Thoughts on doubles match

Kenny022593

Professional
Ok so me and my friend played two upperclass men today (im sophomore hes a jr) and we were up 3-1 then it started getting close 4-3 4-4 and then we broke for a 5-4 and i was serving for the set. i double faulted like crazy and it was 5-5 we then didnt break and won our serve so it was a 6-6 stalemate. we were quickly up in the tie break 5-2 then, it was up at 6-3, on the point that wouldve given us the break i had an easy put away volley if i just angled it slightly because the person on the baseline doesnt have alot of foot speed, i didnt angle it and hit it right back to him and the point ended on a winner down the alley and brought it to 6-4 we then fell apart and they won 6-6 (6-7) me and my friend were then talking about it and that we couldve really won it right there. do you guys have any tips on how to shake that off? during the rest of the tiebreak i was mad because we couldve won and i couldnt do anything about it except be mad at myself any tips on how to cool down from a loss of a big point like that?
 

5263

G.O.A.T.
Look at the glass as half full. Last weekend in my match when my partner was serving at 15-15. I made 2 errors at net that put us down 15-40. I went back to him and said that I had put us in this hole and he would be up 40-15 if I had done my part.
I told him to stay upbeat cause he was serving great giving us those 2 chances I had blown. I'd gotten those errors out of the way and we would now start to roll! I did follow with 2 poach put aways and we went on to hold easily from there. After the hold he thanked me for shouldering the blame and pumping him up.

It doesn't always work out, but it gives you the chance to make it work for you. The other way gives you little chance to do better.
Always expect and intend to do better.
 

mkmark0

New User
Try to stay upbeat even if you or your partner make errors. I've noticed during my doubles matches that if my partner and I don't talk to each other we both feel negative energy which causes up to play worse than our level.

ex.) In a doubles match against 2 other friends that are more experienced than us, my friend missed on a couple of big points at net (this point we were down 2-5) and felt real down and kept looking at his racket/ the ground. I stayed upbeat and told him don't worry about it and kept hopping around trying to bring positive energy to him. Eventually he loosened up and we caught up into a tiebreak, when the lights went off.

Moral of the story: doubles is teamwork, so communicate.
 

Tennisman912

Semi-Pro
What 5263 says is really the best thing you can do. Most don’t have the kihonas to take the blame. Most importantly, you must have a short memory to be a good tennis player long term. After blowing an easy shot, give yourself 5 seconds to wallow, then get on with the business at hand and focus on the next point. Everyone misses some easy ones at inopportune times occasionally and you just have to shake it off. It is easy to lose your concentration thinking you can’t miss a relatively easy shot (especially as your level increases) but you back off or relax for split second and it happens before you know what happened.

Just concentrate and do your best to keep these occurrences to a minimum. With experience you will have less lapses and bounce back from them quickly when you do.

Good luck

TM
 

Kenny022593

Professional
I don't know if you accidentally mistyped the score, but to win a tie break, you have to win by at least two points. You have posted that they won by only one, so the tiebreak should have continued untill one team got a two point lead.

eh we played how my school plays set tiebreaks first one to 7 haha

soo, im getting from everyones advice here is that doubles isnt actually two people the two people have to come together and become awhole to be a great pair?
 

LuckyR

Legend
eh we played how my school plays set tiebreaks first one to 7 haha

soo, im getting from everyones advice here is that doubles isnt actually two people the two people have to come together and become awhole to be a great pair?

Actually, no. The best doubles teams are not, as it turns out, about teamwork. Rather they are usually about communication and the willingness to take control of the situation based on a personal (not team based) desire to win and to take the responsibility to make the team win.
 

aaron 3000

Rookie
put your racquet in the bag. then 5 seconds later take it out again. make yourself feel like youre playing a new match. lol.
 

Storm_Kyori

Hall of Fame
Ok so me and my friend played two upperclass men today (im sophomore hes a jr) and we were up 3-1 then it started getting close 4-3 4-4 and then we broke for a 5-4 and i was serving for the set. i double faulted like crazy and it was 5-5 we then didnt break and won our serve so it was a 6-6 stalemate. we were quickly up in the tie break 5-2 then, it was up at 6-3, on the point that wouldve given us the break i had an easy put away volley if i just angled it slightly because the person on the baseline doesnt have alot of foot speed, i didnt angle it and hit it right back to him and the point ended on a winner down the alley and brought it to 6-4 we then fell apart and they won 6-6 (6-7) me and my friend were then talking about it and that we couldve really won it right there. do you guys have any tips on how to shake that off? during the rest of the tiebreak i was mad because we couldve won and i couldnt do anything about it except be mad at myself any tips on how to cool down from a loss of a big point like that?


I would say communicate with each other. Keep positive, and back your partner up mentally. If you see pro dubs look at when player "A" makes a mistake and the partner comes up to him they "pound" high five or whatever and that keeps them loose. Player A knows that player B has his back and to keep focused.
 

Kenny022593

Professional
ok so new information today my partner told me that he doesnt trust me as much just because i dont have the footspeed that he has

btw he is a very fast sprinter and can virtually get to any ball
 

5263

G.O.A.T.
Actually, no. The best doubles teams are not, as it turns out, about teamwork. Rather they are usually about communication and the willingness to take control of the situation based on a personal (not team based) desire to win and to take the responsibility to make the team win.

I wouldn't initially agree with this, but I've seen enough good stuff from you to give this some serious consideration to see if I can grasp this paradigm.
 

LuckyR

Legend
I wouldn't initially agree with this, but I've seen enough good stuff from you to give this some serious consideration to see if I can grasp this paradigm.

That is a nice thing to say, thanks. I too, used to think that team play was about team work. Great teams are not about democracy they are about individuals taking the risk and responsibility to "own" the play and making the team win.

Haven't we all been on teams where there was a player with a sparkling personality that instilled confidence in the whole team who "got the job done" and inspired the rest of the team to follow their lead and play "over their heads" in the big game? Think Joe Montana. Joe didn't win by doing 1/11th of the job of the offense (being part of the team, using teamwork where everyone does their fraction of the job).
 

In D Zone

Hall of Fame
Keep everything, every situation are even keel - you can be playing good at one point then your game would reserved all of the sudden. This is where you and your partner need to stay positive and stop finger pointing.
Communication is great but focus on the positives - avoid negative comments this will only add that mental burden to you and to your partner. Encourage each other; even when one continues to double fault - remind each other to just get the serve in no matter what and you two will play it thru. It has worked wonders!
I've played with partners who don't have the confidence at first - simple positive encouragement gets them jazzed up. Although we may not win but we sure would give the opponent a good doubles match.
 
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