Art of Doubles: Winning Tennis Strategies and Drills » (REV)

Pat Blaskower was ranked number one in the nation in Women's 35 Doubles, number one in Northern California in Women's Open Doubles, Women's 35 Doubles and Women's 40 Doubles. From 1985 to 1999 she coached league teams in Marin County and was the head tennis professional at the Mill Valley Tennis Club. In 1999 she moved to Connecticut where, for the past eight years, every league team she has coached has reached districts, sectionals or nationals.

Take Your Doubles Game to the Next Level!

Whether you're trying to improve your doubles game or are just getting started playing tennis with a partner, The Art of Doubles is the book for you. Author Pat Blaskower is your personal coach, guiding and encouraging you and your partner to play winning tennis by showing you how to:

• choose a compatible partner
• determine your jobs on the court
• learn poaching skills
• communicate with each other and opposing teams
• maintain mental toughness
• use various formations and strategies
• pick your shots intelligently
• decide where to play: tournaments or leagues
• and much, much more!

The book also includes detailed court diagrams that show you how to execute offense, defense, and tactical plays; checklists that summarize the most important points of each chapter; and on-court drills to help you improve and refine your skills. The Art of Doubles is loaded with practical, proven tennis strategies that you can put to work immediately to see improvements in your own doubles game!

Introduction     1
Creating and Nurturing a Balanced Doubles Team     6
The Dream Team
Who Plays Which Court?
Nurture Team Character
The Dump
Do You Need a Coach?
Keep Your Team's Communication Lines Open     17
Communication Begins Off-Court
Learn Proper Court Position     28
What Exactly is Proper Court Position?
The Offensive Court Position
The Defensive Court Position
Win With Intelligent Shot Selection     45
Percentage Tennis
The Beginning Stage
The Middle Stage
Aim for the Right Targets
Other Targets to Aim For
Poaching the Ball
Closing the Net
Making Low-Percentage Tennis Pay Off
Know When to Bail Out of a Shot
The Shots You Need
The Shots You Don't Need
Develop Superior Poaching Skills     67
Plan to Poach
Reasons to Abort a Poach
Strategies for Poaching
Where to Hit a Poach
How Your Partner Figures into a Poach
To Signal or Not to Signal
Keeping Control of the Net     84
Handling the Dreaded Service Return Lob
Defending Against Lobs Other Than Service Returns
Understanding Your Jobs on the Court     98
Consider Yourself "On the Job"
The Server
The Server's Partner
The Reciever
The Reciever's Partner
Flexibility: A Powerful Weapon     114
Flexibility Requires Confidence
Ask Yourself a Couple
Key Questions
Recognize Your Own Predictable Strokes
The Australian Serving Formation
The "I" Formation Defending Against theAustralian Formation
Defending Against the "I" Formation
How to Defend Against a Monster Serve
An Effective Tactic Against Impenetrable Opponenets
Flexibility in the Face of Lob Queens
In the End, Be a Gracious Loser
Gaining Command of the Intangibles     129
Time: There Never Seems to Be Enough
When to Use Depth, Pace or Finesse
Cultivate the Drop or Underspin Volley
Anticipation Means No More Scrambling
Two Rules of Proper Court Movement
The Gift of Great Hands
The Sum of the Parts
Achieving Mental Toughness     145
The Angst and Agony of Choking
Conquering the Two Greatest Fears on Court
Conquer the Fear of Winning
The Zone
Remember These Final Wisdoms
Let's Talk About Winning and Losing     160
The Ten Most Common Reasons Doubles Teams Lose Matches
The Three Keys to Winning
Choosing the Better Arena to Showcase Your Team's Skills     170
League Tennis
Tournament Tennis
Drills for Honing Your Skills     176
Emotional, Technical, and Balance, Communication, and Mental Toughness
Proper Court Position,and Net Control
Intelligent Shot Selection
Superior Poaching Skills
Jobs on the Court
Flexibility
Command of the Intangibles and Timing Space
Charting Progress
Drills for the Highest Levels of Competition     198
Match and Clock Management
Groundhog Day Drills
Why Did You Lose that Game?
The Momentum Chart
Who Are Those Guys?
Looking for Tells