What has your doubles partner said to you that wasn’t very helpful? Did it hurt your feelings?

In this episode, Carolyn, Erin, and Rachel discuss what doubles partners have said to them.  All three have played from levels 2.5-4.0.

We filmed our episode with Rachel. If you’d like to see us all in action, visit our YouTube channel here.

Here’s a Complete Transcript of our Conversation:

Carolyn: 0:06
Hi, this is Carolyn and I’m here with Erin and Rachel and tonight we’re going to discuss things you shouldn’t say to your doubles partner. We have all played from levels 2.5 to 4.0. So, Rachel, can you talk about a little bit what your doubles partner maybe shouldn’t say to you?

Rachel: 0:23
Yes. So I’ve always looked at this doubles tennis relationship as a true relationship. You know, you’re out there on the court with this person for one and a half to two hours and you guys really do need to feel comfortable with each other when you’re out there playing. So there are some things that you probably shouldn’t say to your partner and your you probably shouldn’t say to your partner and your partner probably shouldn’t say to you, and one of them is walking up to the court and saying oh my God, I’m so hungover, I had way too much wine last night and your partner is going to look at you and say are you freaking, kidding me? Because there is no way on a hot day or even a cold day, that you’re going to perform your best if you’re dehydrated or if you had a little too much fun. So if you have had a lot of fun the night before, it might be best to keep that to yourself, Right, yes, yes, correct.

Rachel: 1:15
Another thing that I would suggest not saying to your doubles partner is if you have played we all played the same people in our league, but occasionally we do run across people that we’ve never seen before, which is awesome, in my opinion. I love playing people. I don’t know because I don’t have any preconceived notions, but another thing you probably should not tell your doubles partner if you have played a person that they’ve never played before is oh, my gosh, I played that girl a couple years ago. She is so underrated she should not be a three five, she should totally be a four. Oh, or on the flip side, my gosh, this girl is terrible, we will kill her. This is awesome. Blah, blah, blah. So I think you know just telling your partner things that on any given day could change, um, is probably not a good idea. Have you guys got any any things that you start, aaron?

Erin: 2:10
Okay, I’ve definitely. I didn’t think about the hungover thing, but I can think of a few partners that have walked on that are that have said that to me and I was like really now what you know, and I don’t think the matches went very well either Um, I had a doubles partner early on that would get mad at me. I you guys both know you’ve played with me enough. I talk a lot Like I call. Sometimes I’ll actually tell somebody that’s kind of new to playing with me Like I talk a lot, um, like through points, not just like being chitty chatty, but like calling the ball. If it’s clearly you calling the ball, if it’s clearly you know, if it’s theirs or mine or you know me, you watch it, whatever. So I tend to be pretty vocal.

Erin: 2:48
Um, and I remember early on I, you know, was playing with a partner and I was like yours, you know, or mine, whatever. And I remember at one point I was like you, you, you know, you, you, you or something, and she just stopped and stared at me and was like that was not my ball, like she was so mad at and I was like and I say stuff like that because like I can’t get to it Like. It may not be anybody’s ball, it might just be ungettable, but um, I remember her like getting really irritated with me. Um, when I did that.

Rachel: 3:16
Oh, I’ve got one, I’ve got another one. If you’d like to hear. Um actually had this said to me recently. Um, in a very well-meaning way, but I find most of this particular comment happens mostly during combo season. But telling your partner that your opponents are picking on them because they are the lower rated player or you know, you seem a little unsure of yourself at the net.

Erin: 3:41
Right.

Rachel: 3:42
Probably something you should not say to your double partner, because that just hurts. It’s hurtful. You know, we all kind of think of each other as as equals. Um, you know, combo season you may have a higher rated player out there with you or a lower rated player, but you should always make that lower rated player feel as comfortable as possible. So you should never say that to your lower rated doubles partner. Right, and your higher rated doubles partner shouldn’t say that.

