Getting hit by a ball in doubles is frustrating. It feels sudden. It feels unfair. And most of the time you probably think you were in the right spot.

You weren’t.

And here’s the thing. It’s not just you. Professional players make this exact same mistake. I was recently watching some points from the Australian Open featuring the Bryan Brothers and I saw two separate moments where players at the net got hit and it came down to the same simple reason every single time.

They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now before we get into why that happens let’s back up and talk about something that a lot of doubles players get wrong right from the start. Your net position at the beginning of a point should be DIFFERENT depending on whether your team is serving or returning.

If your partner is serving, you are on offense. The ball has to land in the service box first which means you have the first chance to intercept it. So you start closer to the net in an aggressive position.

If your partner is returning, you are on defense. You have no idea where that ball is going yet so you start farther back from the net and give yourself time to react.

Most players don’t think about this. They just park themselves somewhere at the net and stay there. And that’s problem number one.

But here’s where it gets really interesting.

Even once you’re in the right starting position you are NOT supposed to stay there. Your job at the net is to constantly shift back and forth depending on where the ball is traveling at any given moment. I watched Mike Bryan during one of these points and he was moving the entire time. Back to defense when the ball was behind him. Forward to offense when the ball got past the net player on the other side. Back again. Forward again. Over and over throughout the entire point.

So if you’re playing doubles because you think it means less running than singles… think again.

Now let’s talk about why those two players got hit.

In the first example the player started correctly in a defensive position. But he made his move to offense WAY too early. The ball was still traveling toward the net player on the other side and he was already shifting forward before he even knew if it was going to get intercepted. It did get intercepted. And he ran right into the attack. He moved in the opposite direction of the ball and paid for it immediately.

The second example had a little more to it. This player actually started in the right spot and made good initial movements. She shifted to offense correctly when the ball got past the net player. But then when the ball went back behind her she kept moving forward instead of retreating back to defense. The ball was going one way and she was going the other way. And just like that she was completely out of position and got hit.

So what’s the simple takeaway here? Follow the ball.

When the ball travels in one direction, you travel in that same direction. When it goes back the other way, you go back too. And here’s a detail that really matters. The direction you move should actually parallel the angle the ball was hit on. Not just a general forward or backward movement but actually mirroring the trajectory of the ball. That way you stay in the best position to plug up the center of the court and make it as difficult as possible for your opponents to find open space.

And one more thing I want to address real quick. Most of the time when you get hit in doubles it’s not because your opponent is trying to hit you. In my experience playing tennis for over 30 years that’s rarely the case. It usually just comes down to timing. You broke the pattern. You moved when you should have stayed or stayed when you should have moved and the ball found you.

So the next time you’re out there playing doubles I want you to forget about trying to stay in one spot at the net and just focus on one simple phrase. Follow the ball. That’s it. If the ball is going forward you go forward. If it’s going back you go back. Keep yourself in sync with where the ball is at all times and you’re going to find yourself getting hit a whole lot less and winning a whole lot more points.

Give it a try next time you’re out there. You might be surprised at how big of a difference it makes.

Your Coach,

Ian