00:00hey doubles can be super complicated
00:02when you think about all of the moving
00:04parts and variables involved but it
00:06doesn't need to be in today's video I'm
00:08going to be breaking down your four
00:10roles and responsibilities as a doubles
00:12player we're going to be talking through
00:13your role as the server servers partner
00:16returner and returners partner so stay
00:19tuned all the way through to the end of
00:20the video as I'm going to be giving you
00:22some really useful tips to help you to
00:24improve your doubles and in turn your
00:26results let's get into it now before
00:29getting into your four roles I'm going
00:30to put a couple of things into context
00:32as it's going to be impossible to cover
00:34every element of doubles in this one
00:37video and so today we're going to focus
00:39on doubles with a traditional formation
00:41one up one back however you might have
00:43seen some more of my doubles videos
00:45where we're talking about poaching and
00:46different formations that you might use
00:48in doubles I'll add some links into the
00:49description below but for now we're
00:51going to keep things simple the second
00:52thing to put into context is that your
00:54role will change within the point at the
00:57start of every Point all four players on
00:59the court should know their role clearly
01:02this will allow them to get off to the
01:03best start as most points in doubles are
01:06finished within the first four shots and
01:08so the start of the point is the most
01:10important part however if the point
01:12develops and you get into a bit of a
01:14rally then your role will change into
01:16two very simple roles if you're the
01:18Baseline player Your Role is to limit
01:20your opponent's opportunities to finish
01:22the point so most of the time that means
01:24avoiding the voler and keeping it deep
01:25to the baseliner and if you're the net
01:27player then your role is to get involved
01:29as soon as you can can to finish the
01:30point now as I said there are a lot more
01:32complexities to it but that is in its
01:34most basic form so let's get into the
01:36most important part of the video your
01:38roles so the first role we're going to
01:40talk about is when you are the server
01:43and as I said I'm going to break down
01:44these roles in their most basic form
01:46your role as the server is to create
01:49opportunities for your partner to poach
01:51and put the ball away and we can break
01:53this role down into three elements
01:55number one being your consistency and in
01:57particular your first serve percentage
02:00if you're able to hit a high first serve
02:03percentage you're going to keep your
02:04opponents under more pressure than if
02:06you were to rely on your second serve
02:08and sometimes that might even mean
02:10bringing the pace of your first serve
02:12down slightly or adding slightly more
02:14spin to your first serve to ensure that
02:16more of them go in remember an 80% speed
02:19first serve is more effective than a 60%
02:22speed second serve the second way you're
02:24going to give your partner more
02:25opportunities to get involved is hitting
02:27with good accuracy and effectiveness
02:30being able to mix your serves up between
02:32hitting wide T and body and using speed
02:35or spin to make your serve more
02:37effective is going to help to put your
02:38opponent under pressure and get your
02:40partner involved more understanding your
02:42opponent's weaknesses can help you can
02:44start to Target that side more often and
02:46understanding that hitting tea and body
02:48serves will give your partner more
02:50opportunities to intercept and finally
02:52if you're serving consistently and
02:53you're able to put your opponent under
02:55some pressure the final element to help
02:57you to achieve your responsibility is to
02:59communicate with with your partner
03:00ideally before each point you want to
03:02try to tell your partner where you're
03:04aiming your serve as that will help your
03:06partner to achieve their
03:07responsibilities within the point which
03:08we'll talk about in a second but not
03:10only telling your partner where you're
03:12aiming your serve but also what you plan
03:14to do next whether you plan to serve and
03:16volley whether you plan to serve and
03:18stay back or even serve and switch so as
03:20well as mixing up your serves into
03:22different directions and different spins
03:24it's also a good idea to mix up what you
03:26do next to keep your opponent guessing
03:28at the other end one quick tip within
03:30your role as the server is to get
03:33yourself into a decent position I see
03:35tons and tons of Club players standing
03:37really really wide for their serve
03:40normally this is because they know that
03:41after their serve they need to get
03:43themselves into a wide position but the
03:45problem is it really limits their
03:47opportunity to hit down the te and as I
03:49mentioned before hitting your serve down
