Basic Doubles Shot Selection
and Court Positioning
Our purpose is to make more intelligent shot selections
by recognizing situations rather than by having to make complex decisions
on the fly. By doing this we will get you to a point where you will
not have to engage as much of your attention in match play in "thinking"
and more of your energy and attention into playing "instinctual" tennis.
You will find that knowing what shot to hit, and when, takes a load
off of your mind and allows you to simply "play"
SEQUENCE 1
Situation:
The other team is in a "two up" position and you are at the baseline.
Response:
Return their approach shot and subsequent shots low, slow, and down
the middle.
Result:
I if you hit a series of low, slow balls down the middle this will cause
the other team to eventually pop a ball up, that often sits
up short.
Situation:
You find yourself inside the baseline and the ball sits up.
Response:
Look to lob approximately 60% of the time. Another low ball down the
middle is the shot you hit the other 40% of the time.
Result:
A tennis court is longer than it is wide. You are trying to make your
opponent play the whole court by strectching them forward with
low slow balls and then stretching them backwards with lobs that are
hit off of the right ball.
Situation:
You are at the baseline and your lob clears the other teams head.
Response:
Take the net and take the offensive "two up" position!
Note: Take the net anytime you are able to get a lob over one of your
opponents heads.
Result:
You cannot take the net until you drive the other team off of it. Lobbing
the ball off of balls that sit up inside the court drives vacates the
net leaving that position for you to fill. It also makes their volleys
less effective because they must play off of the net to respect the
threat of a lob.
SEQUENCE 2
Situation:
Your team is in a one-up one-back position and the opposing team comes
to a two-up position.
Response:
Bring your net player back. If you are alert the net player can retreat
at the same time the other team hits their approach shot.
Result:
There is nothing cowardly or wimpy about retreating to play solid defense.
OFFENSE WINS POINTS, DEFENSE WINS MATCHES! It is foolhardy for the lone
net player to remain at the net with two opposing net players. The lone
net player is much more of a target than a threat. Remove your opponents
target and make them earn the point! Defense wins matches is because
the opposing team starts to feel that they have to hit 4, 5, and 6 good
shots to win a point, that mountain just starts to look too high to
climb and unforced errors follow as they try to hit shots that are beyond
their abilities.
SEQUENCE 3
Situation:
Your team is in a one back one up position. Your opponents are in a
one up one back position. This is a transitional position. It simply
gets you half-way to a two-up. Your goal is to create an offensive opportunity
to get your team to a two-up position.
Response 1:
Serve and volley. This is the fastest way to get to two-up position.
It also requires the most skill. You must posess an aggressive first
serve, you must move well, and you must split step.
Response 2:
Come to the net on your opponents second serve. Most of your opponents
second serves are the perfect approach shots. They are slow, high and
of course land short of the service line.
Response 3:
Hit a deep ground stroke that backs your opponent up. Take a step inside
the court. If you get a high ball hit a "volley approach" crosscourt
and join your partner at the net.
Response 4:
If your opponent hits a short ball or a sharp angle (which is just another
short ball) run through your approach shot and join your partner at
the net.
Response 5:
If your partner poaches at the net and goes all the way across the court
cut through the tee and join your partner at the net. This is called
a free trip to the net because it allows you to get to a two-up position
without having to hit an approach shot.
Response 6:
If you lob the ball over the opposing net players head join your partner
at the net. Result: Your chances of success at the two-up position
are greatly enhanced by coming up in an offensive situation. The fastest
way to improve your volley is to improve your approach shot. Moments
that your team are in an offensive situation come and go very quickly.
It is important that you learn to create, recognize, and finally to
seize those opportunities to put your team in the driver’s seat.
SEQUENCE 4
Situation:
Your team is in a two-up position. Your opponents are in a one up one-back
position.
Response 1:
If two criteria are met: You can contact the ball above the net and
you are fairly well-balanced then you bounce the ball at the ground
in front of the net player. (If your opponent is foolish enough to standing
more than a couple of feet in front of the service line you are left
with no choice but to blast the ball right at them and challenge their
reaction time.)
Response 2:
If either one of the above criteria are not met then you must volley
the ball deep back to the baseliner and play for the next shot. If you
try to hit the ball at the net player when the ball is below the net
or you are not well balanced it is likely that you will simply hand
the other team an offensive opportunity.
Result:
Response one is the most obvious and easiest offensive opportunity you
will ever be presented with on a doubles court. You must take advantage
of this opportunity the first time it is presented to you and the second
time, and the third. Be relentless, isolate the lone net player and
hammer them repeatedly! Do not hit high balls that you can do something
with to the baseliner. Two things you must remember. Number one: You
only get so many opportunities, you had better take advantage of the
ones you get. Number two: Placing yourself in an offensive position
commits you to playing from positions that are very vulnerable if your
opponents get a good swing at the ball. If you don’t burn them they
are in a very good position to burn you.
Response 2: A deep ball to the baseliner gives you
time to adjust your net position into a more defensive mode. It still
allows you to stay in the drivers seat by maintaining your net position.
It challenges the other team to pass you. Good defense puts alot a
pressure on opponents to try to hit great shots.
SEQUENCE 5
Situation:
You are in a two-up position and the opposing team is in a two-back
position.
Response 1:
If you are able to contact the ball above the net and are well-balanced
hit the ball crosscourt towards the intersection of the service line
and singles line.
Response 2:
If you are not able to contact the ball above the net or are off balance
then volley the ball deep down the middle.
Result:
Response one allows you to draw your opponent out of their "safe" defensive
position behind the baseline. Response two allows you to retain your
net position and command of the point. Hitting deep down the middle
has two effects. It minimizes any angle that your opponent can hit at
your team. It also tends to draw both players together so that angled
shots are more open.
Situation:
You succesfully place the ball near the intersection of the service
line and the singles line.
Response 1:
The easiest shot is hit the ball right back at the ground in front of
the player that you have just drawn in front of the baseline.
Response 2:
Angle the ball back to the opposite intersection of the service line
and singles line.
Response 3:
Hit the ball through the middle of the two players as a gap is created
when you pull a player wide with an angle. Result: You win the point!
CONCLUSION
This guide is meant to be used as a reference to help
you be very clear about how to use basic bread and butter high percentage
shots. Learn to hit these shots in your sleep, by reflex.
The goal is to learn to work the point. As you can see
there are many more shots hit to set up winning shots than there are
actual winning shots.
Playing intelligent doubles means knowing your capabilities
working hard to play within those capabilities. I don’t want you to
play the way you wish you could play; I would like for you to simply
be realistic about what you can do and do it! The reality is that the
majority of points, even in doubles, are lost on errors and not won
on winners.
I would like to see you hit gradually more offensive shots,
stretch your opponent, make them cover the whole court and then end
the point with an average volley rather than a spectactular groundstroke
True confidence comes with the ability to string patterns
of shots together. It really is easier to hit three good shots than
one great one.
You should feel that the longer the point goes on the
greater your odds of winning it.
