or how are you losing the majority of the points that you lose?

Yes male opponent finishes too many balls at net... and its specially the case when im at net and my female partner starts to rally with the other female partner or so, my female partner doesn't really hit loopy shots she hits pretty straight, but the ball is not that fast and the male guy easily gets to them and then if he hits volleys at my feet im done, or open court, or into my female partner etc.. in any case, its hard to do much in this situation.

 

[njhmusicman]

Yes male opponent finishes too many balls at net... and its specially the case when im at net and my female partner starts to rally with the other female partner or so, my female partner doesn't really hit loopy shots she hits pretty straight, but the ball is not that fast and the male guy easily gets to them and then if he hits volleys at my feet im done, or open court, or into my female partner etc.. in any case, its hard to do much in this situation.

Yeah, I was in a similar situation in my last mixed doubles match. My partner and I won the first set 6-1 but then our opponents started changing things up and my partner kept hitting the ball to the guy which led to him hitting volley winners. Because of that, I was standing at the baseline for a lot of the points which led me to be less aggressive. I think that hitting slice shots instead of flat shots, like ubercat said, is something that would help as the ball would float more and be more difficult.

 

[FiReFTW]

Gonna be hard, she never hits slices so shes completely bad at it.

 

[njhmusicman]

Gonna be hard, she never hits slices so shes completely bad at it.

I would also say to try to hold serve as much as you can to to be as agressive as you can when the female opponent is serving or even when the male opponent is serving because a break can be huge

 

[ptuanminh]

If opponent has a really good net player, well, you are screwed. Just watch and learn from him/her.

 

[TagUrIt]

She’s going to have to learn how to topspin lob. She doesn’t have the power to pass him so lob over him. Not just a lob that goes up and comes straight back down, a lob that kicks and backs his female player up so she hits a weak shot and then YOU can put an easy ball away.

The other strategy (and only if she’s comfortable) you both need to attack the net. It can be intimidating in doubles when both players are at the net.

 

[Bagel Boy]

Ideally, all your or partner's return shots are clearing the net by an inch or so, so he has to dig balls out when poaching. Anything higher, without pace especially, he's eating dinner with volleys.Doubles is about low net clearance and hitting the open court, short rallies.

Change it up, aim for low passing shots, then other times right at his feet - test his hands and feet at the same time.

He's still returning winners? Don't be shy about hitting the ball at him, specifically at his right hip, if he's a righty. Make him work, instead of trying to get past him every time.

If he's picking off your partner and getting it past you, you have to help her by constantly moving in the sevice box and making him think. Standing there gives him a pylon to work around.

 

[Deleted member 765152]

I know one extremely successful mixed doubles male player who wins virtually every 4.5 and below mixed tournament he enters.

Before a match he tells his weaker female partner, "Any ball in that alley in yours. The rest is mine."

 

[njhmusicman]

I know one extremely successful mixed doubles male player who wins virtually every 4.5 and below mixed tournament he enters.

Before a match he tells his weaker female partner, "Any ball in that alley in yours. The rest is mine."

Interesting strategy. I might have to try that

 

[user92626]

I play with a lot of weaker players. It's a delicate situation but not hopeless. Even if your team is slightly weaker, you still can win by having successfully worked out a plan between you and your partner. By successfully, I mean you and your weaker partner have to agree on, be on the same page and believe so.

For example, for me it comes down to successfully convincing my partner that he/she needs to be able to make at least 3 ground stroke shots, or cover only a small area, or whatever they can do best. See, the true challenge here is the weaker partners often don't agree -- too prideful, too confused, too much doubting-- as to think "everything depends"; they need to cover more; and we'd be back to square one of being a mess, plan-less. The weaker partner can't do a lot, the stronger partner don't know where to begin or end his covering!

But when a weaker partner and I agree and are clear on the tasks, it'd give me very clear direction. I would have to poach, kill the ball within 3 shots. I would have to anticipate and cover X area. If both partners do their best with given premises and don't totally depend on the other, good things will happen. There's ownership, clear goals. If you still lose, then the other team is way too good!



Frankly I have lost to a team of an old guy and an all around, capable guy. The old man didn't do anything except stationed at his corner to do groundstrokes well + a bit of guessing where the net opponent moves so he could tweak a bit of direction! His partner did everything else.

On the other side, my incompetent partner tried to do everything. Ripped returns, lobbed to escape the net guy, chip and charge, s&v ...nothing consistent. As for me, after many dueuces I mentally checked out!