03:51the te is going to get your net player
03:53more involved in the point so I would
03:55suggest trying to start slightly closer
03:57to your normal single serving position
04:00but just ensure that after you've hit
04:01the serve you move out into a better
04:03position afterwards from this position
04:05here you've got far more opportunity to
04:07mix up your serve between going down the
04:09te body or wide to keep your opponent
04:13guessing so moving on to your second
04:15role or responsibility we're going to
04:17talk about your role as the server's
04:20partner and as I mentioned at the start
04:21we're going to have a normal formation
04:23where you will be up at the net your
04:25main role as serers partner is to create
04:28uncertainty for the returner at the
04:31other end and this is mainly done
04:33through your court positioning one
04:35before the point starts but two after
04:38your partners hit their serve now as a
04:39rule of thumb you want to position
04:41yourself in the center of the service
04:43box between The Singles Line and the
04:45center line when most players go wrong
04:47they actually position themselves
04:49slightly wider in the Box as they're
04:51worried about being passed down the line
04:53but all this means is you're covering
04:55less space than you should be and your
04:57partner the server is covering more
04:59space than they need to so starting in
05:01the center of the service box is where
05:03you need to be but when it comes to how
05:06deep in the service box you stand
05:08depends on what situation you're
05:10anticipating the point to start in if
05:12you feel like your partner serving well
05:15or the returner has a weaker return then
05:17you can push your position closer to the
05:19net anticipating that weak return being
05:21ready to close the net down and put the
05:23ball away however if your partner's got
05:26a weaker serve it might be it might be
05:27because it's their second serve or the
05:30returner at the other end is a really
05:31strong player and they're attacking
05:33their returns then you might want to
05:34take a more defensive position in the
05:36box but still you want to be roughly in
05:39the center of the service
05:44box so that covers your court position
05:46before your partner hits the serve but
05:48it's really important that you make a
05:50move in between the serve and the return
05:53now hopefully from the first role your
05:55server has communicated with you as to
05:57where they're going to aim their serve
05:59but if they're not comfortable with that
06:01you might need to watch the ball to see
06:03where it goes because once your partner
06:05strikes the ball you want to be
06:07following its direction so if my partner
06:09aims their serve out wide I want to be
06:11shifting slightly wide to cover the line
06:14but if my partner serves more down the T
06:16I can shift slightly closer to the T
06:18ready to make that interception this is
06:21going to help me to cover the most
06:22important parts of the Court where the
06:24big gaps are now at a basic level once
06:27your partner's surf shoots past you you
06:29can literally move in this direction
06:32this is as far wide as you need to go if
06:34it goes down the T you'll shift in this
06:36direction but at a more advanced level
06:39you want to keep your movement slightly
06:41more disguised as a really good returner
06:44will see your move and they'll aim the
06:46other way so what you should do at a
06:48slightly more advanced level is once you
06:50hear your partner strike the ball take
06:52one step forwards and just before they
06:54strike the ball then you can make your
06:56move this is slightly more difficult to
06:58time as you're making two separate moves
07:01but it can be a really good way to add
07:03disguise to your move now if you've seen
07:05any of my other doubles videos you'll
07:07know that your role when you're the net
07:08player is to always track the ball
07:11anytime the ball moves out wide you'll
07:13make a step out wide then if the next
07:15ball doesn't come to you and it goes
07:16back to your partner you'll then Retreat
07:18ready to track the ball on the next shot
07:20so once the point started if you haven't
07:22made that first volley you'll then get
07:25into that mode of tracking the ball
07:26around the court as I always say it's
07:28impossible to cover every inch of the
07:30tennis court and if you're going to
07:31leave a gap somewhere you want to leave
07:33the Gap through the highrisk zones tempt
07:36your opponent to pass you down the line
07:39if they manage to do it well play to
07:40them they're not going to be able to do
07:42it time and time again so don't be
07:44afraid to bait them into that passing
07:46shot the worst thing that you can do is
07:48hug that tram line and leave gaps in the
07:51biggest and safest parts of the court
07:53for your opponents to hit the final
07:55element of creating uncertainty to the
07:57returner at the other end is a little
07:59bit like what we mentioned in the
