A few weeks ago, we busted a few myths about the rules for doubles tennis in my article “Myth Busting.” In that post, I concluded that the bottom-line tennis doubles strategy is this: know what your doubles team’s strongest formation is, and find a way to get there as often as possible.
Today, we’re going to look at my favorite formation, two-up at the net. If this is your team’s best formation, you both have great volleys and overheads; and in general, your volleys are more effective than your ground strokes. So how do you get into this formation on every point?
- On your serve: Serve and volley
- On your return: Hit the return deep cross court, down the line, or, the best shot is a lob over the net person. These returns will give you time to then follow your ground stroke into the net.
Work on attacking and coming in at every opportunity! Make sure you both practice your overheads to neutralize the lob. With this tennis doubles strategy, the more you come in, the higher your percent of winning points. Coming soon: one-up at the net, deuce side; one-back at the baseline, ad side.