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

She’s going to have to learn how to topspin lob. She doesn’t have the power to pass him so lob over him. Not just a lob that goes up and comes straight back down, a lob that kicks and backs his female player up so she hits a weak shot and then YOU can put an easy ball away.

That's asking a lot of someone who currently doesn't lob much at all. I'd start with something a lot easier like a regular flat/backspin lob to the other woman. It's possible that the guy will be able to cut it off and hit an OH on-the-fly or let it bounce and still smash an OH but you have to test his ability. It's certainly better than your partner's slow-ish shots being picked off.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I know one extremely successful mixed doubles male player who wins virtually every 4.5 and below mixed tournament he enters.

Before a match he tells his weaker female partner, "Any ball in that alley in yours. The rest is mine."

Must be a blast to be his partner:

 

[MyFearHand]

Must be a blast to be his partner:

Well to be fair it depends on the goal of his partner. If she's super interested in winning and it's the best strategy then it might not be that big a deal to her. I know personally if I was playing men's doubles and my partner was a lot better than me I'd care a lot more about winning than whether or not I was getting to hit a lot of balls.

 

[Morch Us]

There could be two different skill gaps here:
1. F2F. your female partner vs opponent female. Maybe the opponent female hits better doubles shots.
2. M2M. you vs opponent male. Maybe your opponent male is a better volley/net/poacher/doubles player.

Either way, there are some work arounds you can try, but eventually you have to get better at net, and your female parner has to be able to hit better doubles shots (does not mean she has to hit hard or deep). Now to the work arounds.

You can stay back at the baseline or no-mans land (even though it is considered forbidden at some situations), and try one of the below
1. Ask the female to aim high over the backhand of the male when he poaches, get him take a high backhand overhead, and work your point from there.
2. If he is not too good at angled volleys, get the female partner to try moving him to one side to earn a deep volley to the middle and see if the middle opens up for you to do a solid ground stroke.
3. Purposefully allow too much open space on your side of the court, pretty much tempting the female opponent to hit there. Most players would fall for it and pre-plan to have your female parner to move forward when this happens. From there the geometry of the baseline rally is slightly different, and not a poach friendly one, and eventually you can win the baseline battle with female opponent, or move forward when you get chance and clean it up.

Usually when there is an aggressive poacher on opponent side, it is better to make him play a tough volley, than trying to avoid him. This is especially true if the other baseliner (opponent female) is not a strong player, since you may not have to worry too much about a sitter short ball opportunity for the opponent baseliner. Trying to hit deep to cross court, if the female partner does not have enough power, provides an easier high enough volley for the poacher. Vs a short low ball.... is slightly more tougher to finish via first volley.

Yes male opponent finishes too many balls at net... and its specially the case when im at net and my female partner starts to rally with the other female partner or so,

 

[blablavla]

There could be two different skill gaps here:
1. F2F. your female partner vs opponent female. Maybe the opponent female hits better doubles shots.
2. M2M. you vs opponent male. Maybe your opponent male is a better volley/net/poacher/doubles player.

Either way, there are some work arounds you can try, but eventually you have to get better at net, and your female parner has to be able to hit better doubles shots (does not mean she has to hit hard or deep). Now to the work arounds.

You can stay back at the baseline or no-mans land (even though it is considered forbidden at some situations), and try one of the below
1. Ask the female to aim high over the backhand of the male when he poaches, get him take a high backhand overhead, and work your point from there.
2. If he is not too good at angled volleys, get the female partner to try moving him to one side to earn a deep volley to the middle and see if the middle opens up for you to do a solid ground stroke.
3. Purposefully allow too much open space on your side of the court, pretty much tempting the female opponent to hit there. Most players would fall for it and pre-plan to have your female parner to move forward when this happens. From there the geometry of the baseline rally is slightly different, and not a poach friendly one, and eventually you can win the baseline battle with female opponent, or move forward when you get chance and clean it up.

Usually when there is an aggressive poacher on opponent side, it is better to make him play a tough volley, than trying to avoid him. This is especially true if the other baseliner (opponent female) is not a strong player, since you may not have to worry too much about a sitter short ball opportunity for the opponent baseliner. Trying to hit deep to cross court, if the female partner does not have enough power, provides an easier high enough volley for the poacher. Vs a short low ball.... is slightly more tougher to finish via first volley.

I also wanted to ask you if you tried to stay at the baseline or in the no-man land during those F2F exchanges.

