Switching in Tennis Doubles

In tennis doubles, when both teams are in the Up-and-Back Formation, switching completely changes the situation.

What is switching?

Switching is partners switching sides of their court during a point. When both teams are in the Up-and-Back Formation, switching leaves one team in the Switched Position of the Up-and-Back Formation. Which team? The one that must hit the next shot - usually the switching team. The Switched Position places your net player directly opposite the opposing net player (instead of kitty-cornered).

Doubles teams switch on three occasions:

• when their net player crosses the center line to poach
• when they're lining up to serve Australian Doubles
• when a lob goes over their net player

Let's consider these three occasions, one at a time.

When your net player crosses the center line to poach, she or he hasn't time to get back to their home-base side of the court. So, to cover the side your net player vacated, your baseline player too must cross. Because your team switches after its shot, this kind of switching puts your opponents in the Switched Position.

When you play Australian Doubles, you line up in the Switched Position to serve. But the serve can't be poached (it's against the rules). So the Australian Doubles setup puts the receiving team in the Switched Position for the service return.

The third time teams switch is by far the most common - when a lob goes over their net player. This third kind of switching, lob-switching, puts the team that switches in the Switched Position.

As we shall see, the Switched Position gives the opposition a license to poach. So the first two switching occasions aren't risky. In fact they give you, the switching team, that license. But the third and by far most common kind of switching - switching for lobs - is risky, because it gives your opponents a chance to poach your next shot, which is your return of the lob.

Here's how lob-switching is generally done: One of your opponents, usually a baseline player, lobs over your net player. One of you says, "Switch." You and your partner switch sides of your court, and your baseline player plays the lob.