Communication: The Key to Winning Doubles

When you watch dominant doubles team play, they all have the same, simple, between-point routine.

They talk to each other.

Almost every good doubles team knows the importance of communication to keep the team just that; a team.

With many dual matches decided by doubles points, and with doubles skills an increasing reason why players receive college scholarships, making sure you are doing everything you can to improve your doubles skills is critical.

Watch your teammates when they play doubles.

Do they walk back to the baseline together after each point? Do they use poaching signals? Do they discuss strategy before the next point? Are they keeping track of their opponents' tendencies and pointing out any information gleaned to their partner? Do they constantly pump each other up with positive comments? Do they talk to each other during changeovers.

If your are playing independently, with little or no verbal interaction, it's time to take immediate action.

Play doubles practice matches, and talk to each other at least every other point, to begin with.

This can be as little as, "Nice shot," or "Way to close the net."

After several games with this introductory type of communication, discuss strategy at least every third or fourth point. This could include discussing where the server is going to serve, if the net player is going to poach or not, or scouting an opponent's tendencies.

Early on during the set, determine which of your opponents is the weaker player, and who you are going to "pick on" during the match.

After no more than three games, discuss one strength and one weakness of each of your two opponents, and your plans to deal with these.

After each player has served once, begin walking back to the baseline together, as a team, at least three times per game. At this point, you should be discussing strategy for the next point. This can be as simple as, "Watch for this guy to lob," or "Serve it to her backhand."

Because the purpose of this set is to help your players start building communications skills, you can shorten it with no-ad scoring.

This leads to the second set, where you now talk to each other after virtually every point.

This does not have to be a 30-second conference after each point, but pumping each other up, discussing the next serve, or making an observation about the opponents while walking back to the baseline together can take just a few seconds and mean the difference between playing like a winning team, or playing like two singles players.