Dominating Tennis

Tennis doubles drills: positions, poaching and calls

4 drills65 minutes in all0 you can do alone
  1. 1

    The card drill

    20 min · With a partner
    1. With your partner, write three cards. Each card has a serve target, a partner move, an expected return and a planned next shot.
    2. Signal the card before each point. Serve twelve points, four per card.
    3. The returning pair marks whether each point followed the card through the serving team's second shot.
    4. Switch roles. The returners write two counter-cards: one at the net player's hip, one to the middle seam.
    Number to beat
    8 of 12 points that follow the card through the second shot
    Why it works · Play the pointWhere to serve in doubles to set up your partner
  2. 2

    The formation rotation

    15 min · With a partner
    1. With four players, serve four points in standard, four in I and four in Australian. Keep the same server and agree the signal before each point.
    2. The returner's partner marks where each return went: cross-court, down the line, middle or lob.
    3. The server's partner marks whether both serving partners were in the agreed spot at the returner's contact. Then switch roles.
    Number to beat
    10 of 12 points with both partners in position at the returner's contact
    Why it works · Play the pointWhere to stand in doubles: standard, I and Australian
  3. 3

    The poach ladder

    15 min · With a partner
    1. With a partner at net and a feeder or server, take ten fed returns and poach every one. Count the volleys that land in the open court.
    2. Take ten more. Poach on even reps and fake on odd ones. The feeder notes where the return went on the fakes.
    3. Play live, server and net player against two returners, first to seven. The net player must poach, pinch or fake every point, and the server calls the cover.
    Number to beat
    6 of 10 poach volleys into the open court
    Why it works · Play the pointWhen to poach in doubles tennis
  4. 4

    The call drill

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Have a feeder send ten balls down the middle. The agreed owner calls "mine" before the bounce. The feeder scores whether the call came before the bounce and whether the other partner cleared.
    2. Have the feeder send ten lobs over the net player. The baseliner calls "switch" at the apex and both players cross. Score the call timing.
    3. Play four service games with a signal before every point. The returners try to read it.
    Number to beat
    18 of 20 balls called before the bounce in the first two steps
    Why it works · Play the pointHow to communicate with your doubles partner