Here's some more helpful doubles lessons: The Bryan Brothers Don't Cover This: ruclips.net/video/v8QvNc7Dv3U/видео.html Doubles Positioning Secret: ruclips.net/video/jFB0wbt1Ze4/видео.html How To Watch The Ball In Doubles: ruclips.net/video/7Xohs0A5tb0/видео.html Thank you so much for watching today and supporting this channel!
I been coaching high school tennis for a long time. A couple of observations. Doubles requires more skills that include volley and overheads because these situations happen more often. For every half hour I spend on tactics I probably spend an hour teaching skills dealing with volley and overheads. Split step and footwork are essential in developing these skills. The doubles alley is 4.5 feet wide and allows you to hit cross court to move your opponents to the side so your partner can cut off the return and hit up the middle between or at the feet of an opponent at the net. Players have to try to work as a team not have one player hitting ground strokes with the other player guarding the alley watching a singles match. Basic rule player closer to the ball makes the shot. So many players just stand and watch the ball pass by a couple a feet away because they are not confident or comfortable hitting a volley. You got to do the drills to build the skills. You got to practice the way you want to play.
5:46 - "that doesnt mean you're literally trying to hit them" *sweats perfusely while staring at Ians ankles* Thanks for the tips for dubs @essentialtennis !
Ian, I read your book. I think it is the best tennis book I have read. I am a High School Tennis Coach. It was fantastic and I am going to read it again.
Yes. Odd how he spells “defence,” but yet defensive correctly. Yes, good content, but errors like that show a lack of professionalism. And doesn’t he have spellcheck? Mine flagged it.
It could be that Senior players have more experience and have learned effective doubles tactics over time. Also in my case I grew up and learned to play in the serve and volley era when we actually played the net on both singles and doubles. I have watched so many so called modern style players that only hit big serves and topspin forehands. So many recreational players look so uncomfortable when they have to move forward and take a ball in the air and hit a placement volley. Personally I have fun playing doubles and constantly moving forward to put pressure on opponents and place volleys at their feet or between them. You can’t be afraid to miss a couple. Volley early and often in the set.
Sometimes the trouble with hitting down the middle is that the poacher can really take advantage of the shot. If you know the net player poaches a lot, it can be productive to hit down the line. Otherwise make sure the shot is crosscourt enough to avoid the poach. this is a really good video for most amateur players.
Thanks Ian. Since doubles is my game of choice these days having some info on strategy is very helpful. the issue I have is finding a partner who wants to learn and follow some sort of game plan.
That struggle is real. Most play dubbles like they are playing single the guy at the net as to take care of himself, no real communication is happening. Try and ask if they would try serve to the inside, and it is too much. Most practice/training they do is a practice dubbles match against the same players every time. Not paying attention to anything but the score
The only addition I would make for the a right handed net player sitting on the add side and receiving a ball that gives an offensive shot is that the placement of your shot is also dependent on whether you are able to poach the shot or not. If it is hit at you (more cross court), yes, the target should be at the other net player but if you get a floater more in the middle, you also have the short angle away from them which will not allow the baseline player to reach it either (a well executed shot, even if they reach it, has them so far off the court they are effectively out of play). For 99.9% of players, this is only viable if they are hitting that high floating forehand type volley as the high Backand volley is one of the more difficult shots in tennis, though some can hit that well, also. As you said, doubles is so fluid and situational. A friends daughter was told, "hit it where they aren't" . If you have a large opening, I like this strategy, but, again, it is highly situational. When I get to be the net player I get just as much joy from hitting a winner as I do from knowing I forced the other player to hit around me (and even better if my partner keeps it in play or hits a winner).
That makes sense, I've always been hitting average pace (slower than average compared to others) shots to the baseline or deeper player. No wonder I'm always losing.
Awesome tips!! You described me perfectly, when I panic and not sure if I’m a net player or baseline, down the “middle” is where I need to go!!! 🙏🏽🎾😜🙏🏽
Ian - any thoughts about applying this approach to the singles match play videos you've posted up in the past? Having you, Mark, Scott breaking down the strategy being applied in singles and doubles game play would be great!!
