Doubles Dilemmas and Decisions

Greg Moran

When you take the court, you and your partner have many decisions to consider (aside from who buys the pizza and beer after the match). Doubles means “two” and anytime there are two people involved, the potential for confusion arises. Here are a few quick tips for some of the games more confounding dilemmas.

Who Plays Which Side of the Court?

I recently read a book on doubles by a much-loved tennis champion. Truly one of the games all-time greats, the author regales us with his stories of winning Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Davis Cup while at the same time explaining in great detail all of the intricacies that he and his partner considered when deciding who would play which half of the doubles court.

After I finished reading and translating his profound theories, I felt as if I’d swum from Wimbledon to the U.S. Open and back again. I was exhausted, and immediately thought that it can’t be this complicated. Fortunately, for most teams, it isn’t. Here’s the secret:

Each player should play the side where he or she is most comfortable returning serve.

Nothing else matters, because if the serve is not returned effectively (away from the net player and down low if the server is coming in, deep if he isn’t) the points are going to be over faster than you can say Martina Navratilova.

With that in mind, think about these two statistics:

1. At the intermediate and lower levels of the game, most serves are hit to the outsides of the service boxes.
2. At the advanced level, approximately 75 % of serves are hit down the middle.

This means that for a 3.5-and-below-level team of two right-handed players, you would want the player with the stronger forehand returning serve from the deuce court and the player with the better backhand receiving from the ad court.

For right-handed teams at the 4.0 level and above, they’ll be facing serves coming mostly down the middle, so they would want the player who prefers backhands on the deuce side and the player with the better forehand receiving from the ad court.

Now, conventional wisdom tells us that most of the “big” points (40-30 and 30-40) in a game occur on the backhand side. In that case, say the “experts,” a team should have its stronger player on the ad side.

This makes sense except for the fact that if you can’t win points from the deuce side, you may never get to the big points. So again, it boils down to having each player on the side where they are most comfortable receiving serve.
Once you make your decision it’s only set in stone for one set. If you feel it’s not working out, make a change. Plus, if you’re like most, you’ll play with different partners. This means that you’ll probably end up playing both sides, and that is a good thing.

By playing both sides of the court, you gain a larger perspective of the court as well as add to your arsenal of shots. Most of all, it allows you to be flexible, and if you can become comfortable on both sides of the court, you’ll have that many more people with whom to play.

Who Serves First

A basketball team puts its strongest lineup on the floor at the start of the game, and so should you. This means that the player who has the best chance of winning his service game should serve first. Usually this is the player with the better serve—a strong serve that will force a weak return. The server’s net-playing partner can then pick off the return, or the server himself can move in and attack.

Not always, though. I once had a partner who had a great serve (much better than mine), but was so active and intimidating at the net that we decided it would be better if I served first. I simply spun the serve in and watched my partner drive our opponents crazy. With his poaching, faking and great speed, he was able to totally control the point. By putting our best lineup (me serving, he at the net) into the game first, so to speak, we were able to set an intimidating tone right from the start of the match.

Take a look at both factors—who has the stronger serve and who is more active at the net—and go from there. Keep in mind that the person serving first will most probably get more opportunities to serve during the course of the set, so make sure your starting lineup is a good one.

Whose Ball Is It?

Singles is easy—any ball that crosses the net is yours. Most of the time in doubles it’s also obvious which player should hit the ball. However, there are two situations when there is often confusion—balls hit down the center and shots lobbed over your head.

In both cases one of two things usually happens: Either both players go for the ball and run into each other, or much more common, both players turn and give each other the “where were you” look as the ball flies between them.

Who Covers the Middle?

It’s not as confusing as you think. Remember, when you and your partner are both at the net you should be moving from side to side, following the ball. With that in mind, if the ball goes to your opponents’ deuce court, you and your partner should move to your left. In this situation, the player covering your deuce court will handle a down-the-middle return. Yes, even though it probably will be your partner’s backhand volley, he should cover the middle.

An exception to this would be if the return down the middle is a high, slow moving ball. In that case it’s a perfect opportunity for the player covering the alley to call “mine,” explode toward the middle, cut off the return and volley the ball with his forehand (if he’s right-handed). That’s usually his stronger volley as well.

If your ball goes to your opponents’ ad court, you and your partner will both shift to the right. Your team’s ad-court player then will cover the middle.

The only time there may be some confusion with these general rules is when your team returns the ball right down the center. In that situation, you and your partner should both take a step toward the center. If your opponents then return your shot down the middle, the player closer to the net should take it. If you and your partner are both up at the net, the player with the stronger shot (usually the forehand) should take it.

What About Lobs?

"Yours" is the usual cry among recreational players when they see a lob go up. More often than not, they turn to look at their partners, who stare right back at them as the ball floats over their heads. To play the net effectively, you and your partner must iron out who takes the shot because the first thing a smart team will do is test you with a lob.

Let’s say that Bill and Sam are at the net and the lob goes over Sam’s head. Now what? There are two schools of thought regarding who should cover this lob. The first says that Bill should go for the ball because it’s more comfortable for him to move across the court at an angle than it would be for Sam to move back for a ball that is right over him.

This is a perfectly workable strategy for lower-level players who have not yet developed their movement skills. The “duck and switch” allows them to cover the lob and get the ball back in play. The drawback to this move is that Bill has to run a longer distance than Sam to reach the lob.

He’ll also almost certainly have to let the ball bounce, and because he won’t be able to hit an attacking overhead, give up control of the net. It also puts their team in the vulnerable one-up, one-back formation unless Sam also moves back with Bill.

The second school of thought says that players should cover the lobs over their own heads. Therefore, when the lob goes over Sam’s head, he is responsible for covering the shot. If his movement skills are good, his first choice would be to hit the lob as an overhead, the most offensive shot in the game. If he can’t get balanced to hit the overhead, he should still take the ball out of the air, but hit a volley. Simply punch the ball back deep and move back in. This allows his team to still maintain its control over the net.

If there is ever doubt about who should hit the ball, go after it yourself. The worst that will probably happen is that you and your partner bang rackets. It’s much better to have two players going after a ball than none. After all, no matter who “should” have hit the ball, you both lose the point if no one goes for it.

A Final Doubles Thought

As in any relationship, the key to happiness is communication. Talk to your partner, no matter if you’ve played with the same partner for a dozen years or it’s the first time together. Teams that have been together for a long time may know each other’s moves and moods and are able to complement each other. But no one can read another person’s mind, so talk with your partner constantly during a match.

For those who do not have a regular doubles partner (which is most of you, I suspect), a doubles match with a new partner is very much like a date. How you and your partner interact will determine its success. So be polite and be yourself. Talk with your partner, keep him informed of what you are going to do, and enjoy the experience.

From a strategic standpoint, talk in between points and at the changeovers. Even if you are not running any set plays together, let your partner know what you are planning to do on each point. Discuss your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. Talk about what’s working and what’s not. Remember, your role as part of a team is to support your partner verbally and through body language.

If your partner misses a shot, offer positive support and encouragement, and always keep in mind that your partner didn’t miss the shot on purpose. Remember, if he never missed he probably wouldn’t be playing with you. He’d be on TV playing against the big boys.

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

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