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Seven Doubles Principles for USTA League Players

Part II – Inside to Inside/Outside to Outside

By David Brouwer

In my last article I talked about the tactical importance of where to play your shots in a doubles match. As I coach USTA league players, their technique is usually quite engrained and I can only make slight changes. However, strategic and tactical adjustments are able to be made by players at any level with any technique.

Discussing principles of movement, shot selection, and high percentage positioning can help even the weekend warrior with the semi-western grip on their serve and volley! In this article, I'll cover how to “go with the flow of your body” and also not leave open court for your opponent. I call this the “inside to inside/outside to outside” law of doubles. Let me explain:

Assuming you are a right hander playing the deuce side, your forehand would be your outside shot (it's to the outside of the court) and your backhand would be your inside shot (it's to the inside of the court). According to this law, on an outside ball you have the option of taking it down the line, down the middle, or cross court. All of these shots go with the flow of your body and also keep the ball in front of either you or your partner.

However, on an inside ball, you must take the ball back down the middle or inside out. The cardinal sin is to take your inside ball to an outside target. In other words, for the right hander in the deuce court to take their backhand volley at the net player directly in front of them is breaking the law. Why?

On the inside ball, if you play it down the middle or inside out, the ball stays in front of you and your partner and the natural flow of your body is heading in the direction of your target. As soon as you try to “pull” the inside ball to the outside of the court, it goes against the natural flow of your body, likely resulting in a mis-hit ball. Also, even if you strike the ball cleanly, your body had flowed to the center of the court after the hit, and you've left an opening down the line for the opponent to hit to. Therefore, the wisest tactical shot and the highest percentage play would be to take the inside ball to the inside of the court. In other words, take it down the middle or inside out at the player diagonal from you.

When learning this principle, there are certain things to pay attention to:

1. If you are going to take the outside ball to an outside target (an up the line approach shot or approach volley), be sure to keep the ball low so the opponent is unable to play it for a winner down the center. I usually tell players that the best way to do this is to take pace off the ball so as to lay it at the feet of the opponent.
   
   Also, use the outside to outside law carefully on your return of serve because it is breaking the first principle of deep to deep/ close to close in that you are the deepest player and you're sending the return at the closest player.

   Click photo: Rally results in a sitter for the netman and he elects to take it inside to inside.

   
   
   
2. At times, you may have a high, easy, inside ball to your forehand (a right hander in the ad court playing a forehand volley). This may be a time to break the law and hit inside to an outside target (at the net player directly in front of you) but only if you're in an ideal volley position. I usually tell players that if they're balanced and it's high, they can take that forehand straight ahead. Otherwise, it should be directed down the middle or inside-out.

Following are some examples of when this principle can be played out in a match situation:

1. The server serves out wide to the deuce court forcing a heavy cross-court return from the opponent. The server then takes a forehand volley (their outside shot) up the line for an outside to outside volley.
   
   This play is especially effective because many times the returner's partner will shift with the wide serve to cover the center, leaving the outside target available for a volley winner. The server must consider that the net is a bit higher on this volley and adjust accordingly.
   
2. The right handed returner receives a serve up the “T” in the ad court. This would be to their forehand or their inside shot. They have two high percentage choices on this ball, both of which go with the flow of their body. First, they can take it straight up the middle, the inside target. Or they can take it inside-out, which also goes with the flow of their body.
   
   The return they want to avoid here is “pulling” that forehand straight ahead at the net player, an outside target. This would obviously break the deep to deep principle as well and allow the server's partner to hit winner up the middle or close to close.

When all four players have made it to the net, it is extremely important to stick with this principle. Here's why:

1. There is no longer a deep to deep or close to close exchange possibility. All players are close at this point. So any offense you might have had based on position is gone. Therefore, you're offense becomes wise decisions based on high percentage principles.
   
   
2. At any level, when all four players are at net, the goal should be to get the ball low enough so that the opponent pops it up and you can put it away. The best way to do this is to stick with these high percentage principles of shot selection so as not to be the first team to miss!

Finally, because this principle is so important for doubles players to learn, they should drill it! Here are a couple of drills we do at my clubs to reinforce this principle:

Speed Drill

In this drill, two doubles teams begin at opposing baselines and a ball is fed in. Anything goes on the first ball and the team that wins that point gets the right to take the net position. As soon as they lose a point at the net, they back pedal back to the baseline and the other team crashes the net. If at any time, a player breaks the inside to inside/ outside to outside principle, the pro subtracts one point from their total score. Play a game up to 7 or 11 and rotate one spot to the right when finished.

Stan Smith Closing Volley Drill

Affectionately named after Stan Smith, who I had the pleasure of doing this drill one on one with at a USPTA convention years ago. Two doubles teams begin at opposing baselines and an approach volley is fed in to one team. At this point, all four players crash the net at the same time.

Once the point is done, a second volley to volley exchange is played, and then a third volley to volley exchange is played. After all three points, all players reset to the baseline. Again, if at any time a player breaks the principle, their team subtracts on point from their score. Play to 7 or 11 and rotate one spot to the right.

There are many opportunities in every doubles match to practice this principle. Again, the most important thing is to continually reinforce this concept by recognizing when it is done correctly. When you stick with this principle, you'll make less errors, hit more successful shots, and have more fun playing doubles!

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about David Brouwer's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.

David Brouwer, USPTA is the Director of Tennis for three major health clubs in Grand Rapids , MI.

David was voted the USPTA Michigan Professional of the year in 2002 and has won two USPTA Outstanding Education awards.

David has been a speaker at the USPTA Midwest and National conventions and is the Director of the West Michigan Tennis Academy.

David coaches USTA league players of all levels and finds great joy in coaching strategy and tactics to build smarter tennis players.