Erin: 4:08
Plus, how many times have we walked off the court and been like the three five was way better than the four, or the three oh was lights out compared to the three five? You know, actually, my doubles partner, carla and I were asked at states in a very nice way. They were like we can’t tell which one of you is the three five and which one’s the three oh, and I’m like I took that as a compliment to Carla as opposed to people can say it negatively, for sure, but yeah or um, I would. I would throw into just having your doubles partner tell you what to do, like we all know. I will tell you. I know 99% of the stuff that, a, I need to work on or B, that I’m really bad at, and so, if I may, you know if I hit it into the net or hit it long or you know, don’t top, spin it or whatever. Believe me, I know. And the last thing I want is for my partner to be like you should have done X, y, z you know, cover your alley.

Erin: 5:05
Yeah, Cover your alley. She’s going to hit down your alley. Maybe think about a lob. I’m like I’m not good at lobs, you know, or whatever it is, but like not, don’t coach your doubles partner, Unless they. I’ve asked my doubles partner before like. Hey, what do you think, what do you see? But don’t do it unsolicited.

Rachel: 5:19
Unsolicited advice, absolutely 100% agree, Carolyn.

Erin: 5:23
what are yours?

Carolyn: 5:24
Okay. So I had at one time where my husband was watching us play and I went for an overhead. I mean, this was my fault. I went for an overhead like I was going to hit it. I took a step back but then I realized the ball was too high so I wasn’t going to be able to get it and hit that Too far behind you.

Carolyn: 5:40
Yeah, too far behind me Right here, and so I kind of, at the last minute, moved away to kind of be like oh, it’s yours, it’s not mine anymore. And the woman that was on the other side of the court, who was a higher rated player, just threw her hands up in the air, rolled her eyes and sighed. And my husband’s watching this, so it’s like she knows that he’s going to immediately go back and tell me hey, when you did that she completely like you know, because I’m not doing it on purpose and so I hear like a loud sigh or you can.

Carolyn: 6:14
you can feel like they’re your partner’s upset at you.

Erin: 6:17
Yes.

Carolyn: 6:18
Yeah, I think that’s really hard. Have you had that situation?

Rachel: 6:22
Yeah, it’s your. It’s your relationship on the court.

Michelle: 6:25
Yeah.

Rachel: 6:26
You know feeling comfortable with your doubles. Partner is so important and if you feel like you’ve let them down, it’s going to affect your play.

Rachel: 6:33
I mean you know, so I, I know, and the whole saying I’m sorry thing. That’s something that we talked about the other day. It’s it’s hard not to say sorry, but your partner knows you didn’t mean to hit that volley two feet out, but yes. So I tried to think of another word to say, and I won’t say on the podcast it starts with an S instead of saying sorry, but you know, but at least you’re not apologizing, right, I was like I’m no longer going to say I’m sorry, but I realized I started saying my bad yeah.

Erin: 7:08
I don’t know if there’d be better. You just switched it. My bad, but at least you can do that in a fun and joking way, cause I, I do, I do the same thing and it it. It irritates me that all of us feel the need to say we’re sorry. We know that we didn’t do any of that on purpose. You know, and, like I said, we know the mistakes that we make and I always. You know what I say. I’m just like. That’s why I’m this level.

Rachel: 7:26
We have a friend who plays it just says whatever if she hits a ball out. It’s like my favorite thing I’ve ever heard. So I think I’m just going to start saying that, that’s great, that’s great.

Carolyn: 7:44
Oh, I’ve also had someone say to me after I hit a volley that I missed that’s my ball Like letting me know, that it’s her ball and that I shouldn’t have gone for that volley, but two like plays. Before that I did a comparable volley but I made it and that was okay. But so like that sort of stuff. I mean there’s, I guess there’s, it’s how you say it, it’s what?

Carolyn: 8:01
Rachel said it’s comfort with your partner, like maybe like oh, I’m back here if you need me, you know versus being like that’s not your ball Right.

