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OFFENSE TO DEFENSE AND BACK AT THE NETIn the past couple of weeks we have discussed the basic starting position in doubles. You learned how to cover the court as a team and why it is smart – from a positional point of view – to serve down the middle.
Let’s get back to that basic starting position one more time.
As you could read in Weekly Tennis Tip # 12 the reason why ‘O’ is standing on the service line is to have some time to react to a volley from ‘X’ and to cover a possible gap in the middle. So why wouldn’t ‘O’ start behind the baseline? Surely that would give him even more time to react to ‘X’s volley? Well, sometimes players do choose that position.
The pros sometimes use this position when ‘S’ has a very strong first serve and the chance of a good return is slim. Remember that professionals usually play serve and volley, so after this supposedly very good serve there are two people at the net who can hit a good volley. The major disadvantage of this ‘two back position’ is that it is hard to switch from defense to offense, even if ‘S’ doesn’t play serve and volley. The major reason for that is of course the distance to the net. Other disadvantages are the need for excellent communication whenever a ball is hit down the middle (who is going to hit it?) and the difficulty of getting to a short ball (like a drop volley). Okay. Back to this more traditional starting position in doubles. When exactly does ‘O’ move forward and go from defense to offense?
Remember WHY ‘O’ is standing near the service line? He/she is standing there to react to a volley hit by ‘X’. So at the exact moment it is clear that ‘X’ will NOT hit a volley ‘O’ can move forward. (I’m assuming ‘S’ doesn’t play serve and volley. If he/she does play serve and volley then ‘O’ is only to move forward when R’s return lands at the server’s feet.) Generally speaking one could say that when R’s return goes past X – that is X does not intercept) then O can move forward. (See illustration.)
The new position would then look something like this:
Then of course the whole thing repeats itself. When S manages to hit the ball past O, X can take his/her position at the net again. When people first start doing this they are running back and forth and they will get tired pretty soon. As you get used to this movement you will begin to recognize the situations where you should move back more (your partner gets a very difficult shot) and when you can stay closer to the net. Always move back a bit to open the court for your partner (and not get hit on the back of your head! ;-) At the pro level it is unlikely to get the chance to turn defense into offense, so other rules will apply there. Here’s some key advice for the net player.Whenever the ball is behind you, the service line is where you are supposed to go/be. (With your eyes focused upon the other net player!) Whenever the ball is in front of you: move forward. Remember the exact moment to move forward! One more thing: Most players know when they are at the net and the opponent hits a lob over them, they are supposed to switch sides with there partner (left to right and vice versa). What is usually forgotten is that they should move back as well, since they are now playing defense. It should look something like this:
Notice that O hasn’t moved forward too much since it’s likely that S will hit a lob back (if R’s lob was any good that is.) Okay, that’s all for now. © Mark Luyk 2003; All Rights Reserved |
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