From: rchen@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (chen, richard)
Subject: Re: doubles tips ?
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Reply-To: rchen@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 02:04:31 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.175131.4410@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov>, rchen@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (chen, richard) writes...
>In article <1gkb7jINNjg8@iraul1.ira.uka.de>, voss@i40s16.ira.uka.de (Stefan Voss) writes...
Sorry for the interruption, my boss was coming...

>5.  Don't serve from near the center hash mark.  Serve from at least midway
>between the hash mark and the singles side line since you have a lot of 
>territory to cover.  Aces are much less important in doubles because the
>serving team wins a much higher percentage of points when the first serve
>goes in (since there's somebody at the net ready to put away any weak return)
>compared to singles.
> 
>6.  If your opponents have weaker backhands than forehands, then get your 
>serve to their backhand.  Thus if you're playing two right-handers, line up 
>really wide when serving on the AD side, maybe a foot inside the singles side 
>line.
> 
>7.  If your opponents have backhands as good as their forehands, serve down
>the middle.  (Therefore if you're playing the standard right-hander whose
>backhand is weaker than his/her forehand, really, really try to get the serve
>down the middle on the deuce side; that's a tough trick since you're not 
>serving from the hash mark.)  Serving down the middle is always safe because 
>it's harder for the returner to go down the line, allowing your partner to be 
>more aggressive on balls returned cross court.  Anytime the partner of the 
>server can volley the return, the point should be over.
> 
>8.  If your partner is serving, stand right in the middle of the service box,
>or maybe a half-step closer to the net.  If the server is standing as
>described in #5, then if you get plunked in the back of the head, the serve
>would have been wide anyway.  And don't watch your partner serve since you
>need time to react without having to spin your head or body around and you 
>already know which of your opponents is going to get the ball.

9.  Come in to the net after your serve.  As mentioned before, the strongest 
doubles position is when both players are at the net.  In fact, if your return 
of serve is good enough, come in after your return as well.  If you don't come 
in after your serve, your opponents can put up a really lame, high, slow 
cross-court shot and take the net from you, putting you on the defensive even 
though it's your serve.

10.  If your opponents are doing all the above correctly on their serve and
your team is getting pounded, consider not having the non-returning player
stand on the baseline rather than at the net.  The strongest position is when
both players are at the net, but the weakest is when one is at the net and the
other is back since it's so easy to put a ball in between.  Anyway, if you're
both back and manage to get a lob over the other team and force them to take a
ground stroke, then you can charge the net together.

11.  On the return:  if you're determined to get to the net, as you should be...
if the server has been charging the net, you must get the return cross-court
to the server, since the other opponent will put the ball away if you hit it
to him/her.  To make the server's volley tougher, hit your return low and hard.
Then the server will have to hit the ball up right in front of your partner,
who then has a good chance to get a nice lazy ball at chest level which he/she
can then drive into the abdomen of one of your opponents.  Still, you should
follow your return in since the server may volley your return back to your
side.  If you did hit the ball low, the server will still have to volley up.
If you didn't hit the ball low and the ball isn't moving quickly, you might do
your partner a favor by yelling "HEADS UP" or by subsidizing the funeral.
If the server hasn't been charging the net, then put any junk with some pace
cross-court to allow you to get to the net.  Backspin would be nice to keep
the ball low after it bounces.

If your point lasts longer than that (probably 80% won't), remember that you 
and your partner move as a pair - charge (preferably) and retreat together.  
Keeping the ball down the middle reduces the angles your opponents have.
If you and your partner are both at the net, you needn't go for winners all
the time.  As long as you get your volleys back deeply and crisply, the 
opportunity to hit a winner will arise.  If you're both at the net and your
opponents are about to hit the ball not from the middle (e.g. you serve wide
and come in), shift over since your opponent has a nice shot down the line.

Then there's the unteachable stuff, particularly reflexes and speed.  Those
are the qualities that I think make McEnroe the greatest doubles player.
Nothing gets by him at the net, and he used to get up to the net SOOOOO fast.
He'd toss the ball way up, reach up and forward to hit it, and then take two
quick steps to get up to the service line.

RIchard Chen
Newsgroups: rec.sport.tennis