Julie Des Jardin
If youโre a league tennis player, no doubt youโve come across a much stronger doubles team on your court. In the warm-up, you can see that they are crushing the ball and moving well on the court. Yepโฆthe opposing team has dropped their lines.
So what do you do? Accept it, and play like youโre going to lose anyway? You could do thatโฆ but just because theyโre a stronger team, doesnโt mean theyโre unbeatable.
You could stick toย your usual game and just try harder try harder, but that probably wonโt give you the win against a stronger team; however, you have a better chance at winning if you play a smarter game. Try these doubles strategies the next time you come face to face with a seemingly invincible team, and win more matches!
Watch and learn.
You have 10 full minutes in your warm up, so spend it observing your opponents. Which player has a stronger serve? Does one player seem more experienced than the other? Is one of the players a lefty? Who loves the net?
Identify each of your oppontentโs top strengths and weaknesses. After the warm-up, get together with your partner and compare notes, and develop a strategy that will magnify their weaknesses and minimize their strengths.
Assess your own strengths and weaknesses.
Of all the doubles tennis strategies, this one is probably the most often ignored. If youโre studying your opponents, donโt think for one moment that they arenโt studying you. Talk to your partner and identify your own weaknesses and strengths. Develop a plan to ensure they canโt exploit your weak second serve or your partnerโs inconsistent backhand.
For example, if you have a weak second serve, have your partner stand closer to the service line so they donโt get pummeled by the returner. And if that doesnโt work, take away the opponentโs target altogether by having your partner move back to the baseline.
Listen to your partner.
Doubles tennis is an on-court partnership, but that doesnโt mean itย is between equally skilled players.
Many doubles teams have partners with varying experience and skill. Thatโs actually a strength, and one that many teams fail to use. Acknowledge that youโre not the best player, and turn to your experienced partner for guidance. And if youโre the experienced one, make sure to speak up and share what you know with your teammate.
Change up the pace.
If you have opponents who prefer to camp out at the baseline, smacking hard, flat balls, then chances are that theyโre uncomfortable up at the net. Hit some drop shots and make them come in, and then lob to make them run back. Keep doing this and theyโll get frustrated and make the errors.
The same advice goes for opponents whose entire game is slow.ย When you face a team that lobs a lot and puts little pace on the ball, speed up your play. Taking their lobs out of the air with overheads and swing volleys will give them less time to react to the incoming shot and force them to hurry into their return. You can also do the 2-on-1 and relentlessly pick on the weaker of the two which will also force more errors out of frustration. These tactics will disrupt your opponentโs style of play and help you gain momentum in the match.
Change up your serve.
All players can fall into the habit of using the same one or two serves throughout a match, making them too predictable. It might also mean youโre missing opportunities to take advantage of any weaknesses.
Does your opponent love rippingย cross-court returns of serve? Start serving toward the T and take away that cross-court angle. Notice how your opponent favors their forehand? Start serving to their backhandโฆ and for added measure, add some slice.
Adjust your strategy.
Youโll learn more about your opponents as the match unfolds. No doubt theyโll adjust their strategy, which means you will need to do so as well. Donโt be afraid to try new strategies. Youโll keep your opponents worried about what youโll do next ๐
Play like you have nothing to lose.
โฆbecause you donโt.
Which doubles tennis strategies are your favorites? Did they work? What do you think you could have done differently? Letโs discuss in the comments below!