How to counter doubles isolation?

[gameboy]

What do you do when you are partnered with a weaker player in doubles and your opponents are doing a pretty good job of isolating that weak player?

I try to be more aggressive and go after few more balls that I normally would, but that also results in more errors and I am not sure if it pays off at all.

What are some good counter-strategy for isolation?

 

[Totai]

What do you do when you are partnered with a weaker player in doubles and your opponents are doing a pretty good job of isolating that weak player?

I try to be more aggressive and go after few more balls that I normally would, but that also results in more errors and I am not sure if it pays off at all.

What are some good counter-strategy for isolation?

Get a better partner if your current partner is significantly weaker than you are.

 

[forehandshanker]

If the weaker partner just cannot get returns back in play, cannot hit put away volleys on sitters or cannot get a high percentage of serves in play, you are really stuck with crossing your fingers. By "cannot", I mean a really low percentage of success (around 10%). I don't mean that the partner is having a bad day.

When I've been stuck with partners like this, I really know that we've got no hope of winning. I try to keep a good humor about it, but I'm not asking to be partnered with that person again. If this were social doubles, it's highly likely that the other dubs team will serve up a bagel or a breadstick. I consider it etiquette for the winning team to offer a switcharound for a more competitive match. I've been on both sides of the fence.

In a more competitive situation, you may need to sit down with the weaker partner and politely point out that "there is room for improvement". I wouldn't overwhelm the weaker partner with tips. It's quite enough to improve one thing at a time.

 

[gameboy]

You guys are going overboard. The difference in level is not that bad. But the pressure on isolating a player can be bit much and the balls are constantly coming back to him.

 

[blakesq]

i occasionally play with an older player who cannot move well, and our opponents will direct balls away from me, and try to get it out of reach of my partner. One way we countered this is when my partner is serving I will play back, just inside the baseline, in an attempt to get any balls that are within my reach, even to the point of stealing balls from my partner. That has worked. When I am serving, my partner is at net and I try to get to net as fast as possible, knowing that all lobs are my responsibility.

You guys are going overboard. The difference in level is not that bad. But the pressure on isolating a player can be bit much and the balls are constantly coming back to him.

 

[Ripper014]

I have played in this situation many times... and also against them from time to time where you want to go after a particular player. When you get to a certain skill level it is difficult to defend against this tactic. The most important thing do perhaps is to keep your partners confidence up, the first thing you need to do is to make your partner believe he can stay in the fray and keep the ball away from the net man. When both opponents are at the net have him concentrate on lobbing deep into the backhand corner. Your job becomes putting yourself in a court position that gives you opportunities to make shots... and encourage your opponent to hit difficult low percentage shots to pass you.

This type of team is not ideal... but you have to play smarter and tighter tennis. Force your opponent to make shots... and you might be surprised if you support your partner... with all those extra looks at the ball... they tend to start playing better.

 

[Nellie]

You cannot entirely prevent the ball from going to your partner, but you can think of expanding your assigned responsibilities. For example, instead of going 50/50 have your partner shade toward an alley so that you are covering 60% of the court. The opponents can continue to direct to your partner, but they will have a smaller target. Alternatively, you can discuss where to put your partner at a position of relative strength (e.g., baseline/net) so that the partner, when receiving most of the balls, is comfortable and effective.

It won't work to have you hit everything.

Being more aggressive is a great idea - switch more, vary your movement, etc., so that your opponents don't know where to find the weaker partner. You will miss more, but I bet you will win more points too.

 

[RogerRacket111]

Try the Indian I maybe they wont know which way to go so you can split. You can tell your weaker partner that If you know the ball is coming to you all the time its easier to prepare. And also let him loosen up.

 

[AR15]

When your weaker partner is serving, you could try an I formation, or Australian formation. to keep your opponents guessing where to return his serves.

 

[Cindysphinx]

i occasionally play with an older player who cannot move well, and our opponents will direct balls away from me, and try to get it out of reach of my partner. One way we countered this is when my partner is serving I will play back, just inside the baseline, in an attempt to get any balls that are within my reach, even to the point of stealing balls from my partner. That has worked. When I am serving, my partner is at net and I try to get to net as fast as possible, knowing that all lobs are my responsibility.

+1. Yes, I do this too.

It really is worth a shot. Because you are playing a modified 2-back (you are not fully behind the baseline with your partner), the other team is less sure of what you're going to do. You can reach a lot of balls, giving the opponents less room for error. They will often begin to try drop shots or just hit up the middle, which gives you a fighting chance.

 

[tennis tom]

You're probably gonna' be on the short side of the stick in this one unless you're Nadal. It's a good opportunity to work on other aspects of your game like the after match handshake and being a good loser. Hopefully your weaker partner understands the predicment you're in and gives you carte blanche to go after anything you can reach. If your partner's a jerk then you've got it really tough and it's going to be you aganist three. I just played in a match like that and I was knocking myself out and playing great. I made my first error poaching and my "partner" had to rub it in, takes the wind out of your sails. Why bother breaking your ass if it's not gonna' be aprreciated?

 

[larry10s]

stick him right on top of the net and you cover the rest

 

[forehandshanker]

You guys are going overboard. The difference in level is not that bad. But the pressure on isolating a player can be bit much and the balls are constantly coming back to him.