08:00serving role and to mix up your move
08:03after the serve is hit there are some
08:05slightly more advanced patterns like the
08:07I formation and the Australian formation
08:10that can really help to create
08:11uncertainty I actually made a video on
08:13that as well so again I'll add the link
08:15to that in the description below just
08:17quickly if you're enjoying this video be
08:18sure to hit the thumbs up button drop a
08:20comment if you've got any suggestions
08:22for future videos and if you haven't
08:23done so yet I'd love it if you consider
08:25subscribing let's get back into it so
08:28the next role we're going to cover is
08:29your role as the returner and your role
08:32is very basic here one is to make
08:35returns if you can go through a whole
08:38game of just getting that return back in
08:40play the pressure flips straight to the
08:42team at the other end but if you're
08:44missing returns within the game you're
08:46giving your opponents free points and
08:48really building their confidence but the
08:50higher the level you play in doubles the
08:52increasingly important it becomes to
08:55keep your return away from the volia at
08:57the other end so your main priority when
08:59returning serve is to keep the ball in
09:01play and away from the voler now the
09:03first thing we need to address is the
09:05position that you stand in when you're
09:07returning serve at a basic level you
09:09want your outside foot to be where The
09:11Singles Line crosses the Baseline this
09:14is a very standard return position but I
09:16see far too many players returning from
09:19here leaving that wide serve open by
09:22starting in this position you put
09:24yourself bang in the center of where
09:26that serve could end up however just
09:28like when you're at theet if you feel
09:30like your opponent has a really big
09:31serve you might want to start further
09:33back to give yourself more space and
09:35more time but ensure that when you do
09:37take those steps backwards you take them
09:40at a diagonal from where your opponent
09:42is at the other end so you'll end up
09:44slightly wider in this position here
09:47whereas if you're playing a weaker
09:48server and you want to stand in the
09:49court again you're going to be moving
09:51forwards in a diagonal in line with
09:54where your opponent is at the other end
09:55the ideal position for you to be in is a
09:58couple of extra steps behind where you
10:00anticipate returning the ball this is
10:03going to give you a little bit more
10:04space to step in as your opponent throws
10:07the ball up and to split step as they
10:09make contact with the ball that be
10:12Zing now at a more advanced level it's a
10:15good idea to try to mix up where you
10:17start for your return position so if
10:20you're playing a player and you're
10:22really struggling to find your Rhythm on
10:24the return of surf that mix up your
10:26positions a little bit maybe start
10:28slightly more more to the left inviting
10:30them to hit more serves to your forehand
10:32but as soon as they throw the ball up
10:34you can shift into your normal position
10:36to ensure that you've got both sides
10:38covered by mixing up your starting
10:40return position not only does it bait
10:42your opponent into hitting certain
10:44serves but it also forces them to hit
10:47with more variety which is not that easy
10:49to do one final tip that can help you
10:51when you're returning in doubles is to
10:53make sure that if you're really
10:55struggling to avoid the voler you do one
10:57of two things either aim low over the
11:00net when you're hitting crosscourt as
11:01this is going to give that Vol a less
11:03time to come across and intercept or if
11:05that's difficult you can actually resort
11:07to a lob in fact in the year that Jamie
11:09Murray was world number one in doubles
11:12he actually hit 30% of all of his
11:15returns as lobs and so although lots of
11:17people think that a lob is a bit of a
11:19defensive shot or a copout it can
11:21actually be really really effective as
11:23it gets the ball away from that voler
11:26one thing I would say is if you're
11:27planning to do multiple lobs make sure
11:29that your partner knows as if that lob
11:31is a weak one they're going to be a
11:32Sitting Duck so it might be worth them
11:34starting both back so the final role
11:37that we're going to talk about is when
11:39you're the returners partner and this
11:41one is quite a unique one as you're
11:43going to have a slightly different start
11:44position to the standard volley position
11:47at the net Your Role when you're the
11:49returner's partner is to plug the gaps
11:51on the court and to really limit your
11:53opponent's opportunities to finish the
11:55point as generally if you're playing a
11:57good doubles pair the volier of the
11:59other other end of the court is hunting
12:00for opportunities to put the ball away
12:02now if you stand in the standard volley
12:04position in the center of the box here
