To Get Better At Singles, Play More Doubles...

[thomas daniels]

If you play more doubles for the next 2 months.

There are 3 things that are going to happen for your single's game.

One.

Your transitioning game and court awareness will improve.

You will find yourself moving better around the court and you will also find yourself being able to transition from the backcourt, to the midcourt and then to the frontcourt in no time at all.

Your dynamic movement will go to another level as well.

Two.

Your shot making abilities will get better.

You should find yourself being able to execute your shots more easily.

And you should be able to execute those same shots under pressure in your single matches.

Three.

The court will get and seem wider for you.

By playing more doubles and attempting shots with a smaller court.

Your perception of it will eventually change when playing singles.

"The court will seem to get wider in your mind and this will lead to you having more angles to create during points".

This is by far, the most important reason why you should be playing more doubles right there.

Because once your perception of the court get wider.

Everything will seem to get bigger for you mentally.

Let me get you guys out of here on this.

Make sure you are playing doubles the right way.

That means.

Serve and volleying and blocking your returns and closing into the net.

In practice, when playing doubles.

Everyone should commit to all finishing the point out at the net!!!

With rapid exchanging going on...

Okay then.

Hope this is starting to make sense to you guys about now.

Try playing more doubles for the next 2 months and watch how it will improve your singles game in that same amount of time...

Keep me updated too...

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

Agreed, if you hit a shot around the service line and then back up, you've lost the advantage completely.

One proviso, your advise is assuming you've got a good dubs partner!

 

[zaph]

Doubles will improve your net game but singles is a very different game. It is more about court coverage and fitness than doubles. The tactics are very different as well.

The best way to improve at singles is play lots of singles, hardly surprising really.

 

[denoted]

One thing about doubles that I've been noticing is: are you tired of balls whizzing by you that you should have poached? The pros have plays and run them.

 

[Dartagnan64]

The things from doubles that helped my singles were 1) Returns and 2) Volleys and 3) Overheads.
But constant doubles also ruins my defensive groundstrokes. Gotta play both in my mind to be a good all round player. Certainly all the pros and 5.0's at my club play both formats frequently.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

@TagUrIt @Curious

Doubles will improve your net game but singles is a very different game. It is more about court coverage and fitness than doubles. The tactics are very different as well.

The best way to improve at singles is play lots of singles, hardly surprising really.

You appear to be missing the point. There are some elements of singles that will more readily be developed by playing doubles.

No argument that playing & practicing singles will likely improve your singles game. However, reflexes, volleys, drop volleys, approach shots, half-volleys, overheads, alternate options and other elements are easier to develop playing doubles. These, in addition to the other things mentioned by @thomas daniels in his OP.

Even other sports can improve singles tennis skills. Badminton significantly improve my reflexes, stamina and my overheads for tennis. Roger Federer has revealed that squash and badminton played a big part in developing his tennis game.

Both Roger and Rafa have played a fair amount of doubles. Both have multiple titles at the Pro level. 8 titles for Roger and 11 or so titles for Rafa. Novak apparently has played a lot less doubles and it shows in his singles net game. Roger and Rafa are much better at the net than Novak. However, Novaks overheads are not quite as bad as they once were.

 

[movdqa]

I like both singles and doubles and find that doubles improves my singles game. I seldom come to the net in singles anymore (I used to be a serve and volley singles player) but doubles keeps the volleys and overheads serviceable.

 

[joffa101]

I think the converse is more applicable. A LOT of doubles players never play singles and it shows. Rubbish serves and ‘pokey’ shots that you can get away with in doubles.

 

[CJ Tennis]

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[SystemicAnomaly]

@CJ Tennis @TagUrIt

I think the converse is more applicable. A LOT of doubles players never play singles and it shows. Rubbish serves and ‘pokey’ shots that you can get away with in doubles.

Obviously, if singles is your primary focus then practice mostly singles. But...

