Synergy on the Court: Advanced Tactics for Doubles Tennis Success

Doubles play is significantly different from singles. Tennis players have to use a lot of tactics and make complex movements around the court. Many fans believe that the main task is to cover their half of the court. However, the secret to playing as a duo is that both players must defend their side together and work well as a team. In addition, the choice of a suitable national partner plays a decisive role. When choosing a partner, you should consider whether he will be able to perform important shots during the match, and how much the game of both will complement each other. Serves in doubles will complement each other.

Serving In Doubles

The server should aim to hit the first ball 90% of the time. Instead of trying to throw a flat cannon serve, it is better to reduce the speed and add topspin to the ball for greater accuracy and consistency. If a player does not serve on the first ball and is forced to serve a second serve, then both opponents will stand closer to the net and the serving pair will have to defend during the next rally. Such actions may force you to make a double mistake.

Serving in doubles gives a much greater advantage than serving in singles. How should you serve and what type of serve should you use? The aggressive flat serve is undeniably a formidable weapon. However, due to the fast flight of the ball, the server may not have time to reach the net.

In this case, you will have to hit the ball from half-volley, which is extremely inconvenient. On clay and other slow surfaces, a flat serve does not have much effect. In addition, it is difficult to serve consistently throughout the match. This is why tournament players serve mostly curved or sliced serves.

Using topspin, the server gets enough time to reach the net due to the fact that the curved ball travels slower than the flat ball. Another advantage of this type of serve is that the ball bounces quickly and high, making it very difficult to receive. A cut ball, in turn, is capable of knocking an opponent off the court and has an unusual rebound. However, this does not mean that the use of flat feed should be completely abandoned.

It is necessary to correctly combine rotation, direction and speed, which will not allow the opponent to adapt and will lead to errors in the reception.

Receiving Serve in Doubles

Receiving a serve in doubles is considered one of the most difficult tasks, as an opponent standing at the net can easily intercept a poorly received serve. It is especially difficult to take on fast surfaces.

The receiver must position himself in such a way as to successfully receive the serve. If the first serve is strong and the receiver’s reaction speed is not good enough, then you should move behind the back line. It is recommended to take the second serve aggressively, so you need to move forward a little and go inside the court. The position of the player standing at the net directly depends on the experience and skill of volleying. The more confident he is at the net, the closer to it and the center of the court he should be.

Playing at the Net

Doubles play requires a tennis player to have such qualities as quick reaction, high concentration and good volley technique. The player standing at the net is given no more than a split second to assess the situation and direct the ball in the right direction. Professionals always try to immediately deal with the ball at the net so that the opponent has no chance to hit it. It’s difficult to play like this, but more than half of all points in a match are won with just such a shot.

Beginners should not try to play sharp until they can hit volleys consistently. During a score game, the ball should be directed to the center of the court between the players. Such tactics of doubles tennis will not allow opponents to answer askance and will force them to make a mistake. The volley to the center of the court is the main shot in doubles.

Playing In the Center of the Court

Most beginners try to play the lineout to win the draw. This is a mistake because the mesh on the sides is higher than in the center. Secondly, sending the ball from the center of the court to the corridor is much more difficult than to the center of the court. In addition, when playing in the center, players can “cross” their rackets or miss a shot, relying on each other.

Tennis players with experience in doubles often resort to a similar tactical technique, trying to shoot through the center. In order to prevent opponents from using such a technique. Both partners must agree before the match on which of them will hit the ball flying in the center. As a rule, this is the task of the player who is closest to the net. If both partners are at the same distance from the net. Then in this case the player who masters this shot better should play the volley in the center.