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Double Trouble?
by
Nick Bollettieri, 23 December 2011
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Sooner or later, you will play doubles.
So, you should accept this near fact and find a solution. For this, I can help you. The main difference between doubles and singles is that doubles is a game of court positioning. Singles is more about shot making and the building of points through shot combinations. Doubles has two players on each side of the court, which automatically means less open space. Singles will have more violations due to the fact that more open space requires more movement. In doubles, the reduced court space limits creativity and results in specific shots being hit more often.
Three quick tips:
- On the return of service, go cross court 99% of the time unless the server's partner poaches often.
- When opponents are at the net or in trouble, you must remember you have a partner so lob, lob, lob! In general, you will use the skill or specialty shots more in doubles such as the lob, sharp angle, chips shot, and more. You must work on the touch shots to become a good doubles player.
- When in trouble, hit to the center of the court.
When determining which player should serve the first set, you must remember that this is the beginning of teamwork. You have to weigh the options and consider the circumstances, especially if both players have equal serves. For instance, if you don't like to serve when the toss goes into the sun, make sure you take this into consideration as to whether or not you want to serve first. Sometimes weaker servers want the wind behind them. In general, the strongest server serves first to highlight the team's strengths. Sometimes, you consider the net player as well and who is best at holding service.
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