Tennis: Winning Doubles Strategy for Returning Serve

Watching tennis on TV it is easy to forget that there is more to tennis than just playing one on one singles. Playing doubles is a lot of fun. First off, you get to play with a teammate which means you have someone to talk to. Secondly, with two people you really do not have to move as much as you do in singles, which is nice if you are out of shape or lazy. When playing doubles, there are a few strategies to keep in mind when returning serves and they are described below, however if reading is not your thing, just remember this: Doubles is won at the net.

What Side To Return From

When playing doubles, you must decide what side you will return from. You can either receive from the forehand (duece) side or the backhand (ad) side. Choosing which player plays on each side can be fairly straight forward if a few things are considered. First off, if you and your partner are both right handed decide who has the worst backhand. Ironically, this player should return from the backhand side. The main reason you want this is that it is much easier for a person to hit a backhand cross court across his body instead of an inside out backhand. The person with the worst backhand should take the easiest backhand, not the easiest forehand. You want to return serve away from the net player, so just about all returns are going to be cross court. If both the players are left handed, put the player with the worst backhand on the deuce court for the same reasons. If you have a mixed righty and lefty, put the righty on the deuce side, and the left on the ad side. This will leave each player with a cross court forehand return across his body which will be a definite advantage.

Placing The Return of Serve

Even when playing a team with a big server, its possible to break the serving team. You do not need to hit winners on the return, but you do need to be able to place your return in such a way that you are set up for the shot after your return. Taking the most common play by the serving team, the server will serve and rush the net to volley. As the returner you must make a shot that is hard for the serving team to hit. A return down the line, for the most part, does you no good. The guy at the net will not have to move to have an easy volley. A cross court return is a must. Keep the ball low, and try to bounce it around the service line. As the server moves in, he will be on or around the service line when the return comes back. Try to return the ball at the server's feet. This is not only a difficult volley, but just by the laws of geometry, the server is forced to hit up on the ball. Hitting up on the ball gives your partner at the net an easy volley, and it also gives you an easy volley when rushing the net. If you are playing a team that likes to poach (switching sides just after the serve) do not panic. Remember to look at the ball. If you are looking at what the other team is doing, you are not looking at the ball and will probably miss it. By the time you are lining up the return, however, the guy at the net will have probably given you some indication of what the plans are. At this point you are basically committed to the shot. If you think he is going to poach, rip the return down the line. If you try to do an audible at the last second, you will miss your shot. Get a feel for how things are going, determine where you will place the shot and hit it. After you decide where to go with the return, do not let anything change your mind. Things happen so quickly that any hesitation will cost you the point.

Always Rush The Net

When you hit the return start moving in. Whatever team controls the net will win the match. If you hit the return and stay back, that gives your opponents the opportunity to take the net. If you hit and come in, you will get the net and win. It is also very intimidating for a server to see both opponents rushing the net after he serves. With a good low cross court return you will be in good shape for an easy volley. So hit the return, and then get as close to the net as possible.

Where To Stand When Your Partner Returns

I always stand right on the T. Just on the side of the line of the service box that the server is not aiming for. I stand here to intimidate. Whether it makes any sense or not, the server will see you standing there and he will usually over compensate the placement of the serve to not hit you. That means the serve will go out, or it will not be right down the middle, which gives your partner less real estate to cover. The role of the person on the returning team not returning the serve is to watch the line and call the serve good or bad. As soon as that takes place, if the serve was in, sprint to the net. Get as close to the net as possible, wait for that good low cross court return from your partner, and when the server has to hit a half volley at the service line, you will be at the net staring him down and when he pops up the half volley, you will be there to put it away. Also, the first chance you get to hit an overhead you must hit it as hard as you possibly can, regardless if it goes in or not. The idea here is to show the other team if they hit you a floater you are out for blood. This thought in their minds will cause them to miss many shots throughout the match.

There is a large mental aspect to tennis. As the return team, you are at a disadvantage because you are not starting the point out. But you can intimidate by hitting low cross court returns, rushing the net at any chance, and standing in the middle of the court as you wait for your teammate to return.