As the above poster said:
- she could try to make him play difficult volleys
- high over the backhand
- eventually try to lob him, and in case of a successful lob you could try to attack both to the net, or you would rush to net

 

[FiReFTW]

I also wanted to ask you if you tried to stay at the baseline or in the no-man land during those F2F exchanges.

No i didnt

 

[Keendog]

Net play is everything in dubs, but it can take years to be really good a volleying like your opponent sounds like. There's fine margins in doubles so sounds like those sets couldve gone either way, I wouldnt be too dispondent. Three things you could try is serve volleying, receiving and following the return to the net, and for your partner is to lob the serve return over the net players head. Often rec dub players are regimented in cross court play. This at least means they are either hitting straight at you at the net or have to change up tactics on the fly. Good for a change up say in the fourth or eigth game when the female opponent is serving.

The low percentage thing I like to do is very early, first few shots I get is to hammer it down the line hard. Even if it doesn't go in it tends to keep the net guy honest with his poaching. Like I said low percentage tho

 

[Nostradamus]

Ok so we started playing doubles every sunday now, just a little group of ours.

Another guy of a similar level as me, also trains and has good strokes, powerful serve etc..
Girl that is his doubles partner and girl that is my doubles partner are weaker players, they can play and hit solid strokes but more prone to errors, not as good movement, not that good net play, serve is not that fast tho not bad for rec standards.

Now im asking you guys for some strategies.

Last week we lost 4:6 6:7, before that we lost 3:6 4:6

Give me some little tips of tactics to try or strategies to try as im not a very experienced doubles player

I feel like im very good at net and good volleys and overheads and win many points there (been working on volleys and overheads lately often and it shows), but I think the biggest problem we have is the other guy, he has very good volleys and hands and he played alot of doubles so he moves well at net and anticipates and cuts off balls and its sometimes quite hard to get the ball past him, he just intercepts and kills the volley, and when I speed up the swing so the ball is faster I can get past him at times, but my girl partner doesn't have a powerful stroke so he tends to easily intercept her shots and they are not that fast so he just kills the volley into me or into the open court and theres nothing anyone of us can do about it.

I am good at net, I am good with passing shots, all those things Don't matter worth a garbage. if only matters if you can rip ACES everytime you serve or you hit 90 MPH shots clean winner on the 1st one. Do you know what matters the MOST and most amateur players are clueless about. I see even the Pros that play doubles don't get it sometimes, not so good ones anyway.

So obviously each situation calls for different strategy. I sometimes have to play with Weaker old guy in very high level doubles play. So when this happens I have to make some adjusments and try to dominate at net but not so easy if you are playing 2 very solid players with good control/spin and decent power. In my situation, I am screwed when this happens.

But for you , I have good news. In doubles, Positioning is Critical and most important part, just ask Federer. As GOAT singles guy, he knows all the right positioning in doubles when he plays, guy is very very smart doubles player.
for your situation, you have to use the Offensive lob over the Guy, and make him scramble back or have the girl scramble to cover that. That will make him think twice before Dominating the net. then you will have easier time, getting the ball past him crosscourt.
Since you are good at net, Come to net as much as you can, and have your girl stand close to the net since she sucks at net. then Expect your opponents to lob over her. then you cross over and stick the high volley into the middle of the court. next one, hopefully you will get a shorter ball to put away.
You will have to cover 70 % of the court, there is no way getting around this problem because your girl sucks at volleying or overheads too. and when your girl serves, you will have to go crazy at net and poach and take away the middle everytime. even when you are not doing that, you will have to fake poach and bother the returner. this goes to girl and guy returner even though guy may pass you time to time clean and make you look bad. So what, no matter, BRYAN bros once said, ""If you aren't getting passed into the alley, at least once a game, you are not doing your job at net"

 

[Nostradamus]

Must be a blast to be his partner:

that girl's really cute

 

[fuzz nation]

Ok so we started playing doubles every sunday now, just a little group of ours.

Another guy of a similar level as me, also trains and has good strokes, powerful serve etc..
Girl that is his doubles partner and girl that is my doubles partner are weaker players, they can play and hit solid strokes but more prone to errors, not as good movement, not that good net play, serve is not that fast tho not bad for rec standards.

Now im asking you guys for some strategies.