The OP did NOT suggest playing more doubles than singles. Not talking about playing doubles to the exclusion of singles. I believe he is suggesting practicing/playing some doubles as cross training for singles. By the same token, competitive players will go to the gym or the field to work on various aspects of athletic skills and fitness. This is not wasted time that they could be playing singles instead. It is part of their overall development as a player. Players who primarily play doubles will often have a difficult time with singles. Conversely, singles players who rarely play doubs will usually not very fare well when they attempt doubles.

Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, John McEnroe, and the Williams sisters played a fair amount of doubles. Their doubles skills enhanced their singles games. Did not degrade it. Ditto for Roger and Rafa. Teen phenom, Coco Gauff, plays a lot of doubs. Does not appear to hurt her singles game. Recently, many of us saw Taylor Townsend use her doubles chops to win 5 rounds at the US Open. She ended up going 3 sets against the eventual USO champion, Bianca A.

 

[Traffic]

Not only this but in elite juniors we have found doubles messes with their games a ton. There are several doubles only tournaments each year and after the kids get back it takes a while to get their court coverage and anticipation back to where it was. Like someone else said, to get better at singles, play more singles. All of those things the OP said can be practiced and improved with singles or singles orientated drills. Work on hitting angles and the players see the court's angles better, work on 2 vs 1 volley drills and volleys get better. Doubles is not useful for improving singles, the court coverage is different and the effective types of approach shots and how the approach has to be covered is totally different. If anything, doubles harms singles or at best is a wash where the bad and good cancel each other out.

My son takes a few matches of singles to get back into the groove. However, his doubles game allows him to come to the net. Not only in confidence but in technique to handle most passing shots.

I realize the elite players are pretty focussed on what their intent and goal is. But if you are step down, doubles techniques are another tool in the toolbox.

For most rec players, any tennis helps improve their game.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Saying 'improve' isn't wrong, but I think playing double expands abilities with some useful and some really only used in doubles. Inversly, playing too much doubles can also deter from your singles game.

 

[thehustler]

Someone said it earlier, but you need a good doubles partner. I did a meetup this past weekend and was warming up with someone who I would've hit singles against. But we had a 3rd person join and then eventually a 4th. It was clear that my partner was the weaker player, but they were able to do enough to keep the ball in and our opponents missed a lot of easy shots. Personally I was bored out there, didn't feel like putting a whole lot into the set which we won 6-1 anyway. Played another where it was a better skill-set match-up, and we dominated early. Got a little sloppy and it was 5 all before we finished it off 7-5. I served well that day, but didn't feel like playing doubles helped me a whole lot. It's odd, as a singles player mainly, even if I play Canadians or doubles I more or less aim for the singles lines than I do the doubles lines. Guess it's just habit. I can see how doubles could help you with your net game in a way, but when you have a partner on your side of the court it's a lot easier to camp at net and not worry about being passed, as you have someone backing you up. Maybe it helps with angled and drop volleys, but I don't see what else it could help with, since you're only covering 1/2 the court and serving once every 4 games.

 

[user92626]

Saying 'improve' isn't wrong, but I think playing double expands abilities with some useful and some really only used in doubles. Inversly, playing too much doubles can also deter from your singles game.

Agreed.

I know many people at my courts who have played doubles for all their life but don't know how to play singles. They would probably lose to a 3.0 singles player.

 

[TheIntrovert]

Disagree with practically everything said. When I got back into playing, I was only really playing doubles, and when playing singles, I couldn’t for the life of me get the court dimensions right. Every shot was going wide. And also, the a good return, or even a solid return down the line in singles, gets instantly put away by the guy at the net in doubles. Then there’s the different return positioning...
if you want to get better at singles, stick to singles.

 

[johnwah]

This advice has worked out well for Jack Sock...

 

[thehustler]

This advice has worked out well for Jack Sock...

