Effective doubles play starts with understanding the space each partner covers. Keeping one player permanently at the net and the other at the back is not a general positioning rule. Read the ball and adjust with your partner.
Five decisions to practise
- Move as a pair rather than staying separated.
- Agree who takes uncertain balls through the middle.
- Use a good lob as an opportunity to advance; prepare to defend a short one.
- Choose a controlled central ball when an aggressive angle is difficult.
- Tell your partner where opponents are positioned.
See the LTA beginner tactics guide and Hazlemere’s playing guide for further coaching context.
A ten-point review exercise
For ten points, note one decision worth reviewing after each rally: uncertainty in the middle, an uncoordinated approach or an unnecessarily difficult shot. Look for a repeated situation rather than giving yourselves a skill score.
Choose one instruction for the next block, such as calling shared balls earlier. Discuss whether it helped. This is a suggested observation exercise, not a tested performance guarantee.
Make changeover conversations specific
Agree on a situation and response: for example, how you will communicate when recovering a lob. Avoid revisiting every mistake or changing several tactics at once. Take unresolved technical questions to a coach.
Find coaches, explore matches and check the category guide when choosing opponents. No universal percentage explains how much partnership chemistry determines every result.
