Doubles Teamwork

🎾 Doubles Teamwork: The Art of Playing Tennis as a Team

Imagine you and your best friend are superheroes protecting a castle together. One guards the front gate, the other watches the back. You talk, you signal, you move as ONE. That’s doubles tennis!

🏰 The Castle Analogy

Think of the tennis court as your castle. In singles, you protect it alone. In doubles, you have a partner—your teammate! Together, you’re stronger than two separate players. But only if you work as a team.

The Secret: The best doubles teams don’t have two players. They have ONE unit with four arms and four legs!

📍 Doubles Court Positioning

Where Do We Stand?

The doubles court is wider than singles—those extra lanes (called “alleys”) are now in play!

graph TD
    A["Net"] --> B["Net Player Zone"]
    B --> C["Service Line"]
    C --> D[No Man's Land ⚠️]
    D --> E["Baseline Player Zone"]

The Two Key Zones:

🎯 Simple Example

• Your partner serves from the right side
• You stand at the net on the LEFT side
• You’re covering different halves—like cutting a pizza!

Golden Rule: Don’t both stand in the same spot. Spread out like peanut butter on bread!

🔄 Doubles Formations

The Classic: One Up, One Back

This is the most common formation—like a sandwich!

graph TD
    A["🧑 Net Player - Front"]
    B["🧑 Baseline Player - Back"]
    A --- B

• Net player = The attack
• Baseline player = The defense

The Australian Formation (I Formation)

Both players start on the SAME side! It’s sneaky and confusing for opponents.

When to use it: When your opponents keep hitting to the same spot.

Both at the Net

Super aggressive! You’re both at the net, ready to pounce.

Risk: If someone lobs over your heads… trouble!

Both at the Baseline

Defensive mode. Use when opponents have powerful shots.

🦸 Net Player Role in Doubles

The net player is like a goalkeeper in soccer—but instead of blocking, you’re ATTACKING!

Your Jobs:

1. Intercept - Grab balls that come near you
2. Pressure - Make opponents nervous
3. Finish - Hit winners (shots they can’t return)

💡 Simple Example

Your partner hits a good shot. The opponent’s return floats up weakly. You POUNCE and smash it down—WINNER!

Body Language Matters

• Stand ready, racket up
• Look confident (even if you’re nervous!)
• Keep moving—frozen players are easy to beat

Pro Tip: Think of yourself as a cat ready to catch a mouse. Alert. Quick. Deadly.

🏃 Doubles Baseline Role

The baseline player is the foundation—like the roots of a tree while your net partner is the branches.

Your Jobs:

1. Keep the ball in play - Don’t make errors!
2. Set up your partner - Hit shots that let them attack
3. Cover lobs - Run back when balls go over your partner’s head

💡 Simple Example

You hit a deep crosscourt shot. The opponent struggles to return it. They hit a weak ball, and your partner at the net finishes it. TEAMWORK!

Where to Hit Most Often

Remember: Your job is to make your partner look good!

🏴‍☠️ Poaching and Faking

What is Poaching?

Poaching = The net player suddenly moves to intercept a ball that would normally go to their partner.

It’s like stealing cookies from the jar—quick, sneaky, and satisfying!

graph LR
    A["Opponent hits"] --> B["Ball heading to baseline partner"]
    B --> C["Net player JUMPS in!"]
    C --> D["Intercepts and wins point!"]

💡 Simple Example

Your partner serves. You’re at the net. You SEE the opponent is going to return crosscourt. You MOVE sideways and volley the ball for a winner!

What is Faking?

Faking = You PRETEND to poach but don’t actually move.

• Makes opponents nervous
• They might hit errors trying to avoid you
• It’s like a basketball player faking a pass!

When to Poach

• When you KNOW where the ball is going
• When your partner hits a strong shot
• When opponents always hit the same spot

When to Fake

• When you want to confuse opponents
• When you’re not sure where the ball will go
• Early in the match to plant doubt

📢 Doubles Communication

Talking is NOT Optional!

In doubles, silence is your enemy. Talk constantly!

What to Say:

Hand Signals (Behind Your Back)

Before your partner serves, show them your plan:

• Fist = “I’m staying”
• Open hand = “I’m going to poach”
• Finger pointing = “Fake, then go that direction”

💡 Simple Example

Your partner is about to serve. You show an open hand behind your back. They know you’ll poach. They serve wide, opponent returns crosscourt, you’re ALREADY moving there. Winner!

Golden Rule: A called ball is a caught ball. Don’t stay silent!

🔀 Switching in Doubles

When Both Players Move

Sometimes you need to swap sides with your partner—like dancers changing positions!

When to Switch:

1. After a lob - If a lob goes over the net player’s head, the baseline player runs to get it. The net player crosses to cover the other side.

2. After poaching - If you poach across the court, you’ve left your side open. Your partner fills in.

graph TD
    A["Lob over net player!"] --> B["Baseline player runs to get it"]
    B --> C["Net player yells 'SWITCH!'"]
    C --> D["Both players swap sides"]

💡 Simple Example

You’re at the net. Opponent hits a lob over your head. Your partner at the baseline runs to the OTHER side to chase it. You quickly move to their spot. Now you’ve switched sides!

The Call

• Yell “SWITCH!” clearly
• The player who sees the whole court (usually baseline) makes the call
• Don’t hesitate—confusion loses points!

Recovery After Switching

After you switch, you need to get back to normal positions (or stay switched if it’s working).

Pro Tip: Practice switching in practice! It should feel automatic.

🎯 Putting It All Together

The Recipe for Doubles Success

1. Position - Start in the right spots
2. Communicate - Talk before, during, and after points
3. Trust - Believe your partner will do their job
4. Move - Switch when needed, poach when smart
5. Support - Celebrate good shots, encourage after mistakes

The Doubles Mindset

❌ “I need to win this point alone.” ✅ “WE are going to win this point together.”

🧠 Quick Review

🌟 Final Thought

The best doubles teams aren’t always the most talented. They’re the teams that think as one, move as one, and fight as one.

Your partner is not just someone on your side of the net. They’re the other half of your tennis brain!

Now go out there and play like superheroes protecting your castle—TOGETHER! 🏰🎾

“In doubles, 1 + 1 = 3. Together, you’re greater than the sum of your parts.”