Last week we lost 4:6 6:7, before that we lost 3:6 4:6

Give me some little tips of tactics to try or strategies to try as im not a very experienced doubles player

I feel like im very good at net and good volleys and overheads and win many points there (been working on volleys and overheads lately often and it shows), but I think the biggest problem we have is the other guy, he has very good volleys and hands and he played alot of doubles so he moves well at net and anticipates and cuts off balls and its sometimes quite hard to get the ball past him, he just intercepts and kills the volley, and when I speed up the swing so the ball is faster I can get past him at times, but my girl partner doesn't have a powerful stroke so he tends to easily intercept her shots and they are not that fast so he just kills the volley into me or into the open court and theres nothing anyone of us can do about it.

That guy at the net can rip on the ball only if it's high enough. Your partner needs to switch her mode of thinking from singles to doubles where the elevation of her shots is much more important. She needs to keep the ball low or she's going to get you killed.

If that can't happen, you probably need to start at least some points back with her at the baseline and look to move in together when you get them on the run with a deep lob, etc.

 

[MyFearHand]

I'm not a big fan of playing mixed doubles because what tends to happen is that your woman gets lobbed a lot when you try to go to the net and then suddenly you're in a lot of trouble. So try to do this to the guy, since it sounds like he enjoys coming to the net. Every time he comes to net lob the woman and move forward, he's going to have to do a lot of running or back off from the net.

 

[FiReFTW]

I am good at net, I am good with passing shots, all those things Don't matter worth a garbage. if only matters if you can rip ACES everytime you serve or you hit 90 MPH shots clean winner on the 1st one. Do you know what matters the MOST and most amateur players are clueless about. I see even the Pros that play doubles don't get it sometimes, not so good ones anyway.

So obviously each situation calls for different strategy. I sometimes have to play with Weaker old guy in very high level doubles play. So when this happens I have to make some adjusments and try to dominate at net but not so easy if you are playing 2 very solid players with good control/spin and decent power. In my situation, I am screwed when this happens.

But for you , I have good news. In doubles, Positioning is Critical and most important part, just ask Federer. As GOAT singles guy, he knows all the right positioning in doubles when he plays, guy is very very smart doubles player.
for your situation, you have to use the Offensive lob over the Guy, and make him scramble back or have the girl scramble to cover that. That will make him think twice before Dominating the net. then you will have easier time, getting the ball past him crosscourt.
Since you are good at net, Come to net as much as you can, and have your girl stand close to the net since she sucks at net. then Expect your opponents to lob over her. then you cross over and stick the high volley into the middle of the court. next one, hopefully you will get a shorter ball to put away.
You will have to cover 70 % of the court, there is no way getting around this problem because your girl sucks at volleying or overheads too. and when your girl serves, you will have to go crazy at net and poach and take away the middle everytime. even when you are not doing that, you will have to fake poach and bother the returner. this goes to girl and guy returner even though guy may pass you time to time clean and make you look bad. So what, no matter, BRYAN bros once said, ""If you aren't getting passed into the alley, at least once a game, you are not doing your job at net"

That guy at the net can rip on the ball only if it's high enough. Your partner needs to switch her mode of thinking from singles to doubles where the elevation of her shots is much more important. She needs to keep the ball low or she's going to get you killed.

If that can't happen, you probably need to start at least some points back with her at the baseline and look to move in together when you get them on the run with a deep lob, etc.

You both make some good points, but my female partner is very one dimensional. She is a decent player, shes not bad at all, can keep rallies going and all, but her shots are one dimensional, she can hit one type of shot, she can't really hit heavy spin, or hit a low diping spin shot, or this or that, and her lob is also sh*tty.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

You both make some good points, but my female partner is very one dimensional. She is a decent player, shes not bad at all, can keep rallies going and all, but her shots are one dimensional, she can hit one type of shot, she can't really hit heavy spin, or hit a low diping spin shot, or this or that, and her lob is also sh*tty.

Is she willing to practice? If so, the easiest to learn, highest immediate payoff shot will be the lob.

 

[FiReFTW]

Is she willing to practice? If so, the easiest to learn, highest immediate payoff shot will be the lob.

I guess we could practice the lob, il ask her if she wants to.

 

[blablavla]

You both make some good points, but my female partner is very one dimensional. She is a decent player, shes not bad at all, can keep rallies going and all, but her shots are one dimensional, she can hit one type of shot, she can't really hit heavy spin, or hit a low diping spin shot, or this or that, and her lob is also sh*tty.

I would try to stand in the "no-man land" and ask her to hit in the body of the guy, at least at the important points.

 

[FiReFTW]

I would try to stand in the "no-man land" and ask her to hit in the body of the guy, at least at the important points.