Thanks for the upload. I sought out this video as I am really struggling with my net play in doubles and I fear it is due to the low weight of my racket. I play with a Wilson Clash 100L (light) and feel on net play the ball literally dies and i can hardly make a proper return even if I am in a good position. Any thoughts on this would be most helpful.
i feel comfortable hitting a topspin lob. if your opponents are both at net, how do you decide if you should perhaps hit a clean shot over the middle, or go for the crosscourt lob? yes the lob is lower % but greater reward
Hi Ian! I think you have a great opportunity to make videos aimed towards 4.0-5.0 players - I don't really see many videos around this skill level. I love the match play you're doing on your channel recently and think you can really expand into this category as well!
Got anything on communicating the serve placement? The majority of rec players don't but I believe if you can place your serve consistently, why not use signals to communicate that?
At the club level, what strategy would you try in this scenario? The server is dominate at the net but the server's partner is a liability at the net and is not comfortable poaching. If the server moves in and both partners are at the net, the opposition always hits to the weaker player and wins almost all of the points. Does this force the server to stay back and thus compromise the servers strength? Lining up in the T formation proves ineffective. Starting two back is just like giving up. What can they do?
Lot's of options! I'd personally begin by continuing to serve and volley and then poach as much as possible to intercept the ball before it gets to my weaker partner. Next I'd probably try staying back for the first shot and then lobbing the net player in front of me....come in behind that and now the ball is down the line from me and I can intercept shots much more easily. After that, if my partner is really THAT much of a liability I really would try double back on my own serve, both staying back and serving and volleying. Between those four options something will definitely click/open up.
It’s tough when you’re partner is a liability at net, but you want to keep them up there because at net, you’re in an advantageous position and the more times your partner plays at net, the better chance he/she will be playing at net. I would do some i-formations where net player moves to their backhand side after serving in attempt to get returners to hit to server’s forehand. Server can stay back sometimes but for both players to stay back would be my very last resort (if all else fails). Good luck!
Sounds like you’re up a creek. No matter what the server does, the opposition hits to the weak netman and wins the point. Maybe play the lousy netman back where he can lob deep and partner can hit overheads.
I got the same issue with my partner. I can put a lot of pressure to my opponents team with my serves and groundstroke but my partner tends to have really terrible volley skill usually not hitting deep enough for a winner. I also order him to not hit a drop shots since those get covered way too often and it leaves our defence wide open. After some times the opposition will always try to hit to my partner instead and this puts me in defensiv position where I can't get to the net because doing so would cause them to lob the ball usually on my partner's side. What's worse than his volley skills is his inability to hit a good overhead smash. Putting both of us at the baseline also doesn't help since his groundstroke lacks precision and power. My partner has incredible reflexes coming from fencing but for the love of god he just runs around like a headless chicken in a double match.
Why not have the server's partner stay on the baseline and allow the strong server to still serve & volley? The server can vary where they start serving from to give the return team different looks. It's not ideal but I've seen it done effectively enough, even at very high levels. IMO, it is far worse to force a weak volleyer to stay in a position where they are completely ineffective.
I think I’m getting better when playing with the weaker player. Getting frustrated isn’t going to solve anything. I think I need to play with her more so my frustration level will go down. My dad says I work everyday with people I don’t like. And frustration for me: I missed the ball and threw the racket and was like how can I miss that. Until the person hits it back...
I think you have to consider the playing standards, if you’re a lot better player, hitting ‘at’ the net player to hit them isn’t good form. If standards are similar then their body is fair game, head shots still aren’t on, we’re playing for enjoyment, it’s not life or death
At some level of doubles, players can return body shots with reflex volleys. I’ve seen it often where the reflexer wins the exchange. I say, don’t give them the chance.
