Attacking down the middle can be an effective tennis doubles strategy. Doing this makes it more difficult for opponents to hit an impressive passing shot down the line or lob.
Another effective strategy is exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses by studying their playing style and exploiting any weak spots they might possess.
Serve
If you want to elevate your doubles game, the first area that needs attention should be your serve. Serving in doubles involves setting up the net player for a volley and making it difficult for opponents to return your serve; before each point begins, communicate with your partner about where and when you plan to serve – either through hand signals at baseline level or baseline markings; it also helps if your serve targets an opponent’s weakness – such as their backhand.
Serving in doubles can be tricky. The ideal place for serving is where the service line meets the inside tram line; this will force the opposing team’s net player into playing a low volley and force you and your partner to use a low volley instead. Alternatively, serving to deuce court can encourage opponents to return closer to center court, enabling you both to close out a point with a powerful volley shot.
One strategy is to utilize a high percentage first serve, as this puts opponents under pressure to hit it well. Also, slice serves can add some trickiness that makes the ball harder for opponents to read.
As soon as your opponent serves, it’s essential that you attack the ball quickly to make winning the point more challenging for them. You can do this by attacking either on the rise or from the side; even better is attempting to volley before your opponents have their turn at it!
Poaching can be an effective strategy to advance your doubles game. Poaching involves moving closer to the net and using poaching tactics such as volleying to confuse and force opponents into mistakes, leading them to make errors themselves.
Volley
Successful doubles volleying requires being able to read your opponent’s return and anticipate it, whether this means communicating during your serve with your partner or using hand signals to indicate where you will be positioning yourself. Furthermore, remembering their weak return areas means it will be harder for them to score at the net.
As part of their volley strategies when playing at the net, players should employ different volley strategies – pinch or fake being one such technique that can effectively force errors from opponents by forcing them into taking difficult shots down alleyways. This strategy can especially prove valuable when facing off against stronger opponents; this tactic prevents them from simply hitting high balls back to baseliners without filling up an alleyway!
Another effective volley strategy is hitting the ball through the center of the net, although this may be more challenging than you anticipate. Doing this successfully will give your team an incredible advantage by decreasing space your opponents have to attack your volley and making it more challenging for them to return lob shots.
Finally, when volleying, it is essential to attack the feet of your opponents. While this shot can be challenging to execute successfully in doubles tennis, its benefits will allow you to close out points faster.
These are only some of the many strategies available to you to improve your doubles game. By practicing and employing these tactics during matches, you can increase your success at the net and help your team win more matches! So go out there today and begin practicing these volley tactics – you won’t regret it! Good luck! This blog was written by Seminole High Performance Nike Tennis Camp Director Dwayne Hultquist; his passion lies in helping tennis players of all levels meet their goals and realize their dreams on court.
Groundstrokes
One of the best ways to improve your doubles tennis game is through aggressive groundstrokes. This is particularly effective at the net, where an aggressive response could force an opponent’s backhand volley out again or force a defensive game from them at baseline with aggressive angles volleys to force errors and close out points faster.
Doubles groundstrokes require extreme care in order to avoid getting stuck in a repetitive swing cycle that produces errors unforced errors, giving your opponent the upper hand. Therefore, it is vital that your strategy varies by attacking from different areas of the court.
When playing doubles it’s crucial to cover both sides of the court with your shots, be aggressive with volleys, smashes and lobs as much as possible, return serve aggressively cross court and return serve aggressively cross-court to stop opponents volleying returns easily, forcing you out of position at the net.
Being aware of your opponents’ preferred shots and spots is crucial in doubles tennis if you want to make them uncomfortable and gain an advantage in a match. For instance, if their play involves hitting high looping shots from behind court, switch up to deuce quickly to stop their momentum from becoming comfortable – otherwise they could become dominant opponents!
Communication between partners during a doubles match is of utmost importance, from prior to starting and during points. Discussing what might happen during each point helps avoid any surprises while also helping execute smarter doubles tactics and win more matches.
Returns
Returning in doubles requires taking great care to cover every side of the court with your partner – this is especially crucial if playing against an aggressive team which seeks to win their points at the net.
Return a ball that will make it difficult for your opponent to put away with their volleys, such as hitting one with top spin that allows your partner time to position for a lob volley. This strategy works especially well against players that like to stay close together near the net; by hitting a topspin lob over them it forces them out of their comfort zone and can make it very hard for them to put away your volleys.
Your return game can become more aggressive by hitting deep returns that make it more difficult for opponents to hit putaways, potentially forcing them into playing more defensively and forcing your opponent’s serve back over the net. This strategy works particularly well if they serve well and you find it hard to generate depth with groundstrokes.
At times, an effective doubles tennis return can involve striking an unexpected blow with an unexpected lob. This will put more pressure on your opponents as they must play higher volleys or pop it back up – especially useful against teams that like to poach! Additionally, this method makes it more challenging for them to gain an offensive foothold and make for more interesting tennis!
Being aggressive with your returns will elevate your doubles game to new levels. Through practice you can learn to cover more court, become more aggressive at the net with volleys and smashes, use lobs as pressure shots on opponents, and more effectively utilize communication and teamwork within a doubles partnership.