Do you play combo doubles? Do you ever have trouble playing people that hit with less pace? Why is it so difficult to play against lower-rated players?

This week’s episode is all about playing combo doubles. Combo league is made up of two players on the same team playing together that have different NTRP ratings. The “combo” of the two ratings is added together.

For instance, a player with a 2.5 NTRP rating can play with someone who is rated 3.0 and that would be a 5.5 combo team.

Advice for Playing Combo or Across Different Levels

Francie Barragan joins us to discuss Combo season.

Francie played college tennis for NC State and was the Assistant Coach for NC State after graduating. She was the Head Coach at Methodist University, the Director of Professional Tennis Management at Methodist University, the Director of Tennis at MacGregor Downs Country Club, and is a PTR & USPTA certified pro. She is currently the USTA Southern Manager of Coach Development and Training and the Tennis Service Representative for North Carolina.

Francie was inducted into the Methodist University Athletics Hall of Fame, and the Fayetteville, NC Sports Club Hall of Fame. She was named the PTR Pro of Year for NC and received the USTA NC Lifetime Achievement award.

Playing with People at Different Levels

Francie thinks you should play tennis with people at your level, below your level, and players rated higher than you. Most players don’t enjoy playing with lower-rated players and use the excuse that they get worse. But do you think Carlos Alcaraz gets worse when he practices against lower-rated players? Carlos is currently the #1 player in the world so everyone he plays is rated lower than him!

Tennis is Booming and Needs Coaches

Tennis is booming and needs more coaches! If you would like to learn to coach you can contact Francie at Barragan@sta.usta.com.

Tennis Warehouse’s Tip of the Week

We hope you’ve heard some of our Tennis Warehouse’s Tip of the Week segments with Michelle. Use discount code SECONDSERVE in your Tennis Warehouse cart and get $20 off clearance apparel orders over $100. Clearance apparel can be found here!

For more in-depth discussions about gear, check out Michelle’s Talk Tennis podcast.

We hosted Michelle for several great podcasts too. You can find them here:

Ep. 118: Gear Talk with Tennis Warehouse’s Playtester, Michelle (Ep. 1)
Ep. 119: Gear Talk with Tennis Warehouse (Ep. 2)
Ep. 120: Gear Talk with Tennis Warehouse (Ep. 3)