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Tennis Doubles FAQ
Q. Where should I stand
when my partner is serving?
A. Your best position is usually right in the middle of the service box
opposite the receiver. Find the middle by imagining where the two
diagonals of the box intersect. You can play a little farther back or
forward to adjust to the tendencies of your opponents. Remember to move
forward to intercept volleys and to back up in defensive situations.
Q. What should I do if I'm getting burned when my partner serves?
A. If your partner's serve isn't strong enough to keep your opponents
from using you as target practice, play back behind the baseline when
your partner serves. The best you can do is play solid defense and look
for opportunities to attack, such as behind a good lob over your
opponents.
Q. How often should I return down the line?
A. Most returns should be aimed cross-court, but you want to avoid
predictability, so a few down-the-line returns play an important role.
Against an aggressive poacher, return down the line whenever you see him
heading cross-court and even a few times when you don't. If the server's
partner is camped out in the alley, he might be a weak volleyer, and
you'll want to test him by hitting some aggressive returns in his
direction.
Q. Which partner should serve first?
A. The stronger serving formation should start each set. This will
usually mean the better server serves first, but sometimes the server's
partner can be so superior at net that it more than makes up for the
difference in serving skill.
Q. How should we decide on which side each of us should receive?
A. Deciding on which side you and your partner should each receive
involves many factors, including who is more consistent versus flashy
and the strengths of your backhand and forehand volleys, but the most
important factor is the return itself. Returning is difficult in
doubles, and if you don't get the return back well, other considerations
never come into play.
At the intermediate and lower levels, most serves go out wide, so you
should put your stronger returning strokes on the outside. For a righty
and lefty team with stronger forehands than backhands, for example, you
would play with the forehands to the outside.
At the advanced level, more serves (and other balls) will go down the
middle, and that's where you want each partner's stronger strokes.
Q. Who should take balls up the middle at the net?
A. The player who will be closer to the net upon meeting the ball should
take balls up the middle. Sometimes this is the player who is slightly
farther back but already moving forward at the time the opponent strikes
the ball. If you are both equally close to the net, then if the ball is
angling toward your side, it's yours. The idea that the forehand should
always take volleys up the middle is only valid when both players are
almost equally close to the net and the ball is a high floater that can
be thumped by a forehand. If the ball is a lob, the player who is best
positioned to hit a forehand overhead should take it.
Q. When should I serve and volley?
A. If you have decent serve-and-volley skills and the receivers aren't
teeing off on your serves, you should come in behind virtually every
serve
Q. When should I poach?
A. Most players poach less than they should. It usually takes an
experienced team to execute signaled poaches well, but players at any
level should try to poach when invited by an easy ball. Letting slow,
shoulder-high balls pass by a few feet away is doing a huge favor to
your opponents. Picking just a few of these off will not only win those
points directly, but likely many more indirectly as the receiver starts
to worry about what you'll do.
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