Developing Doubles Techniques

Doubles is a team game and a good doubles team plays as a unit. The players try to stay together at the net and shift to follow the ball. They know how to divide the court to cover most every shot and how to set up their partner to win the point. They communicate well to plan tactics and to offer encouragement. In this way a well developed team can often beat a more talented pair of players who do not interact well.

It is always best when the abilities of the two players complement each other. A steady player paired with a more powerful player is the ideal combination. The steady player is the wedge who consistently returns the ball low crosscourt and forces the opponent to pop up the ball. The powerful player is the hammer who can easily put away high volleys and overheads. A team of two powerful players is less effective because they will overhit and make too many unforced errors. A team of two steady players will have endless rallies but will not be able to put the ball away.

When receiving serve, the steady player should play the deuce (right) side and the powerful player should play the ad (left) side. With consistent low returns the steady player will set up the powerful player to poach with her forehand volley. The powerful player will also cover all overhead in the middle of the court. With the receiving team winning many of the deuce points, the powerful player will be free to go for big returns on game points putting even more pressure on the server.

When a righty and a lefty play together it is usually best to put the right on the deuce side and the lefty on the ad side. This way both players will get many more forehand returns and they can cover wide serves much better. It is also far more difficult for the sever to volley away from the receiver’s forehand on subsequent shots.

Most shots in doubles are hit over the center third of the net and a good doubles team instinctively knows who is going to cover them. While the partner is still back after serving or returning, any high middle ball will be poached by the volleyer. When both players are even at the net and properly shifted over to the side from which the opponent is hitting, the player diagonally opposite the ball covers the middle. The partner in this case needs to pay more attention to the alley. If there is any doubt, however, the player who hit the last ball should hit the next ball since she has the momentum.

In my next article, I will discuss teamwork further, going into overhead coverage, poaching and communication.