Mia Ford
It’s important to have a plan of strategy going into any tennis match. In doubles, you and your partner absolutely need to be in sync and agree on the same game plan.
Once you’re in the match, your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses reveal themselves quickly. A smart doubles team will pick up on these hints and intuitively adjust to take advantage and lock in a victory. Often, one partner is more in tune with how the opponent is playing and quickly understands how to play to their weaknesses. Again, the intelligent team will often communicate between points and share what each is seeing while formulating the winning strategy. Learning and adjusting on the go can be challenging to incorporate into your game. Still, it’s certainly a crucial talent worth crafting.
Here are five strategies I’ve learned over the years that you might be able to use during your next match.
Target the “well-endowed” opponents.
Yes, I went there, and no, I’m not saying it in a pervy way. I’m simply pointing out that all women with a large chest will have more difficulty with their backhand, as they have to get their arm across their chest to hit it – or at least hit it well. That said, if one or both opponents are well-endowed, hit to their backhand as often as possible 🙂
Take advantage of the situation.
An opponent mentions she has to pick up kids soon. You’ll usually hear this from league newbies because they haven’t learned yet to not divulge such information to opponents. Keep this little nugget of information tucked in the back of your mind as you study their strokes during the warm up. If it looks like you can take them by playing your regular game, then, by all means, play away. But if at any time they look like they will win, start pushing and dragging out each point. Utilize your offensive lobs. Keep a baseline rally going with deep shots. Take the full 20 seconds before each serve – second serves as well. If they are genuinely pressed for time, they will start making more errors that hopefully add up in your favor.
Don’t write off opponents with elbow and/or knee braces.
You notice that your opponents have various support braces. Pay attention to these ladies… Just because they are sporting knee and elbow braces doesn’t indicate injury, weakness, slowness, or anything of that nature. Don’t feel sorry for them. These tennis chicks are tennis warriors, and they have every intention of tormenting you. Do yourself a favor and stand firm. Play with authority, and whatever you do, do not feed the net person. She is undoubtedly salivating, waiting for the ball to inadvertently float to her on a silver platter.
Don’t be a softy.
You realize your opponent is one of your besties or relative. This happens more often than you think. Put your big girl panties on and get the job done. Tennis is a friendly game, but it’s one that everyone on the court wants to win. Just play it like every other match. Play hard. Play fair… and have fun! And remember, there can only be one winner. Won’t your friend be happy that you are there to console her 😉 ?
Beware of the Grandmas.
One or both of your opponents is elderly. Beware! These tennis chicks have probably been playing tennis for longer than you’ve been alive. They are human backboards that will frustrate the crap out of you with their consistency and lack of pace. Something else to know is that they typically hate the net, so use your drop shot when they’re at the baseline. They’ll struggle to come in, and if they get it back, it will probably be a floater you can put away.
Do you have any strategies we can all learn from? Please share in the comments below 🙂