At The Tennis Tribe, you can expect to become a better doubles player through tennis double strategies, tactics, and tips that will help you to outsmart your opponent and win more matches. Because of our strategic & mental approach to tennis, you don't have to spend dozens of hours practicing to implement our lessons. You'll learn more about positioning & movement to become a more effective tennis player today!
Hi Andy, The Pro Staff 97L is significantly lighter than the standard Blade 98 (10.8 vs 11.4 ounces). The Pro Staff 97L is also easier to swing, getting its power from a stiff frame, while the Blade 98 has a more flexible frame, relying on its heavier mass to generate power, assuming the user can handle the extra weight. Hope that helps!
I had a regular opponent who had a great topspin forhand, but I discovered that hecould not hit it from lower than his knees, so I sliced short to that side !
Brilliant resource. Clearly and concisely explained. We’re in the final this Saturday of an open in class 6 men’s doubles here in Dublin Ireland thanks to you. Just started listening earlier this week and we’ve brought specific strategies from the four part series into our game. I'll tell everyone about it (after Saturday 😁!).
Great video. One of my strategies is mixing in the “Underhand Serve & Volley” approach, usually out wide on the ad court or down the T on the deuce court (where the sidewinder slice pulls my opponent into his net partner). It’s especially effective when my opponent is receiving from well behind the baseline. If they get to it, they often pop it up for an easy overhead. I’ve found some people (even high level players) have a very difficult time reading the sidewinder slice and adjusting to it. Then I use it relentlessly.
@@thetennistribe while that may be effective as a change of pace, I don't agree with staying with it. We played a match recently with a team who had a guy that underhand served. He liked to do it at least 3-4 times per game, every time he served . First 2 games he served , he held easily. On the 3rd game, I told my partner to return as hard as he could , right at the net player. After his partner took 2 off the chest at about 70-80 mph, he went over to him and they had a close discussion, from that point on, he went back to doing it only occasionally.
@@rsleo6186 Totally agree! Great example too :) You almost never want to use the same tactic over and over again. Unpredictability is typically an advantage.
Poach is committing to a full cross. The server will cover the line. A pinch is just squeezing the middle and giving up the down the line return. Here's an example: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Wqa7ei2l3DA.htmlsi=JpXjF09-bycFJIl9
I want to add position yourself on the court to make your opponents to hit to your side so your partner doesn't have to hit the fist shot the second shot or third shot. This usually means go to the T when your partner is hitting. Don't cover the down the line.
Thanks for this. Where’s a good return location if the server is not serve and volleying? Still a slow serve but staying back. Deuce side. Thanks, Will,
Hi Victor, returning with depth is always good against players who serve and stay back. If the net player is aggressive a down the line lob can be effective as well :)
Ok, found you thru Crunchtime. From a stay position(which is not an option), I am confident in my volley. After watching this yesterday, last nite I poached more than in any match over the last 40 yrs. Uncharacteristically, as opposed to lunging, for the 1st time, I was even overrunning the return SO: I am excited to witness this new found speed&technique BUT, I missed almost every try, oh my. Pls now tell me how to successfully run and volley, From, Mr Happybut Sad
Glad you're excited to start moving more at the net :) It's hard to say without watching you play but I'd say there are 2 things to focus on... 1) don't be out of control. Split step forward & towards the middle or poach, but stay down and don't leave your feet or run through the volley. Resource: www.thetennistribe.com/volley-checklist/ 2) PRACTICE! Have a coach or a friend feed fast reaction volleys to you and practice hitting angle volleys off the court. Resource: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MsZRyI9vTyQ.htmlsi=aBrPjma3GZAY63w3 Hope this helps!
@@thetennistribe Thank you so much for the quick response, tip A was good, Tip B, not so much, I think I'd burn that 2 minute video as, the coach couldn't get the ball over the net for 5 consecutive tries. In my comment to you, the "no movement volley" which you say no movement is not professional so, why are we 1. watching a no movement vid 2. My comment stated, this is part of my ok game, and 3. a video that shows him running along the net is the whole reason I wrote you. Thank you again, You are one of the only youtube pro's that concentrates as much on doubles as you do. thank you,
@@CapUfomojo No problem! You can adjust that drill. Have the feeder simulate a crosscourt shot as you poach. Get creative with the drills & practice the shots you're missing in the matches until they start going in :)
It depends... typically the lob return can work well to get them to back off the net. You can also try hitting down the line early to make them stay home which sometimes will open up the crosscourt returns later in the match.
This is a great video! I’m watching it in 2023. Would you consider doing a refreshed version of this with better graphics? Easier to read? I think you get a lot of views!😊❤
Thanks! Yea a lot of people think they're moving when they're really not helping much. The more you move to the middle, the more you'll force errors from the opponent :)
Is there any value in my assertion that I can afford to gamble that the bet opponent will poach only towards their forehand? Don’t have enough experience to put a % on it but it subjectively seems huge.
