Member Feed: Doubles Only Podcast

This is a conversation with Demi Schuurs from the WTA Finals in Cancun. Demi partnered with Desirae Krawczyk and I spoke with her between her first and second matches. We discussed how she spent her days off in Cancun, including her gym routine. I asked her how she's had so much doubles success with different partners. This is her 5th consecutive WTA Finals with four different partners. Demi...

Dan Kiernan is the coach of 2023 US Open Champion Gaby Dabrowski, ATP doubles team Lloyd Glasspool & Harri Heliovaara, a podcast host, and a former podcast guest from earlier this year. Dan chatted with me and Tennis Tribe doubles writer, Hanlon Walsh, from the WTA Finals in Cancun a day after Gaby and her partner, Erin Routliffe, beat the top seeds, Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula, in straigh...

This is another interview with Elise Mertens and Storm Hunter from the WTA Finals. This time I spoke with the 2nd seeds after their second match victory over Melichar-Martinez and Perez. They won the match 7-5 6-4 over a two-day period and numerous rain delays. We discussed how they handled the delays, as well as a tactic I noticed their opponents using on 2nd serves and how they handled that. I a...

This is another interview from the WTA Finals and it's a great one. We chatted with 2020 US Open Champions, Vera Zvonareva and Laura Siegmund, after their 3-set victory over Krejcikova and Siniakova. We discussed the rollercoaster of a match where they lost a two-break-lead in the 2nd set as well as two match points in the tiebreaker. I asked how they were able to stay focused after the momen...

Elise Mertens and Storm Hunter are the #2 seeds at this year's WTA Finals in Cancun. This is a short conversation with them after their 1st round match where they defeated Aoyama & Shibahara 6-4 6-2. We discussed how they took momentum after going down an early break in the first set. Then I asked them how they game plan against a player like Shuko Aoyama who takes away the net. Elise als...

Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara are the #3 seeds at this year's WTA Finals in Cancun. This is a short conversation with them after their 1st round match where they defeated Krawczyk & Schuurs 7-5 6-2, winning 9 of 9 deciding points. We ask the Japanese pair how they played the big points so well, what they did to adjust to the courts (they have a higher bounce than usual), and their plans...

Matthew Futterman ( @MattFutterman ) is an award-winning tennis journalist who has worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and now, The Athletic. He has authored two books and is working on a third, about tennis, called "The Cruelest Game". This episode is a little different. You're not going to get doubles strategy out of this one, but you will get some deep insight...

2nd serve points only account for about 35% of points in doubles, but it's crucial to have a good 2nd serve strategy. Your goal should be to win 50% or more of your 2nd serve points. In this episode, I share some ideas on improving your 2nd serve strategy for doubles players with strong, medium, and... WEAK 2nd serves. When should you use formations on 2nd serves? Is it okay to poach or fake...

I've recently been training a few USTA doubles teams, helping them prepare for nationals. In this episode, I'll share five things I told them to practice that are neglected by club-level doubles players & teams. Practicing these skills will help you make the other team play bad because most doubles teams you'll face won't be used to seeing this stuff. I'll cover a spec...

Communication and teamwork in doubles aren't easy to teach or measure. That's why I think I've neglected the subject a bit over the years. But over and over, the world's best players, like recent podcast guests and US Open Champions, Rajeev Ram & Erin Routliffe, continue to stress the importance of working together with their partner, communicating effectively, and building...

I recently played in USTA 9.0 Mixed Doubles Sectionals in Abilene, TX. This episode covers 3 lessons learned from my time there with our team. We didn't have a great performance but you can always learn from your losses. I discuss choosing return sides and playing with strengths in the middle of the court with an example from one of our 4.5/4.5 teams who hadn't played together before. Yo...

2023 US Open men's doubles champion, Rajeev Ram joins the show for the second time. Rajeev shares his experience winning his third consecutive US Open alongside partner, Joe Salisbury. I asked Rajeev about the 2023 season which has been a bit of a rollercoaster for him and Joe. One of my favorite parts of this episode is when Rajeev explains how his communication with Joe has improved and how...