Yea I guess its not really smart to stand close to net when the girls are exchanging balls and the dude poaches the ball, since volleying into my feet or so im useless at net anyway, if im further back I at least have better chances to get to balls.

 

[blablavla]

Yea I guess its not really smart to stand close to net when the girls are exchanging balls and the dude poaches the ball, since volleying into my feet or so im useless at net anyway, if im further back I at least have better chances to get to balls.

or you have to poach the volley before the other guy does it.

 

[FiReFTW]

or you have to poach the volley before the other guy does it.

Yeah we both do alot of poaching, the girls rally balls are just not that high quality, you have fairly good chances to intercept it since it takes longer to reach the net as opposed to say the guy who hits it quite faster.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Yeah we both do alot of poaching, the girls rally balls are just not that high quality, you have fairly good chances to intercept it since it takes longer to reach the net as opposed to say the guy who hits it quite faster.

Tell your partner to go DTL occasionally, just to keep the opposing net man on his toes: if she hits 100% CC, the net man will control more and more of the middle.

It doesn't have to be hard-driven or a winner; just something to keep him from standing by the net strap.

One of these times, she will hit a winner and she'll feel great.

 

[FiReFTW]

Tell your partner to go DTL occasionally, just to keep the opposing net man on his toes: if she hits 100% CC, the net man will control more and more of the middle.

It doesn't have to be hard-driven or a winner; just something to keep him from standing by the net strap.

One of these times, she will hit a winner and she'll feel great.

Yes good point I will suggest it, she NEVER goes ddl.

 

[Nostradamus]

You both make some good points, but my female partner is very one dimensional. She is a decent player, shes not bad at all, can keep rallies going and all, but her shots are one dimensional, she can hit one type of shot, she can't really hit heavy spin, or hit a low diping spin shot, or this or that, and her lob is also sh*tty.

Can she volley at all ?? if she is only good at groundies, then she will have to stay back. because if she comes to net to volley, she will get picked on all day. Only way is if she stays really close to net like 5 inches away from the net. then she might be able to block the volleys over the net. but she will be Wide open for lobs which You will have to cover. this leaves your side of the court Wide open. she will have to cross and cover your side but she doesnt' seem like the type...........LOL.

She can stay back and play baseline and You rush the net all day long and try to cover as much of the net as you can. If you get passed and your girl snarls at you then tell her it is your fault that I have to go crazy at net and getting passed

 

[FiReFTW]

Can she volley at all ?? if she is only good at groundies, then she will have to stay back. because if she comes to net to volley, she will get picked on all day. Only way is if she stays really close to net like 5 inches away from the net. then she might be able to block the volleys over the net. but she will be Wide open for lobs which You will have to cover. this leaves your side of the court Wide open. she will have to cross and cover your side but she doesnt' seem like the type...........LOL.

She can stay back and play baseline and You rush the net all day long and try to cover as much of the net as you can. If you get passed and your girl snarls at you then tell her it is your fault that I have to go crazy at net and getting passed

No she absolutely sucks at net.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

No she absolutely sucks at net.

Then you've got a long row to hoe, my friend.

 

[Nostradamus]

No she absolutely sucks at net.

Then unless she is totally hot and you want to score, I would try to dump her. or you can have her camp out at baseline and you rush the net and play aggressive at net. have her keep the groundies going as long as she can and you have to try to cut off anything that you can possibly reach at net. have her pick on the other girl if she can and you do the same. and volley behind the dude

 

[FiReFTW]

Then you've got a long row to hoe, my friend.

Ikr smh

 

[ubercat]

It's going to take some delicate politics. But there is another option that hasn't been mentioned. You stay on the bassline. And tell her to switch side. basically any time you see a floating ball heading at her yell swap and take it. Smack the best forehand you can. And then go to the net.

now like anything radically new you are going to have to practice it. otherwise she will get frustrated and dig her heels in. also you need to be confident to take it quite a difficult shot. you are going to have to anticipate the shot and start moving towards her side. And she is going to have to learn to run behind you to get out of the way.

I suggest mixing that up with the other tactics on this thread. at least it's a little less obvious than telling her park her butt in the alley.

you have to remember that physically tennis is pretty hard for most ladies. It's a high intensity sport. I have a long-term girlfriend could have taught her to play she has had lessons. But I got her into badminton instead because the ladies can naturally be very good at that all that quick hand stuff around the badminton net and it doesn't knock them around physically so much.

