Serving in the System

If you understand the principles of serving in doubles, you can hold consistently.

Many if not most club players struggle mightily to hold serve in doubles, and especially when it counts most. But the fact is, if players really understand serving, most can hold on a consistent basis.

Holding serve makes everything easier. There is less stress in your service games, and you can be more aggressive in your return games. This creates mental and emotional advantages.

There are several basic problems that prevent most teams from holding serve. In fact some of the most common beliefs about serving make it difficult or impossible to hold on a consistent basis.

The most common misconception is that being a good server means overpowering your opponents. In fact, powerful serves can actually be a liability in playing attacking doubles.

Why? Because fast serves lead to fast returns, limit the server’s ability to reach the net, and tend to force difficult low volleys.

Most club players have an unreliable flat first serve. They overhit it wildly and it rarely goes in. They also tend to have a second serve with significantly slower racket speed.

In general, they have little serve variety and little control of placement. Because of this, their second serves tends to have limited spin, or can even be a complete push. Given these problems, some doubles teams start many or even the majority of their service points on the defensive.

You will never be successful, especially against good players, hitting the same serve over and over. You need to develop variety in spin and placement to keep opponent’s guessing and off balance and to set up your partner.

Master variety in spin and placement.

Every serve you hit should be related to the previous serves you've hit and the serves you plan to hit later. If you have variety you will be able to attack opponents’ weaknesses, and when they least expect it, attack their strengths.

The two most important skills you need to do this are spin, and teamwork.

If you get a high percentage of first serves in you will hold serve a lot, regardless of the level of your opponents. To do this you need to hit your first serve with spin.

You need to develop every kind of spin. You need to be able to hit topspin, slice, and kick. That really isn’t negotiable if you plan to play winning doubles.

But the emphasis should on variety not on speed. The same is true on your second serve.

What most players don’t realize however that these variations all require racket speed. The worst thing you can do is slow your swing down.

Studies show the racket head speed on elite first and second serves is virtually identical. Not one good player anywhere in the world slows their swing down on any serve.

One of the ways you're going to make your opponent miss returns is to change speed on your serve. But this variety in ball speed comes from variety in the type and amount spin.

It’s a good idea to mix in first serves with a lot of spin.

You'll never beat anyone good by hitting every first serve the same speed and every second serve the same speed. It’s a great idea to mix in first serves hit with a lot of spin.

If you have variety, your opponent won't be able to time the ball coming off your racket because your arm speed will always look the same. The opponent will often swing too early or too late and the spin can take their contact point out of their strike zone.

Besides spin you need to place your serve reasonably well. The better your placement the greater chance you will have of finding and exploiting weaknesses. And this affects your opponent’s confidence.

So work on it. If you have problems work with a pro to develop control of spin and placement—and let speed take care of itself.

Good serving allows teams to get ahead in their service games. If you're ahead in your service games that will allow your partner to be more aggressive and go for more balls. Conversely, your opponent will have to be more conservatively and that will play right into your hands.

This brings us to the second skill you need: team work. It is also the skill I see implemented the least at the club level.

Most doubles teams have no service game plan. They don’t understand how to work as a team and often play as if they were two separate players. (For more on the basic roles of the The Hunter and the Helper, Click Here.)

Few players hit all returns equally well.

There has to be communication before every point, if not before every serve. Both players must have input into and understand what the plan is.

They must also be attentive to what the opponents’ tendencies are so they can form a clearer picture of the opposing teams’ strengths and weaknesses as the match progresses.

Here are some of the questions you want to answer and communicate with your partner.

Which side, forehand or backhand, does each player prefer? What type of return--flat, topspin, chip, lob—does each player hit, and where do they typically hit it? Does the type of return change when they are being aggressive—or defensive?

What serves do they prefer and return better? Faster or slower, higher or lower, at their body or away from their body?

Very few players are good at returning all types of serves. The quality of different returns from the same opponent can vary drastically and this can have a deciding influence in any match.

There are various ways to communicate with your partner. You can always get together for a quick chat or a word or two but I prefer hand signals.

The net player can call the direction of the serve.

When I play, I prefer the net player to call the direction of the serve with a hand signal. Your partner can also call the type of serve, for instance a circular motion with a finger to signify a serve with a lot of spin.

I believe poaching is overrated, something I will address in a future article. But poaching should be primarily an opportunistic decision on the part of the net player.

One of the problems I see with planned poaching is that so many times the server gives it away by leaning or moving to cover the open court before the serve even bounces.

This tips the receiver off and they then have enough time to change their shot. But there are definitely times when you want to poach and that can be signaled with the hand as well.

The other critical aspect in teamwork is agreeing on a game plan. Here are some of the key points.

A basic strategy is to force your opponent’s to return from the inside out. Serving down the middle or to the body limits your opponents’ ability to split you and your partner, open the court, and put you on the defensive.

The opponents are less able to open the court with angles and more likely to produce returns your partner can volley for winners.

Wait until it's game point for your team before you go for a wide serve. Or at least wait until you know their strengths and weaknesses on the returns.

If you serve wide when you're losing you open up a lot of court in all directions for your opponent to hit a winner. If they hit a winner either down the line or on a sharp crosscourt, you don’t even get a chance to hit a ball and stay in the game.

It is demoralizing to hit a good wide serve and watch the returner hit a winner on game point. The returner will be relaxed and aggressive and you don't want to make it easy by giving him a serve with a lot of return options.

Making players return from the inside can set up easy volleys.

Serving the inside will usually insure that one of you will get a chance to play a ball and keep hope alive. They might hit a weak return your partner can put it away and get you back in the game.

The second key point in team work is variety in positioning at the net. Too many times the player at the net stands in the same exact place for every serve.

The reverse should be true. The net player should line up in many different spots. In addition to improving your positioning against certain returns, changing positions makes your opponents think and leads to errors.

Most players get more comfortable the less they have to think. Remember that your job at the net isn't just to hit balls but to be a factor in every point that's played.

Here's a classic example of how standing in a different place works. Your partner is serving at 40-15. You signal for a wide serve but you line up near the center line. Now your opponent has to have one eye on you and one on the serve.

The first time you try this, wait until right before the opponent strikes the return. Then move diagonally toward the returner, cutting off the alley.

If they hit down the alley because they thought you were poaching, you'll be there and put the ball away--and win the game. If they go crosscourt you have learned something about what they will do under pressure and your partner can still handle the return.

Then the next time you're in the same situation, ahead at 40-15 on serve, line up the same way. But this time move straight in so they can't hit a crosscourt return.

If you guess wrong and the returner goes down the alley, you're still ahead 40-30. But you have added an element of uncertainty since the returner is not sure where you will go next time.

You've made it much more difficult for them and added a lot of stress to their returns. You can use the same strategy in the ad court when you are ahead 40-0.

All the things you need to be successful serving in doubles are all easily attainable if you have the right approach. It should be fun to work with your partner to win your serve games, and when you can do this consistently, you will be formidable.

Serving in the System

Bill Previdi