Doubles - Strategy and Tactics

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I Do not think the tactics change very much. Try to use signs how you are going to serve and try to return and play so your partner get the balls they want so they can use their strengths. So i think it is important to know your partners strength and weakness.

It migth also be good to play so they need to move alot. Try to play the ball against the other player.

I also think to become good at doubles you need to practice alot together.
 
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Gunna hafta publish a best selling book.

Wont be able to sell it until World Champion.

Even then it wouldn't sell.

Until then, 4 winning ways.

Serve short tight under and dead ball.
Hit ball back to where it came from.
Loop long under spin balls.
Go for placement over power. Dont post away points
Set ur partner up.

OK, some blokes dont count well.

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Gunna hafta publish a best selling book.

Wont be able to sell it until World Champion.

Even then it wouldn't sell.

Until then, 4 winning ways.

Serve short tight under and dead ball.
Hit ball back to where it came from.
Loop long under spin balls.
Go for placement over power. Dont post away points
Set ur partner up.

OK, some blokes dont count well.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Basically this. Also shots like the strawberry flick can be particularly effective to catch people off guard if the opponent's team mate is in the way of the ball. Same thing with blocking the ball in another direction to catch people off guard rather than power looping.
 
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If you are going to give away all the tips in TTD , you are never going to sell books man !
Gunna hafta publish a best selling book.

Wont be able to sell it until World Champion.

Even then it wouldn't sell.

Until then, 4 winning ways.

Serve short tight under and dead ball.
Hit ball back to where it came from.
Loop long under spin balls.
Go for placement over power. Dont post away points
Set ur partner up.

OK, some blokes dont count well.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
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Do you guys use hand signals to let your partner know what type of serve you will use?

Is there an ideal (formation?) or placement to stand in with two right handers vs one right handed and one left hander? I know some lefties who prefer to stand on my right while I serve. I find it pretty awkward, but it works somehow.

Do you prefer to take bigger strokes since you have more recovery time between balls when playing doubles?




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Do you guys use hand signals to let your partner know what type of serve you will use?

Is there an ideal (formation?) or placement to stand in with two right handers vs one right handed and one left hander? I know some lefties who prefer to stand on my right while I serve. I find it pretty awkward, but it works somehow.

I'm a lefty, and yes I prefer to always stand on the right of my partner, even when they're serving. I think it works, it's one less thing to think about when you get used to it, and you both immediately step around to cover the table with your forehands.

I only really play casual fun doubles at the end of the night at the club, so I keep things simple as I might be playing with anyone. Thumbs up for topspin or fast serve, thumbs down for backspin serve. I always serve sidespin where the return kicks towards my partner (so for me I use a reverse pendulum, if I was right handed I would serve a normal pendulum)
 
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I got a tip from a coach at a trainingcamp (applies if both are right handed): serving backhand makes more space for your partner. Maybe mainly for beginners but I’ve used it with great success in some recent games.

Of course, with a lefty serving backhand is counter productive! This works especially well if you are a backhand dominant player.
 
I also taught my students before the importance of flicks against serves because it is common to serve very short. Also, attacking against wide return and how to loop a ball when it is given to you in a very wide direction is also crucial in doubles.
 
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There are a few things that some players who do not understand or do well in doubles that set me off worse than a firecracker.

Serving.

Ideally, 80 percent of serves ought to be short under spin or dead very low and stay between center of court to center line. This minimizes possible flip angles, makes it tough to flip, and gives partner a ball to attack or place short or deep.

Server needs to be able to make it heavy when they want... there is no variation to fool anyone if their best under spin serve is weak.

Some players simply kill me by failing to keep ball short or low. Many think it is a great idea to serve ball going past sideline... that gets killed at wide angle no chance.

Players who have depth or placement variation in singles can get away with a weak spin serve, but weak spin suck in serving for doubles if it is always weak. A good receiver loves a weak ball high at any depth. There is little fooling on short placement as there is half the court to work with and pretty much fixed serve position...

That is why it is important to mostly serve low and tight towards center line. That is a tough ball to attack and when you add variation of spin, even a safe receive is an error or chance to attack. Then, when you do make a quick deep serve near end line, those serves are a surprise and get points or setups.

A partner should not be pushing away points or opportunity for advantage on serve. Partners who do not serve effectively are a severe liability to the team.

It doesn't take much to learn a medium under spin serve low and tight and learn a low and tight light sound or dead ball... but you will be surprised at the number of 2000 level singles heros who cannot serve effectively in doubles to save their life.

As a very offensive minded player, I should get a minimum of 5 attacking chances per game from my partner on his serve... he will serve an average of 8 times or more. if I only get 1 or 2 or zero chances to attack per game and am always under attack from 2nd ball, my partner gunna hear it from me as I choke him out.

I have 1600 level players who can serve right half the time and not give away points who can place the ball if they dont attack... this kind of player functions 10x better in doubles than 2000+ level singles superstars.

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3rd ball.

If I serve under or dead short and other side pushes, often it is long under spin. If my partner declines that invitation to attack, I wanna choke him out right there.

There is almost nothing worse than passing up a high percentage attack, then giving an easy high weak ball to opponent to crush for a winner.

That is like losing TWO POINTS. Really, we had very high chance to win from the attack or follow up attack cleanup... but now we lose point for no good reason, because partner is to scared to bring his guns to the fight... arrrgggghhhhh.

I have a few partners who do not attack under spin well, but the quality of their push makes it difficult to attack, low percentage, or otherwise discouraged an attack...

I can live with that. Such a push gets us points or gives the initiative right back to us for high percentage high leverage attack to win point or clean up on follow.

In doubles, it is about risk management, sound decision making, and working together with what skills the team has... to use them in effective ways to leverage points.

Attacking everything is not always the best decision, but if a player has a strong loop, what better ball to get that stroke into play is there besides a long underspin?

A popup? Yeah, we gunna get those every time we want them.

When a player cops out of an attack and gives back an indecisive weak low quality push... man that kills a team's chances to win.

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Pushing.

OK... we aren't gunna attack everything as much as we wanna be Ma Long Xu Xin doubles dominant wannabees...

Effective pushing is about quality.

Quality has a lot of properties associated with it...

Short low placement... fast deep near end line placement... wide angle placement... barely half long placement... very spinny quick... variation dead ball that looks heavy... (Heavy Dead) placement deep fast to middle... quick off the bounce impact... just off the sideline or corner placement... LOW... short near net far side, even if it is a little high... sudden change of direction at impact... fake follow through to sell opponent their underwear on a dead ball... quick off the bounce extreme angle half long or off side...

Alright, I just named a dozen or more possible ways to make a quality push.

A quality push should make the odds of attacking so low they give back a push that can be attacked.

A quality push should entice opponent to attack when out of position, off balance, off time, misreading spin... basically entices opponent to take a very low percentage chance and lower their play level... also get a weak ball back to make our level better easier...

I so hate it when my partner chickens out on an attacking chance and gives back a low quality easy to put away push... applying tourniquet to neck stops all bleeding. Of course I mean figuratively.

I expect my doubles partner to apply basic successful principles and of course there is NO ONE SINGLE right decision or way... we are all not perfect, but we should be steady and sound.

... but dammit if my partner fails to attack the easy chances and coughs up an easy low quality ball time and time again 'cause they are too scaredie pants to attack or too weak willed.

You would be surprised at how many 2000 plus singles players absolutely suck at doubles and play 1000 level suddenly.

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