GB,
Maybe my reply was an overreaction. Unfortunately, I run into huge differences in levels far more often than smaller differences where the isolation strategy works. If the differences are smaller, you could try the staggered two-back or I-formation, but all of those adjustments assume:

a) the weaker partner can adjust to those different formations.
b) you are so much stronger that you can carry enough of the team to make up for the differences w/o making your partner feel bad.

just a reality in dubs, you really are at the fate of your partner

 

[burosky]

If this was a league match, your captain should have been smarter not to put out a pairing like this where the other player is significantly weaker. If it was a tournament, you should have known ahead of time before you even agreed to pair up. Nonetheless, if it was a situation where you need to do anything and everything to win, the most effective way to handle this is to play "singles" with the opponent. This means having your partner only hit one ball per point. If your partner was serving, the serve is the only shot your partner hits. If your partner was receiving, the return is the only shot your partner hits. After that one hit, your partner should just stay in one corner of the baseline and only hit a ball that goes towards your partner and you absolutely have no way to get a decent shot at it. This is an extreme measure to take and would most certainly offend your partner so before deciding on doing this make sure your partner is okay with it.

Personally, I don't like this strategy but I have seen it work specially during mixed leagues.

 

[jswinf]

For a high-octane competitive player it's going to be "stay the hell out of my way while I play all the shots I can reach." I never cared for that approach.

When I'm playing with a weaker partner I position myself to make my partner's court smaller, crowd the middle basically, and figure if the other guys want to keep hitting to him, so be it. By keeping his coverage area smaller he should have an easier time with his shots, and in the long run it'll help him get better. Be on the lookout for short balls, you can go scoop those up while your partner is pinned back deep.

You could whine a bit to your opponents, too. "Guess I'll bring a chair out here, I'm tired of standing around."

 

[Annika]

i occasionally play with an older player who cannot move well, and our opponents will direct balls away from me, and try to get it out of reach of my partner. One way we countered this is when my partner is serving I will play back, just inside the baseline, in an attempt to get any balls that are within my reach, even to the point of stealing balls from my partner. That has worked. When I am serving, my partner is at net and I try to get to net as fast as possible, knowing that all lobs are my responsibility.

Cindy I am that "older player." However, when I play with a younger player who's not as good, I will play back if I notice they are hitting only to her. Which I see over and over again. I know I can run in on short shots; however sometimes they will lob over my head so she has to run back. :evil:

 

[JW10S]

Move! Poach! The only shots your weaker partner absolutely has to hit are serves every 4th game and every other return every 2 games. If you know the opposing team is hitting to your partner then you should be able to move and intercept their shots pretty easily. A lot of people have the misconception that doubles is a game of 'sides'. This is 'my side' and that is 'my partner's side'--wrong. Doubles is 2 players playing the whole court. Whenever I play with a weaker partner I play most of the court.

 

[chatt_town]

What do you do when you are partnered with a weaker player in doubles and your opponents are doing a pretty good job of isolating that weak player?

I try to be more aggressive and go after few more balls that I normally would, but that also results in more errors and I am not sure if it pays off at all.

What are some good counter-strategy for isolation?

Well me and the son just won a tourney yesterday and it was his first time playing a doubles tournament. I told him to try and hit everthing down the T and he did a pretty good job of that. What that did was cut off angles and allowed me to cut off some balls. I didn't over do it as it was a father/son tourney. So the object was to let them play and I think we did that for the most part. At any rate, I again try to keep balls in the middle of the court. Now to the contrary if me and my partner are stronger I pull one or the other off the court to isolate the one I want. It's worked just about everytime if done properly.

 

[chatt_town]

When your weaker partner is serving, you could try an I formation, or Australian formation. to keep your opponents guessing where to return his serves.

This if we are talking about a weaker partner will probably get you a pen 2 tatoo on your chest. They are probably serving overheads.

 

[Steady Eddy]

One strategy is to have the weak partner position over the net post. While that might make you a better team, I don't think your partner would like the suggestion. In a social mixer, I don't think it's ok to say that.

I guess you have to figure that in certain situations, winning is not the most important thing.

 

[tennis tom]

One strategy is to have the weak partner position over the net post. While that might make you a better team, I don't think your partner would like the suggestion. In a social mixer, I don't think it's ok to say that.

I guess you have to figure that in certain situations, winning is not the most important thing.

I agree with you Steady Eddy, there are some variables of how to play when the pairings are lop-sided. I've been on both sides of the stick. If it's in a competitive match like a tournament, you do whatever you have to do. Hopefully the partners have communicated the strategy before-hand so they are on the same page. If I'm that weaker player, I'll tell my stronger partner that he's the captain and to take any shot he can get to.

If it's a social match, and I'm the stronger player, I let my partner have some "fun" too. I'm not going to hog everything by jumping in front of my partner and stealing his shots. I just witnessed on the court next to me an ugly scene during some mixed. The male, wanting to show everyone how "good" he was, went "singles" on his lovely lady partner. She was a mover too, and in the resulting "chickens with their head's cut off fire-drill", macho man smacked his lovely in the face. Last words were "Does anyone know a good plastic surgeon--on a Sunday?"

On the other end of the stick, I've played socialy with a tournament player who was so egotistical, that from the git'go, he told me to basicly stand in the alley and he would take
everything else. I'm his equal in singles and better then him in doubles. I said to him, "Would you prefer it if I just sat down on the bench?" We played the match and I more than held-up my side of the court. I could tell he was irked that I stood up for myself and I lost respect for him. He should stick with his singles.

Playing socially it may be fair if, all are agreeable, to share the wealth and round-robin with the weaker player. I also think it's nice to convey to the losing partner, who carried the anchor, that you recognized he got the short-end of the stick, (whispered out of ear-shot of the weaker player of course, so as not to hurt their feelings).