The Dangerous Doubles Syndrome

Could doubles be suffocating your development?

I have a belief that could strike at the core of recreational tennis. I believe that strictly playing doubles, recreational players might be suffocating themselves into mediocrity. Here are three examples that bring that point to life.

A player I’ll call Roger wants to learn how to hit a topspin backhand. Roger is an NTRP 3.5 who only plays doubles. In the last couple of years, he has had a lot of success in league tennis. Roger often competes on several teams at once, from men’s to mixed.

Over the course of a season, Roger could well end up playing 30 matches. Since Roger’s men’s team made it to the sectionals, there’s a good chance he’ll be bumped up to 4.0.

Alleged Quest for Topspin

Roger’s best shot is his crosscourt forehand, which means he just about always plays the deuce court. The upshot is that Roger rarely has an opportunity to hit a topspin backhand in any kind of competitive situation.

Does a good crosscourt forehand keep you in the deuce court?

More than 90 percent of the serves that come his way go wide to Roger’s forehand. Should he have to hit…