Doubles in Tennis can be tricky. Choosing the right stroke can be quite a challenge at times. This is one of the reasons people fail in their pursuit to play good doubles in Tennis.
Often it is seen that players are making the wrong choice while choosing what shot to play when or players tend to play shots that can their partners in trouble too.
The only thing worse than not knowing which shots to play and not to play is practising these shots.
So here is the list of shots that you do need when you play doubles:
#1. You should have a good spin serve:
Knowing how to perform a good spin serve will help you give yourself more time to react to the next shot/ be ready for what has to come next. A good spin does everything that a flat or hard serve cannot do.
By performing this serve well, your opponent is forced to move and it doesn’t give them much of a pace to work with. If the serve is a good one, the return will be a weaker one.
#2. You require a slice in your forehand and backhand:
Knowing how to slice on both backhand and forehand is amazing, it means you do not need to rotate your upper body. This means you can handle fastballs in lesser time.
You can also play this stroke by moving forward and hence advancing quicker to the net. You can get the ball to go down low at foot level of the opponent, making it much more tricky for him/her.
#3. You need variety in your overhead:
When you are faced with a lobbed ball, your opponents who are at the baseline are waiting for you to hit a smash. This is when you need to have sliced and angled overhead shots in your arsenal. These shots should land somewhere near the baseline.
This makes it harder for your opponents to return the shot and it leaves huge gaps on the court. In doubles, always choose your strokes wisely. Remember faster doesn’t necessarily mean better.
Here’s what you don’t need:
#1. You do not require a big service:
The issue with doing a bigger and faster service is that you get less time to get ready for the next shot. By serving this big and fast serve, the opponents will take advantage of the pace and use that same speed to hit the ball back to your side without having to really move much.
#2. You don’t require topspin groundstrokes:
This shot is a very singles-oriented shot. But when it comes to doubles, hitting high loopy shots from the backcourt, is a big no. Having sharp dipping topspin strokes that are well angled then it is beneficial for you. But if you have groundstrokes that are very singles-oriented, that will put you in danger.
If you can’t aim your shots at feet level of your opponent you will be probably playing a mid-court ball or volley which they can easily play and also make it harder for you.
#3. You do not require a smash:
While a smash is a fast and effective stroke, in doubles it is not required. There are chances that a smash will come back at times over your head which may result in you smashing again and the same process repeating.
Players that frequently lob are good at returning smashes that are flat. They do this because they are confident of their shot and know that people will try to smash harder which will result in a miss.
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