BTW personally I think trying to smash with your female partner would be very fraught. Pretty much like having to work together. But hey if you are that brave good luck to you.

 

[Dartagnan64]

This isn't hard. If you have practice time with her, then spend some time having her hit lobs to you while you hit overheads and vice versa. Couch it as OH practice but it's just as valuable lob practice. Make a game of it challenging her to get it over you and keep it in court while you work on your overhead.

Because as others have said, the solution to your problem is the lob. When i play mixed doubles against women with weak groundies they get destroyed by my poaches. The experienced mixed players will resort to lobbing me fairly quickly. The more skillful ones will hit the DTL pass. But only the inexperienced women that play mostly women's doubles will persist in a failing strategy of hitting a weak ass CC shot.

And put her on deuce court so if she tries the DTL pass it's at least challenging the opposing male's BH volley. That way even if she pops it up a bit, it's a harder putaway.

The key to mixed is lobs and overheads. A strong net team without overheads will get eaten alive by lobs. A baseline team without lob skills will get eaten alive by overheads and volleys.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

you have to remember that physically tennis is pretty hard for most ladies. It's a high intensity sport.

Grabs popcorn. Sits back to watch ensuing fireworks.

 

[FiReFTW]

This isn't hard. If you have practice time with her, then spend some time having her hit lobs to you while you hit overheads and vice versa. Couch it as OH practice but it's just as valuable lob practice. Make a game of it challenging her to get it over you and keep it in court while you work on your overhead.

Because as others have said, the solution to your problem is the lob. When i play mixed doubles against women with weak groundies they get destroyed by my poaches. The experienced mixed players will resort to lobbing me fairly quickly. The more skillful ones will hit the DTL pass. But only the inexperienced women that play mostly women's doubles will persist in a failing strategy of hitting a weak ass CC shot.

And put her on deuce court so if she tries the DTL pass it's at least challenging the opposing male's BH volley. That way even if she pops it up a bit, it's a harder putaway.

The key to mixed is lobs and overheads. A strong net team without overheads will get eaten alive by lobs. A baseline team without lob skills will get eaten alive by overheads and volleys.

Some good comments and insights!

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

The experienced mixed players will resort to lobbing me fairly quickly. The more skillful ones will hit the DTL pass. But only the inexperienced women that play mostly women's doubles will persist in a failing strategy of hitting a weak ass CC shot.

+1. In a recent match, I commented to my partner "Let's see how long it takes for them to figure out that the best neutralizer is the lob."

They did figure it out but only late in the 2nd set which was too late.

 

[Dartagnan64]

+1. In a recent match, I commented to my partner "Let's see how long it takes for them to figure out that the best neutralizer is the lob."

They did figure it out but only late in the 2nd set which was too late.

I often wonder if I should hold off my "shock and awe" tactics until later into the set to discourage the lobs from coming out. Too often I come out like gang busters poaching every woman's ground strokes and within a game or two she's popping up lobs over and over again. Maybe being more sly about attacking her softer strokes will keep her doing them longer.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I often wonder if I should hold off my "shock and awe" tactics until later into the set to discourage the lobs from coming out. Too often I come out like gang busters poaching every woman's ground strokes and within a game or two she's popping up lobs over and over again. Maybe being more sly about attacking her softer strokes will keep her doing them longer.

In this case, I prefer the direct approach over subtlety because sometimes they will never figure it out or even if they do, maybe they aren't good lobbers and you can start hitting OHs.

 

[Morch Us]

Yes I guessed it. And that could be a good singles shot as well, in terms of height and depth, which is what you train when you do random hitting practice. And that is exactly why I suggested workarounds above, plus long term solutions by practicing doubles shots. A good topspin shot is also not as big of a necessity in doubles as well (having it is good, especially when trying those angles, but not as big of a necessity as in singles, especially at the levels you are talking about).

she can hit one type of shot

better doubles shots

 

[Morch Us]

You could be that dude. But I guess your opponent male is better than you in this, which is why you need the workarounds now. But you could get better at the anticipation and poaching skills by practice and get better than your opponent aggressor, and flip the situation. Your opponent male is also pretty much dealing with the same situation.

and the dude poaches the ball

 

[Morch Us]

This is unfortunate. But again she could practice.

Also even though net is usually expressed as the bread and butter of doubles, the most important thing is making the opponent team hitting up, and your team hitting down more often. A good net play makes it easier to achieve that, but is still possible without a good net play as well.

she absolutely sucks at net