I think that's a stubbornness problem on his end. Yeah he got to what, #8 in the world a couple years ago on the heels of winning a masters tournament. He then did nothing after that. Not sure if he thought it was going to be easy since he was that high up, that people would cower at him because he was so high up, if everyone just figured out his game and he never made adjustments or something else.

 

[sureshs]

Both Roger and Rafa have played a fair amount of doubles. Both have multiple titles at the Pro level. 8 titles for Roger and 11 or so titles for Rafa.

The real question is whether they practiced doubles (other than for an hour sometime before their matches).

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Disagree with practically everything said. When I got back into playing, I was only really playing doubles, and when playing singles, I couldn’t for the life of me get the court dimensions right. Every shot was going wide. And also, the a good return, or even a solid return down the line in singles, gets instantly put away by the guy at the net in doubles. Then there’s the different return positioning...
if you want to get better at singles, stick to singles.

Already addressed this. That does not really apply to what this thread is about.

The advice is for those who just play singles. OP is suggesting adding some doubles practice/play to work on certain strokes and skills that can help with singles. Your situation is different. If one is primarily playing a lot of singles, they are not suddenly going to lose their singles strokes or their muscle memory for singles if they play some doubles.

OTOH I played a lot of singles when I was younger (in my 20s and then some). In my 30s, I was primarily playing badminton. Went back to more tennis in my late 30s, playing both singles and doubs. In my 40s, I started playing more doubs than singles. But this did not impact my ability to play singles. Went from 3.5/4.0 NTRP in my late 30s to a 5.0 level in singles in my late 40s -- even tho I was playing a lot more doubs than singles with friends.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

The real question is whether they practiced doubles (other than for an hour sometime before their matches).

Undoubtedly, they both played and practiced a lot of doubles as juniors. They also played a fair amount of doubles early in their respective careers. It is apparent if you have watched them at all playing doubs. They've done it enough so it is not likely their doubles skill will atrophy.

Rafa has won about 65% of his matches in doubles as a pro. Has played quite a bit in Davis Cup (until fairly recently, I believe). Won Olympic gold for doubles in Rio in 2016. Roger won Olympic gold for doubles in Beijing in 2008 with Stanimal. Pretty sure he has played some Davis Cup doubles. He's also won a number of times at the Hopman Cup. Reached the final with Martina Hingis in 2001. In 2018 and 2019, Roger with Belinda Bencic won the Hopman Cup doubles finals.

Singles players, not even guys of this calibre, will win doubles at that level w/o having some practice at some point.

 

[thomas daniels]

Not only this but in elite juniors we have found doubles messes with their games a ton. There are several doubles only tournaments each year and after the kids get back it takes a while to get their court coverage and anticipation back to where it was. Like someone else said, to get better at singles, play more singles. All of those things the OP said can be practiced and improved with singles or singles orientated drills. Work on hitting angles and the players see the court's angles better, work on 2 vs 1 volley drills and volleys get better. Doubles is not useful for improving singles, the court coverage is different and the effective types of approach shots and how the approach has to be covered is totally different. If anything, doubles harms singles or at best is a wash where the bad and good cancel each other out.

How about John Mcenroe? And even Pete said playing more doubles helped his singles game a lot. And as for as my own experience as a player, after playing more doubles, my singles game improved in months. Most of you guys just are making stupid comments and you guys don't have a coaching philosophy to back it up...

 

[thomas daniels]

Already addressed this. That does not really apply to what this thread is about.

The advice is for those who just play singles. OP is suggesting adding some doubles practice/play to work on certain strokes and skills that can help with singles. Your situation is different. If one is primarily playing a lot of singles, they are not suddenly going to lose their singles strokes or their muscle memory for singles if they play some doubles.

OTOH I played a lot of singles when I was younger (in my 20s and then some). In my 30s, I was primarily playing badminton. Went back to more tennis in my late 30s, playing both single s and doubs. I, In my 40s, I started playing more doubs than singles. But this did not impact my ability to play singles. Went from 3.5/4.0 NTRP in my late 30s to a 5.0 level in singles in my late 40s -- even tho I was playing a lot more doubs than singles with friends.