Due to covid19 it is prohibited to play dubbles in my country. In my experience net players at lower level. Feel it they are playing mean when targeting the other net player. It even causes tension certainly if you play mix. Hitting towards the female player at the net even if you don't try to hit her. I stopped playing mix dubbles because of that. To much drama
Generally it’s better to hit cross court cause it’s a higher percentage shot, but DTL is an aggressive shot it can work however it’s better to not use it too much because it’s more risky. I like to use it at most a few times a set and for me it almost always works cause my opponents don’t expect it.
this is the stupidest stretegy that we already know. why don't you talk about details of the pattern, when the ball is low high medium height. and what angles to create and when to come in
Here's some more helpful doubles lessons:
The Bryan Brothers Don't Cover This: ruclips.net/video/v8QvNc7Dv3U/видео.html
Doubles Positioning Secret: ruclips.net/video/jFB0wbt1Ze4/видео.html
How To Watch The Ball In Doubles: ruclips.net/video/7Xohs0A5tb0/видео.html
Thank you so much for watching today and supporting this channel!
I been coaching high school tennis for a long time. A couple of observations. Doubles requires more skills that include volley and overheads because these situations happen more often. For every half hour I spend on tactics I probably spend an hour teaching skills dealing with volley and overheads. Split step and footwork are essential in developing these skills. The doubles alley is 4.5 feet wide and allows you to hit cross court to move your opponents to the side so your partner can cut off the return and hit up the middle between or at the feet of an opponent at the net. Players have to try to work as a team not have one player hitting ground strokes with the other player guarding the alley watching a singles match. Basic rule player closer to the ball makes the shot. So many players just stand and watch the ball pass by a couple a feet away because they are not confident or comfortable hitting a volley. You got to do the drills to build the skills. You got to practice the way you want to play.
5:46 - "that doesnt mean you're literally trying to hit them"
*sweats perfusely while staring at Ians ankles*
Thanks for the tips for dubs @essentialtennis !
Ian, I read your book. I think it is the best tennis book I have read. I am a High School Tennis Coach. It was fantastic and I am going to read it again.
This was very good, I learned a lot...
Am I the only one who looked up and saw Ian spelled defense with a c? Still love the content, that just cracked me up.
That's the correct spelling ;) (here in the UK)
Yeah, it’s like honour and honor or math and maths or ass and arse
Defence. That’s the thing you hit the ball over. And have to ask someone walking by to throw it back in the court. 😊
Yes. Odd how he spells “defence,” but yet defensive correctly. Yes, good content, but errors like that show a lack of professionalism. And doesn’t he have spellcheck? Mine flagged it.
Speaking of spelling and grammar, did saw, or seen it? Saw is a tool! And seen is something you do with your eyes!
This video is so good. I watch it a few times the night before and day of a league match and it helps immensely!!
Thanks for the strategies because I’m tired of getting my ass whipped by seniors. 😆
Oh my god, same. I got put against 2 sophomores in a doubles match. I'm a freshman and new to tennis.
@@CharmanderCharlie96 I was referring to senior citizens. 😂
It could be that Senior players have more experience and have learned effective doubles tactics over time. Also in my case I grew up and learned to play in the serve and volley era when we actually played the net on both singles and doubles. I have watched so many so called modern style players that only hit big serves and topspin forehands. So many recreational players look so uncomfortable when they have to move forward and take a ball in the air and hit a placement volley. Personally I have fun playing doubles and constantly moving forward to put pressure on opponents and place volleys at their feet or between them. You can’t be afraid to miss a couple. Volley early and often in the set.
Got my ass kicked by seniors 🧓 too lol
😂😂😂😂as a senior myself, I agree 👍🏾
Thank you. Good rules of thumb. Tried and it works!
This is what my coach tells me and I see it know. When I get to the court I forget. Got to improve. Thanks.
Excellent lesson for all double players, but especially for young double's players like high school tennis teams.
Sometimes the trouble with hitting down the middle is that the poacher can really take advantage of the shot. If you know the net player poaches a lot, it can be productive to hit down the line. Otherwise make sure the shot is crosscourt enough to avoid the poach. this is a really good video for most amateur players.
Really helpful mate, thank you
Thanks Ian. Since doubles is my game of choice these days having some info on strategy is very helpful. the issue I have is finding a partner who wants to learn and follow some sort of game plan.