12:06after your opponent serves your returner
12:08has a risk of accidentally hitting it to
12:11the voler at the other end and if that
12:12does happen you're leaving a huge gap
12:15through the middle of the Court here now
12:18as I mentioned earlier if you're leaving
12:19gaps through the middle of the Court
12:21there's no risk for your opponents
12:23there's no way they're going to miss
12:25that ball and what we want to try to do
12:26is cover those high percentage gaps on
12:28the court and open up gaps in more
12:31high-risk areas so as the returners
12:34partner you want to position yourself
12:35slightly closer to the te
12:43here this plugs that big gap in the
12:45middle and invites that voler to try to
12:48hit a winner through this way now yes
12:50they might do it might be a great shot
12:52but again it's a high-risk shot as
12:54there's a big risk of hitting it wide
12:56and if they do make it it's much easier
12:58for you to move forwards than it would
13:00be for you to move backwards and so
13:02anytime you're the returner's partner
13:04it's a good idea to start somewhere
13:06around here but just be wary if you
13:09stand too close to the te you might
13:11upset the server at the other end cuz
13:12lots of people might claim that's
13:13hindrance so somewhere around here is
13:16good now just like I mentioned at the
13:18volley position at the other end of the
13:19Court the depth in which you stand in
13:21the service box will depend on the
13:23situation you're in if your opponent has
13:26got a bullet of a serve or your partner
13:28is struggling Ling with their returns
13:30you might want to start a little deeper
13:32here this is just going to give you more
13:34space and more time to deal with the
13:36potential volley coming at you but if
13:38the server at the other end is hitting
13:39weaker servs or your partner's returning
13:42really really well then actually you can
13:44push forward slightly more as you're
13:46anticipating that your opponents are
13:47going to be under more pressure so
13:48you're ready to close the net down but
13:50just like in the other volley roll once
13:52your partner sent the ball back if it
13:54hasn't gone to the vola and they've
13:56managed to get it back to the baseliner
13:58you can reset into your standard volley
14:00position and you can start to track the
14:02ball during the point once you get to
14:03grips with getting a better courau
14:05position for yourself when you're the
14:07returner's partner your next priority is
14:09just to make the ball in play most of
14:12the time if a ball comes to you in the
14:13first shot or two you're going to be in
14:15a defensive position so just make the
14:17ball in play and that will help to set
14:19you up for a better opportunity on the
14:21next one but once the point starts out
14:23as long as it hasn't gone to the voler
14:24at the other end you're either going to
14:26be in a neutral situation or you're
14:27going to be in attacking situation so
14:29that's when you can push forwards ready
14:31to close the net down so in summary when
14:33you're the server your aim is to create
14:35opportunities for your partner up at the
14:37net to put the ball away do this through
14:39a good first serve percentage hitting
14:41accurately and communicating with your
14:43partner as to where you're going to go
14:45and what you're going to do next next up
14:46when you're the service partner your
14:48responsibility is to create uncertainty
14:50for the returner at the other end do
14:52this by getting yourself into a really
14:54good callt position and shifting
14:56forwards and following the ball to close
14:58down any big gap s on the court and as a
15:00bonus if you're comfortable with it mix
15:01up what you do next with I formation
15:04Australian formation and switches your
15:06next role is as returner your aim is to
15:08get the ball in and to keep it away from
15:10the voler at all costs again just like
15:13the voler at the other end mixing up
15:15your position could be a good way to
15:16unsettle the server at the other end and
15:18keeping your returns low or lobs are
15:21another good way to keep the ball away
15:23from the voler and finally if you're the
15:25returners partner try to get yourself
15:27into a good position to plug the biggest
15:29gaps on the court and focus on just
15:31making the volley once you've done this
15:33and you're in the point you can get
15:34yourself into a more offensive position
15:36in the middle of the box ready to close
15:38the net down and finish the point now I
15:40know that was a quick Whistle Stop talk
15:41of doubles but if you want to go into
15:43more detail in your doubles game I've
15:44made a few more videos and you can find
15:46the links to those in the description
15:48below and if you want to go into even
15:49more depth I've made a full course
15:51called The Doubles master class which
15:53again you'll find in the description
15:55thanks as always for watching I look
15:56forward to seeing you in the next one