There is no reason to waste your energy trying to explain to half these guys what the message is here...

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

There is no reason to waste your energy trying to explain to half these guys what the message is here...

I suspect that some of those guys might not realize that they are talking about very different situations from what you suggested in the OP. Or they are just looking at the thread title and misinterpreting the intent.

Maybe only 1 or 2 are attemping to take a contrarian stance with situations that don't really apply.

 

[blablavla]

How about John Mcenroe? And even Pete said playing more doubles helped his singles game a lot. And as for as my own experience as a player, after playing more doubles, my singles game improved in months. Most of you guys just are making stupid comments and you guys don't have a coaching philosophy to back it up...

how about that.
Pete used to serve & volley quite a bit.
Doubles? perfect exercise for this.

nowadays, serve & volley is dying.
so, it might bring a change of perspective to the statement.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

how about that.
Pete used to serve & volley quite a bit.
Doubles? perfect exercise for this.

nowadays, serve & volley is dying.
so, it might bring a change of perspective to the statement.

Dustin Brown used S&V and a lot of other net play quite effectively against Rafa. Has a 2-0 record against Rafa doing this. Taylor Townsend used S&V very effectively against Simona Halep and others recently at the US Open. Went 3 hard sets with the eventual champion of that event. M Zverev has also has had a fair amt of success with this kind of game. There are others.

But it doesn't really matter that the serve & volley game is not as prevalent as it once was. Roger, Rafa and a substantial % of other top players are finishing points at the net. Not just a handful.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

At the highest levels of tennis, a S+V game requires supreme athleticism, incredible hands and great anticipation.

Playing some doubles can certainly help to develop these traits/skills for singles. Even if rec or competitive non-elite players do not adopt a S+V game, it will still help them with their singles game -- especially, but not exclusively, when coming to the net to finish off points.

 

[thomas daniels]

At the highest levels of tennis, a S+V game requires supreme athleticism, incredible hands and great anticipation.

Playing some doubles can certainly help to develop these traits/skills for singles. Even if rec or competitive non-elite players do not adopt a S+V game, it will still help them with their singles game -- especially, but not exclusively, when coming to the net to finish off points.

The thing I was trying to say though is, you can mix it up and be formless with your matchplay. My Japanese friend loves Nadal and he just pointed out to me that, after Nadal started playing more doubles, his net game with to another level... so there is your validation of the post right there, and he won the US Open by dominating the net in all his matches too... he came in on the big points, to keep his opponents off-balance.

 

[Vanhalen]

Doubles messed up my singles game for a while. So, not for me.

 

[thomas daniels]

Doubles messed up my singles game for a while. So, not for me.

It's just a mental thing, do like Nadal and pick your spot in future matches.

Also, develop a playing philosophy by modeling after the top guys on tour...

Because when you think about it... (how can getting better at your transitioning game and front-court movement ability, do nothing but help you perform better in matches?

This is also why you must become a student of the game, and develop an all-around solid game for consistently competing at a high level.

 

[sredna42]

This advice would be perfect for Alexander Zverev. I reckon doubles would sharpen his volleying, his anticipation, would make him tone down the mindless shots up the middle and hit to effect more, would take some pressure of himself, and being something new it might be refreshing

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Doubles messed up my singles game for a while. So, not for me.

Level? How often and how long have you been playing? Perhaps your game or muscle memory is not very well grooved if it is that easily derailed.

Perhaps you just need to give it a liitle bit more time to get comfortable with the differences. After playing tennis for 6 years, I picked up badminton. It took about 3 months to get to the point where badminton was not messing up my tennis. At 4 months, I found that badminton was starting to help my tennis rather than interfering with it.

It should be easier than that to be able to switch back and forth between singles and doubles tennis without one messing up the other. Just give it a little bit more time and it should start to pay off