That struggle is real. Most play dubbles like they are playing single the guy at the net as to take care of himself, no real communication is happening. Try and ask if they would try serve to the inside, and it is too much. Most practice/training they do is a practice dubbles match against the same players every time. Not paying attention to anything but the score
Some doubles matches on your court and analysis after the match would be a nice video series to cover some topics :)
We have some coming soon!
ian yes great entertaimnet during this crisis
The only addition I would make for the a right handed net player sitting on the add side and receiving a ball that gives an offensive shot is that the placement of your shot is also dependent on whether you are able to poach the shot or not. If it is hit at you (more cross court), yes, the target should be at the other net player but if you get a floater more in the middle, you also have the short angle away from them which will not allow the baseline player to reach it either (a well executed shot, even if they reach it, has them so far off the court they are effectively out of play). For 99.9% of players, this is only viable if they are hitting that high floating forehand type volley as the high Backand volley is one of the more difficult shots in tennis, though some can hit that well, also.
As you said, doubles is so fluid and situational. A friends daughter was told, "hit it where they aren't" . If you have a large opening, I like this strategy, but, again, it is highly situational. When I get to be the net player I get just as much joy from hitting a winner as I do from knowing I forced the other player to hit around me (and even better if my partner keeps it in play or hits a winner).
Great input, Michael!
Thanks you.
Great tips thank you. Always hated dounles but watching your vids is really helping im enjoying dbls more
That makes sense, I've always been hitting average pace (slower than average compared to others) shots to the baseline or deeper player. No wonder I'm always losing.
Glad this was helpful!
Great description Ian!! Everything you've pointed out is spot on!!!👍
Needed this! Thanks, Ian!!
You're very welcome, Curtis!
thanks ian!
Amazing thanks
Awesome tips!! You described me perfectly, when I panic and not sure if I’m a net player or baseline, down the “middle” is where I need to go!!! 🙏🏽🎾😜🙏🏽
So glad it was helpful, Denise!
Great stuff Ian. Looking forward to more dubs vids as that is what a large majority of tennis players play outside of junior tennis.
Can you cover the staggard positioning?
Sure, great topic idea.
Ian - any thoughts about applying this approach to the singles match play videos you've posted up in the past? Having you, Mark, Scott breaking down the strategy being applied in singles and doubles game play would be great!!
Ya absolutely. I'll definitely do more of these.
Nice presentation tool
Thank you!! Loved it! :))
Thanks for the upload. I sought out this video as I am really struggling with my net play in doubles and I fear it is due to the low weight of my racket. I play with a Wilson Clash 100L (light) and feel on net play the ball literally dies and i can hardly make a proper return even if I am in a good position. Any thoughts on this would be most helpful.
i feel comfortable hitting a topspin lob. if your opponents are both at net, how do you decide if you should perhaps hit a clean shot over the middle, or go for the crosscourt lob? yes the lob is lower % but greater reward
Appreciate your thoughts, John!
Hi Ian! I think you have a great opportunity to make videos aimed towards 4.0-5.0 players - I don't really see many videos around this skill level. I love the match play you're doing on your channel recently and think you can really expand into this category as well!
More on the way, Scott!
@@EssentialTennis Awesome! Great to hear!
"lob to the net" = instant death ;-)
That's for sure!
Great lesson. What iss the software (apps) that you are using ? Really great visual support to go with your explanations
www.vibe.us
@@EssentialTennis Expensive! 😯
Got anything on communicating the serve placement? The majority of rec players don't but I believe if you can place your serve consistently, why not use signals to communicate that?
At the club level, what strategy would you try in this scenario? The server is dominate at the net but the server's partner is a liability at the net and is not comfortable poaching. If the server moves in and both partners are at the net, the opposition always hits to the weaker player and wins almost all of the points. Does this force the server to stay back and thus compromise the servers strength? Lining up in the T formation proves ineffective. Starting two back is just like giving up. What can they do?
Lot's of options! I'd personally begin by continuing to serve and volley and then poach as much as possible to intercept the ball before it gets to my weaker partner. Next I'd probably try staying back for the first shot and then lobbing the net player in front of me....come in behind that and now the ball is down the line from me and I can intercept shots much more easily. After that, if my partner is really THAT much of a liability I really would try double back on my own serve, both staying back and serving and volleying. Between those four options something will definitely click/open up.
