Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that people fail in their Kamagra quest to play great tennis doubles is that they have the wrong shots.

Ok, let’s get things straight, I have 1 objective for you with these tactics (and you should have 1 objective for yourself) and that is this.

To Play Winning Doubles!!

No more and no less than that.

Anything else good that comes along should be viewed as a bonus, but if we only have one thing that we are aiming for then let it be that.

That being said, there are certain shots I see people trying to hit when they play doubles that are just not the best shots they could play.

And maybe worse still, they spend a whole load of time (and money) trying to improve those shots.

To be honest, I was in the same boat a while ago and it wasn’t until someone (thanks Nick G) took me aside and pointed all this stuff out that I knew and understood it.

We ended up playing doubles together and won several titles together.

I’m under no illusions that he was the superior partner, a bit like the John McEnroe in the McEnroe & Fleming partnership, but hey, someone has to be.

But he made sure that we both “read off the same hymn book” so to speak and I know I was more than good enough to back him up so I can sleep at night 🙂

So, I want to do the same for you.

I want to give some of that wisdom to you, because without it you are nowhere near the doubles player you could be and it doesn’t take that much to turn things around.

So, back to the shots.

If our only objective is to play winning doubles then here are some shots you need to put time into developing and improving versus some shots you don’t need the extra time to improve.

If you already have them sorted, then that’s great but there are certain things you NEED to be doing to improve your doubles and they are not them!! (is that correct English??).

Ok, let’s go!!

1. You don’t Need a Big Flat Serve

The biggest problem with the big fast serve is this – It reduces the time you have to get ready for the ball coming back, when they return it.

Returners also get the chance to tee off at the ball, using the pace and often without having to move their feet much so they retain their court position.

Yes, if you are playing a pair of a much lesser standard and you already have a big flat serve then great, but if you don’t already have full command over one then concentrate on the opposite option.

You do Need a Good Spin Serve

A good spin serve does everything a hard flat serve doesn’t do.

It gives you more time to get ready for the next shot (hopefully a volley).

It doesn’t give the returner as much pace to work with and it will force them to move.

If it’s good enough then a weak return is always the result of a player forced to move their feet and off balance.

It will bring your partner into play more often to poach and will open up more gaps on the court (as they have to move to get the ball) for you to exploit.

If you watched Roger Federer win the Gold medal at the last Olympics you would have seen him serving for placement not power.

2. You don’t Need Topspin Groundstrokes

This is a funny one, because this is a shot you definitely need for singles.

But for doubles the concept of hitting high looping shots from the back of the court is a no – no and here is why!

Shots travelling deep to the back of the court with topspin become a nice easy volley either for the opposite net player who can poach it or for the oncoming voleyer.

If you possess a sharply dipping topspin shot that you can angle or put at the feet of the opposition then you are ok, but if all you have is the sinles like groundstroke then you are in trouble.

Also, if you can’t get the ball to dip at the feet of an oncoming player you will only be presenting them with a volley or mid court ball that they can hit on the rise and make life difficult for you.

You may also have a problem changing grips when/if you come to volley/half volley if you have a semi-western or western grip because that helps you hit topspin.

You do need a Sliced Backhand & Forehand

Having a sliced shot on both wings (especially the backhand) will prove invaluable.

You can play a slice without rotating your upper body which does several great things for you.

It means you can deal with a fast oncoming ball in less time (no rotation needed).

You can also play it while moving forwards (again no rotation needed) so getting to the net quicker becomes easier.

And you can get the ball down low to the feet of the opposition much easier making things much more difficult.

I have seen Nadal who has great topspin shots returning and playing with slice in doubles much more than when he plays singles.

It will also help the “feel” on your volleys as it is played pretty much in the same way.

Nick and I would play many practise sessions/matches only using sliced forehands and backhands and the associated volleys and you would be surprised how successful we were with that tactic.

3. You don’t Need a Smash

This freaks many people out.

They get used to coming to the net and up goes the lob.

They go for the smash and it comes back, maybe over their heads.

They smash again (a bit harder) and the same thing happens and/or they miss.

It shouldn’t take you long to realize that many of the people that lob a lot are in fact very good at returning the flat smash.

They do it because they are good at it and because they know people will just try to hit the ball harder and often miss.

It’s the same principle as not needing a hard flat serve.

The returners of the smash often don’t move much and just use the pace you give them to give you an even higher, deeper ball to smash again.

You’ve got to be really good to win this game.

You do Need a Variable Overhead

I make the distinction between the two for the following reason.

The smash is a shot that says it all – a smash!!

An overhead implies that you do several different things with a ball that is – overhead.

When you are faced with a lob and your opponents are at the baseline waiting for your smash, what you need is this.

A sliced or angled overhead landing around the service line.

Not only is that nearly impossible to pick up from behind the baseline it means that if they do go for it they are on the move (control then difficult) and also they leave massive gaps on the court.

Just like the serving example I gave you earlier!!

I hope this made sense.

It really is just a matter of solid tennis strategy, intelligent play & knowing what to do.

Not trying hard.

As I said at the beginning, I was lucky enough to be told this stuff by someone else and it transformed my tennis doubles game.

Hopefully this will do the same for you.

Author Bio: http://www.tennisinfoproducts.com/tennisdoubles.html for more KILLER tennis doubles info including “The 7 Deadly Doubles Myths”

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Keywords: tennis doubles,tennis doubles tactics,tennis doubles strategy,volley,smash,federer,nadal