Common Mistakes Made by Club Level Doubles Players

◆Pointing out their partner's mistakes

◆Always returning on the same side of the court.

◆Not having total recall of all the points played in the present game.

◆Not calling the score aloud before each point.

◆Returning serves and ground strokes too high over the center of the court. (Allowing the net player to poach or the serve and volleyer to hit down at your partner.)

◆Failing to make clear which player should go after the floating ball, the set up,the shot down the middle or who should go after the lob over your head.

◆Getting the second serve in weakly, having no regard for your partner's safety or ability to maintain the offensive.

◆Lobbing over your opponents' heads and not following it to the net to intercept the next ball as an offensive shot or overhead.

◆Not having another game or style change when nothing you are doing is working. (Not able to change a losing game.)

◆Staying back on the baseline even when your partner is playing offensively at the net.

◆Not covering the lob over your head in the air as an overhead.

◆Talking too much during the game in progress. (Stalling, not having continuous play.)

◆Refusing to play serve and volley or to return and volley. This is doubles.

◆Hitting too many returns and ground strokes to the outside of the court instead of hitting to the middle.

◆Worrying too much about your alley instead of the middle of the court.

◆Playing with the same partner too much, adapting to their specific weaknesses or strengths and unable to play with a new partner and adapt to them.

◆Warming up too long or stretching on the court rather than off the court before the match.

◆Never having or offering new balls to play with.

◆Failing to play as a team or unit.

◆Playing too much with the same people all the time. (Not allowing for creativity, spontaneity or ability to adapt to other styles.)

◆Failing to play with weaker players thus allowing them to gain confidence and the ability to improve. Remember, at one point in time you were the weaker player.