Hey Jerry, yes it probably depends on the opponent but most players will have more confidence, reach, and power with their forehand volley. I've come across a lot of players who never poach with their backhand in the middle. However, some outliers prefer their backhand. Study the opponent to figure out what they prefer :)
Rajeev Ram is a very interesting guy. I admire him greatly. I wish more people had tuned in, not only hear what he had to say and learn from him, but to encourage him and other doubles specialists to participate in these podcasts. For the life of me, I can't understand why doubles (and doubles-related material) isn't more widely popular, especially since that's what the vast majority of us recreational players play...
Thanks Walter! Raj is great. Really great guy and great doubles player too :) I'm with you on doubles... crowds in Rome have looked pretty good this week though.
You can, but be careful. It requires a good serve, relative to the returner's ability, and good agility. You'll often see the pros serve and volley out the the I-formation with the server covering the line. They typically are giving up any down the line return that lands in the doubles alley since there's no way for the server to get there on a S&V. However, that's a very low percentage return against a pro level serve.
Thanks for the good content! Make partner comfortable at court, especially taking responsibility is very important. Otherwise partner starts nervous and making more mistakes. I ask you one more situation: should the weaker partner cover a smaller area on court than usual? Especially on mixed double, like a men4.5+ women 3.5 in mixed 8.0. If the 3.5 lady covers a smaller area, like a quarter along the side line, partner should handle the ball better , bc she moves less and stay more focusing , right? Thanks!
Hi Hong, yes I think you're right. For most uneven pairings, the strong player should cover more shots than normal. Anything you can do to hide the weaker player's weaknesses is a good strategy. Thanks :)
Hi Julie, you need to keep this shot low and take the ball early against good net players for it to work. I use it against 4.5 and 5.0 players and see it work at the 4.0 level as well. If the net player is particularly strong or your shot isn't low/fast enough, then it may not work. In that case, the best approach would probably be to rally crosscourt to the ad players backhand before approaching the net. As a secondary pattern, you might hit a few short forehands inside-in to keep the net player out of the middle, then come back to this tactic.
Awesome stuff. You mention in this video that hitting wide angles on the deuce side (to a righty) is a bad tactic. I can see that. My best angles are on the ad side, though. Is that similarly diss advantageous? If not, how can I optimize that play?
Thanks Victor. Hitting wide on the ad side can be better because it's usually to the opponents backhand. They won't be able to redirect their backhand down the line as easily as the forehand.
Hey! This type of content is what I enjoy watching on your channel. While the interviews are ok, your video breakdowns are more helpful for me. Please continue to create more of that type content. Also I’ve watched almost all your videos and I noticed the switch of content.
@@thetennistribe yes thanks. I also feel this helps when we play opponents that are clearly stronger than us. Often, I think I need to hit harder to match up to their level where in fact it may not be the best option as you had shared!
Thank you I'm 7 doubles on my school team and my doubles partner plays like the worst player on the team when or 8 doubles is better, if I had a chance to redo my challenge matches at my skill level now I would be top of 5 doubles
Hi you mentioned a statistic about how often they were playing in I formation. I was wondering where is this type of data available, or do you track it yourself. Online, I think there is a lot less information regarding doubles vs singles statistics so I was wondering where you get your information? Thank you for the information videos.
Hi Jerry, yes... I have to get it myself with the help of Tennis Analytics. You can send them match video and they send back data & reports. It's a great service. -- www.tennisanalytics.net/ Unfortunately WTA, ATP, US Open, etc. don't do much for doubles analytics.
Interesting they will lob off of first serves. Takes so much control for it to be higher percentage or it speaks to the difficulty of making the net player miss.
Yea maybe a combination. It's typically so hard to get the right depth/height on a lob vs 1st serve but if you can just land 2-3 good ones in a game combined with several normal returns then it might give you the break. Also, Joe is so athletic that you have to hit a near perfect overhead to make sure the ball doesn't come back.
@@thetennistribe I suppose if you're stretched it's the best possible option. Tough to get it right though. Crazy how slim the margins are in pro doubles
Hi Vi, I don't have the racquets anymore so I'm not sure what the recommended tension said. It's usually on the frame of the racquets. I think it was 52-62 for the Nova and 50-60 for the elevate but I'm not positive. You can reach out to Diadem support to double check. diademsports.com/pages/contact-us - The info isn't on their website.
Thoughts on the team versions of these racquets? Getting back into tennis again, but mainly just playing recreationally and can’t justify spending $200+
Hi Tiff, Wilson doesn't have a team version of these. Do you mean the lightweight versions? I know Babolat calls their lightweight model the "team". Let me know and we'll be happy to help :) If you're looking to spend under $200 then check out the Tennis Warehouse clearance page. Lots of great deals on previous models: www.tennis-warehouse.com/Best_Deal_Tennis_Racquets/catpage-ZASX.html?from=tribe
