In talking to many league players, both male and female of various levels, the one common complaint that those that play doubles have is that they rarely, if ever, play with the same partner. As a teaching professional who coaches various league players, I can tell you I second their frustration.
Doubles is a TEAM game. A good team practices together, and plays matches together. There should be an exclusivity to the pairing. To play your best individually in a doubles match, you must be able to anticipate your partner's shots in order to be in the best possible position for the opponents' reply. If you are constantly playing with different people, you never gain that knowledge and feel for the game that is essential to being in the right place at the right time.
Look no further than the professional tour. The two best teams right now are the Bryan brothers on the men's side, and Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci on the women's side. The players are exclusive to the other, and have been playing together for years. This is the secret to doubles success. There are other great doubles players on tour - Leander Paes as an example. Every two years or so he changes partners, and his results go south. Once he's played with his new partner for a year, you consistently see him making Grand Slam finals and winning them. Continuity is essential to success.
Too often in league play, one player will play doubles matches with three or four different partners. Even two is one too many. Having been a league captain before, I know how difficult it is to ensure you have the requisite number of players, much less keeping partners together. The last time I did captain, I told everyone that they would play with the same partner throughout the season. The "subs" were also paired together. This way everyone could be assured of whom they were playing with, and could practice as much as they were able to with that partner. In addition, if my partner could not play, I took myself out of the line-up, and put a "Sub" team in.
With adult league, there are five courts of matches, which means you have 8 players playing each night. Your team should have a minimum of four subs, which you partner together into two teams. The subs should also be available for singles if necessary.
Tennis is a game that requires rhythm in order for a player to play well. The more you play with a partner, the more you get a good rhythm off of what they are doing on the court. You also get a feel for how to emotionally and mentally deal with your partner. You learn what to say and when, and what not to say and when. A personal example: I played doubles with my Assistant Pro at William and Mary for 4 years. The one tournament we entered, we won. During that time, I played five other tournament, and lost in the finals of 3 and lost earlier in the other two. I had a different partner that I never practiced with at those events. With my regular partner, I understood that he didn't like me talking to him between points at all. He wanted all tactical discussions to be mediated on changeovers. I also got a great feel for playing two-back on returns with him, and got used to the fact he did not serve and volley. I knew every shot he had, what he would attempt and what shots he would try in given situations. I have never played better doubles than I did playing with him. He was unorthodox at our level, but our familiarity with each other's games brought out the best in each other.
In layman's terms, if I don't know what my partner is going to do, I must play more conservatively, cross less, and play tentative until such time I figure their game out. The process of figuring someone's game out takes time - minimum one year for total comfort. It certainly cannot be done within the confines of one match on a Wednesday night.
I encourage all the captains out there to put their teams together early, determine partners well before the season begins, and then keep doubles partner's together at all times. Your teams will be more successful because of it.
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3 comments:
Very sound advice, Matt. I always tried to keep the same doubles teams together, at least until they soured on each other.
What do you think -- especially at the 3.0 and 3.5 levels -- of having teams made of complimentary players? Not complimentary in the sense that they congratulated each other all the time, but that their styles contrasted yet meshed. One would be the consistent type who could keep points alive, the other a guy who could end points.
Very sound advice, Matt. I always tried to keep the same doubles teams together, at least until they soured on each other.
What do you think -- especially at the 3.0 and 3.5 levels -- of having teams made of complimentary players? Not complimentary in the sense that they congratulated each other all the time, but that their styles contrasted yet meshed. One would be the consistent type who could keep points alive, the other a guy who could end points.
Definitely feeling that way at the moment myself. After my long term partner moved away this summer I've played with someone different every single match this season. While I'm learning more about what I prefer in a partner, and how to improve communication, the easy wins are gone.
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