11 Keys To Effective Doubles Strategy

The doubles game is much different than the singles game and if you try to play doubles like it were singles, then you’ll quickly see your doubles ranking drop significantly.

There are certain strategies and skills that can make or break a doubles team. These doubles tennis lessons will help take your doubles game from average to the top level!

So let’s get started…

#1 – Be The First To Advance To The Net On All Points

There have been times where I was playing in a doubles match with an amateur player who clearly didn’t understand what was necessary for us to win the point. He’d be standing at the baseline lobbing balls over the net every point!

Sometimes I found myself wishing he would just hurry up and get to the net already so that we could start winning some points!

Don’t wait until it’s too late before you finally decide to move forward. If you do then your opponent will already be set up at the baseline ready to attack any ball near the net with a volley or overhead.

The worst thing an amateur doubles player can do is remain behind the baseline when his/her partner has hit a high volley or overhead deep into their opponents’ court. All this does is put you further away from getting to the ball, resulting in more errors and lost points for your team.

#2 – Agree On And Use A Coaching Strategy

Now, this suggestion might be a little controversial with some amateur tennis players, but if you want to improve your doubles game then it’s essential that you agree on using some sort of coaching strategy.

For many amateur doubles teams, the only real advice they receive is when their partner shouts out “I got it” when they reach for a lob. This approach hardly ever works because more often than not neither of the teammates are ready to get to the ball.

So how do I mean by “agreeing on and using a coaching strategy”? Well…

Have one player always go forward or attempt to volley any high shots (or shots hit out wide) while the other player covers the net. This will ensure that one of you is always up at the net setting yourself up for success, while the other player covers the middle of the court just in case there’s a lob coming back over your head.

If by chance one of your opponents manages to hit a great passing shot, then it’s important to keep in mind that doubles is all about teamwork. So don’t blame each other if things don’t go according to plan. Instead, analyze what happened and use it as a learning experience moving forward.

#3 – Don’t Move Too Far From The Baseline

As I mentioned earlier, playing doubles is very different from singles tennis…

When you’re playing singles, you can take time away from your opponent by hitting shots from the baseline because it’s much easier to change your shot direction and placement. This allows you to stay away from your opponent while still being able to control the point.

With doubles, maintaining that same level of control isn’t always possible when playing from too far away at the baseline. Your doubles partner can sometimes cover for you if things get out of hand but in most cases, they may not be aware that you’re having trouble hitting shots due to a lack of communication.

The risk of staying back too far is that you’ll get stuck at the baseline and get dominated by your opponent’s attack once they get their rhythm going after a series of short angled shots or drop shots will catch them off guard!

TIP: Have one of your doubles partners always attack the ball and move forward to the net. This will ensure that you’re on your toes at all times and there’s always someone close by if a short angled shot or drop shot is hit back over the net.

#4 – Switch Between A Passive Approach And An Aggressive Approach

Often I found myself playing in doubles matches where my team would adopt an ultra passive approach, even though we were capable of hitting good shots from both wings.

The only time this changed was when our opponents managed to really step up their game and put us under immense pressure with some high risk/high reward tennis…

At this point, we realized we had no choice but to hit away and start coming forward more often than not.

As I mentioned earlier, doubles can often be about outsmarting your opponents. After all – you have two brains working for you on the court but only one brain to cover everything that’s going on behind you at the baseline.

So why not use this to your advantage?

#5 – Don’t Always Rush To The Net If You’re Not Sure It’s The Right Thing To Do

As with most team sports, it’s important to stick together and play defensively when required…

On more than one occasion, my doubles partner would get impatient after missing a shot and charge forward to the net even though he wasn’t sure if there was actually a short angle or drop shot coming back over the top.

Even though “charging the net” may make for a good YouTube video, it usually backfires because our opponents ended up getting out of trouble and hitting passing shots from the baseline.

In those instances, make sure you stay back at the baseline, communicate with your doubles partner and wait until your opponent commits to a shot before moving forward.

When To Charge The Net If You’re Unsure Of What’s Coming Back Over The Top

Admittedly charging the net is a high-risk/high-reward strategy that should only be used sparingly if you’re not totally sure what’s coming back over the top…

The trick is timing things correctly so that your opponent doesn’t lob over your head by accident which allows you to come into the net at full speed with a high percentage play.

Some Options You Can Use To Time Things Correctly When You’re Unsure Of What’s Coming Back Over The Top

If you have any questions about timing your charge correctly, ask your doubles partner to hit some drop shots or short angles so that you can get used to charging the net at full speed without taking too much risk…