It’s tough when you’re partner is a liability at net, but you want to keep them up there because at net, you’re in an advantageous position and the more times your partner plays at net, the better chance he/she will be playing at net. I would do some i-formations where net player moves to their backhand side after serving in attempt to get returners to hit to server’s forehand. Server can stay back sometimes but for both players to stay back would be my very last resort (if all else fails). Good luck!
Sounds like you’re up a creek. No matter what the server does, the opposition hits to the weak netman and wins the point. Maybe play the lousy netman back where he can lob deep and partner can hit overheads.
I got the same issue with my partner. I can put a lot of pressure to my opponents team with my serves and groundstroke but my partner tends to have really terrible volley skill usually not hitting deep enough for a winner. I also order him to not hit a drop shots since those get covered way too often and it leaves our defence wide open. After some times the opposition will always try to hit to my partner instead and this puts me in defensiv position where I can't get to the net because doing so would cause them to lob the ball usually on my partner's side. What's worse than his volley skills is his inability to hit a good overhead smash. Putting both of us at the baseline also doesn't help since his groundstroke lacks precision and power. My partner has incredible reflexes coming from fencing but for the love of god he just runs around like a headless chicken in a double match.
Why not have the server's partner stay on the baseline and allow the strong server to still serve & volley? The server can vary where they start serving from to give the return team different looks. It's not ideal but I've seen it done effectively enough, even at very high levels. IMO, it is far worse to force a weak volleyer to stay in a position where they are completely ineffective.
I think I’m getting better when playing with the weaker player. Getting frustrated isn’t going to solve anything. I think I need to play with her more so my frustration level will go down. My dad says I work everyday with people I don’t like. And frustration for me: I missed the ball and threw the racket and was like how can I miss that. Until the person hits it back...
Keep working hard, Danica!
Love the video. Defense is spelled Defense, not ce :)
I don’t play doubles butt I can use this if I do :)
Love u bro
Good topic would be how an offensive and defensive players play together as a doubles team.
I think the short answer is that teams are on offense or defense together. Both players play both ways.
Yo Ian. Take off the singles sticks. Lol.
Nice
Just realized that the court on the monitor has four players playing doubles but the net has the singles poles.. can't stop thinking about that😅
still contemplating singles or doubles anyone else like this?
Why not both??
I’m kinda in the same boat, but honestly I’m just gonna mainly do singles, and maybe mix in doubles if my school needs me to.
“Defence” the place you hit the ball over
"target the person that is closest, doesn't mean you're literally trying to hit them" i beg to differ on this tip!!!
I know am I a horrible person if I aim directly at the net player body? Seems to work at my level they can’t move fast enough to get out of the way.
I think you have to consider the playing standards, if you’re a lot better player, hitting ‘at’ the net player to hit them isn’t good form. If standards are similar then their body is fair game, head shots still aren’t on, we’re playing for enjoyment, it’s not life or death
At some level of doubles, players can return body shots with reflex volleys. I’ve seen it often where the reflexer wins the exchange. I say, don’t give them the chance.
Just remember, the ball bounces both ways, and there is always someone who is a bit more accurate and a whole lot stronger...
Hello
Hi
W
Due to covid19 it is prohibited to play dubbles in my country. In my experience net players at lower level. Feel it they are playing mean when targeting the other net player. It even causes tension certainly if you play mix. Hitting towards the female player at the net even if you don't try to hit her. I stopped playing mix dubbles because of that. To much drama
That is the nature of doubles. If there is an obvious weaker player, you pick on them.
That’s too bad. U sign up for mix u sign up to play men. That means u accept a hArder serve and shot
I dominate everyone in doubles
You really hate DTL and down the alley shots :D.
Generally it’s better to hit cross court cause it’s a higher percentage shot, but DTL is an aggressive shot it can work however it’s better to not use it too much because it’s more risky. I like to use it at most a few times a set and for me it almost always works cause my opponents don’t expect it.
No vamos a envejecer nunca.
Defense, not De Fence
Are they playing doubles with the singles sticks in?😬🤣
Its "defense" not defence
I loved you in Silicon Valley.
You spelled defense wrong!
this is the stupidest stretegy that we already know. why don't you talk about details of the pattern, when the ball is low high medium height. and what angles to create and when to come in