Erin: 8:10
Well, so the three of us um played on Friday or last week I’m sorry and um, nobody knows what day this podcast is happening, but we played last week and um, I remember all of us like I don’t know if it was Rach or Carolyn one of you was my partner and I remember like someone hit a ball and literally in the middle of it I was like nice, you know, like that was a good, like lob or whatever.

Erin: 8:31
And I think you know, just staying positive with whatever doubles partner you have, because you know when you’re not, when you are negative, that just makes, like I know, as a player, I start gripping my racket tighter like everything goes wrong if I feel like my doubles partner is irritated with me. But if I know somebody like we, you, the three of us all do it if we go for a ball and we miss it, we hit it in the net or we hit it long, we always say keep going for it. Like don’t you know, first of all, who cares? Like you know. Second, keep keep doing it. Like I know my volleys aren’t great, but if I never go for them then I’m not going to get better at them either. But yeah, just being like uplifting, as opposed to like throwing your hands up.

Michelle: 9:15
I can’t believe she just did that.

Carolyn: 9:19
Especially in front of my husband Like that’ll be our photo for this podcast.

Rachel: 9:24
Right. Well, if you ever see me doing that on the court, please just tell me and slap me Cause, but I don’t think I ever do that, but it is um.

Erin: 9:34
I’ve said something that I’ve said this on my pot on this podcast before that. Um, my doubles partner and I were playing terribly one time and I was just like I think I was. I was just, I was frustrated, not at her, I was just frustrated with the match and I said I need a bar. I think I told you guys that before. Right.

Erin: 9:54
And she thought I meant like a drinking bar, I need a protein bar, Like I need to eat something, and just like stop, have a reason to stop and maybe take a bite of something, take a sip of water, kind of. You know, maybe change momentum, whatever it was. But I was like I need a bar and she was thinking, oh my goodness, I didn’t think I was playing that bad. I was like no, no, no, not like with alcohol and, you know, like patrons, but like a protein bar I need to eat.

Rachel: 10:28
So and I had a. She said I’m not kidding, like you shot, or something.

Erin: 10:35
I had a pro tell me when I was a 2-5 that I needed to take a shot, probably before a match, because I was so jacked up like we were going into a playoff match and I was playing singles and I was like warming up with the pro and like hitting everything like a crazy person and he’s like I think you need to do a shot, calm down.

Carolyn: 10:55
But I think, as a doubles partner, none of us are that good right, so we don’t need to get frustrated with our partner or, after the match, ever say, never blame it on your partner, like if any of us play with Serena Williams, we would always win. So if you didn’t win, don’t then say at the end of the day, well, my partner didn’t play well. If I hear that I’m just like, oh, please don’t say that.

Erin: 11:21
I agree. Unfortunately that has said a lot, but yes.

Carolyn: 11:26
But we’re not good enough to say that. Agreed, yes, yeah, maybe one day we will be, that’s right, maybe, maybe not. Thanks to Rachel and Erin, let us know if a doubles partner has said something to you that maybe wasn’t very helpful. We hope you check out our website, which is SecondServePodcastcom. You can search the episodes for any topic you’re interested in. Also, stay tuned for the tip of the week with Michelle from Tennis Warehouse. Thanks so much for listening and hope to see you on the court soon.

Michelle: 11:59
Hey guys, it’s Michelle with Tennis Warehouse and here’s your tip of the week. But first make sure you use the discount code SECONDSERVE for $20 off clearance items when you spend $100 or more at tenniswarehousecom. Let’s answer that question is a heavy racket better? I love this question because I play with the heaviest racket on the market, so I’m quick to say yes. However, it’s to a certain extent. We do say the general rule is to play with the heaviest racket that you feel comfortable swinging for an entire match. So it’s good to establish sound technique before you increase the weight of your rackets. Heavy rackets will provide you with power, comfort, stability, but will be harder with spin and angles. So if you are interested in playing with a heavier racket, we recommend slowly graduating in weight, don’t make a big jump. That’s your T-Dub tip of the week. For more tips, visit us at tenniswarehousecom.