Daniel Nestor is one of the best doubles players ever. He has eight men's doubles grand slams, four mixed doubles major titles, an Olympic Gold Medal, and won the Tour Finals four times. Daniel recently built an online course for club players that we discuss in this episode, along with his incredibly successful career. Daniel shares what made his most successful doubles teammates so good, inc...

WTA doubles player Erin Routliffe joins the show for the second time, but the 1st time as a major champion. Erin won the 2023 US Open Women's Doubles Title alongside new partner, Gaby Dabrowski. You'll hear how Erin approached the new partnership with Gaby since they had only played for three tournaments before the US Open. She also shares how she dealt with an electric US Open crowd tha...

This is a conversation with the coach of ATP doubles star, Joe Salisbury, Dave O'Hare. I chatted with Dave in New York as his team go for a 3-peat of the US Open. Listen to my previous conversation with Dave: https://www.thetennistribe.com/dave-ohare-interview/ Joe and Rajeev beat a team in the quarterfinals that they lost to a few weeks earlier. I asked Dave if they made any adjustments and...

This is the 8th and final episode in our 8-part series on doubles strategy. On every shot in doubles, you can choose which direction you want to hit the ball. But how do you know you're choosing the right direction? Many club-level doubles players go down the line when they should go crosscourt, never change their serve location, or don't think about the best target for approach shots. I...

This is a rebroadcast of my interview with Gigi Fernandez from December 2020. In this episode, Will talks with Gigi Fernandez, one of the greatest doubles players of all time. Gigi won 17 major doubles titles on the professional tour and two Olympic Gold Medals. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010. Today, she specializes in teaching club and recreational adult doubl...

In doubles, choosing the correct return side is one of the most important decisions you'll make with your partner before each match. It's also one of the most misunderstood topics by club-level doubles players. In this episode, I'll cover how to think about choosing return sides and share a recent example where I moved my partner to the ad side even though they preferred their foreh...

This is a rebroadcast of my interview with Jorge Capestany from September 2021. How well do you know your doubles partner? In this episode, I speak with Jorge Capestany in great depth about this question. Jorge is one of the top tennis coaches in the US and one of only ten people in the world who are Master Professionals for the USPTA and PTR. He’s coached tennis for decades and thinks that unders...

Today, I'm launching my new doubles course, 25 Winning Doubles Tactics . So in this episode, I wanted to share 3 tactics that I use in my own doubles matches and teach to club players like you. The first two tactics are from the course where you can see real examples of each tactic being executed. They are called the Shoe Shine and the Sneaky Lob. The last one is from a recent 9.0 mixed doubl...

This is an interview with WTA doubles player, Demi Schuurs. Demi has a career-high ranking of #7 in the world, including 17 doubles titles on tour. Demi is also a top returner and net player, making her one of my favorite players to watch. She has a very old-school doubles game, constantly moving forward and taking away time from her opponents. In this conversation, we discuss her story – she grew...

This is an interview with ATP tennis coach, Rob Morgan. Rob has coached tennis for over two decades and currently coaches world #1 doubles player Wesley Koolhof, who just won Wimbledon alongside Neal Skupski. I ask Rob about his role on their team and what it took to win Wimbledon. Wesley and Neal have been the best team in the world for over a year but hadn't won a Grand Slam until last week...

This is the 7th episode in our 8-part series on doubles strategy. Part 1, Time: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375636/12544725 Part 2, Movement: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375636/12723935 Part 3, Position: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375636/12772002 Part 4, Power & Pace: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375636/12815640 Part 5, Spin: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375636/12910388 Part 6, Height: https://...

This is an interview with Philip Farmer who has coached on the ATP & WTA tours for over two decades. Phil has one of the smartest doubles minds in the world and has coached four different players to a world #1 doubles ranking including the Bryan Brothers, Corina Morariu, and most recently, Austin Krajicek, who I interviewed last week. He's also coached a number of singles players includin...

This is an interview with world #1 doubles player and 2023 Roland Garros champion, Austin Krajicek. Austin recently rose to the top of the doubles rankings with his first major title, and he joined me from London where he was beginning his grass court season (he won the Queen's Club Championships a few days after our conversation). Austin and his partner, Ivan Dodig, lost in the Roland Garros...