Being the stronger player on a doubles team

Sometimes when watching competitive doubles you will see a sharp contrast in the levels of the two members of a dynamic doubles combo. Often people joke that the stronger player will carry the weaker player and thus the weaker player will attain a win that he or she isn't deserving of achieving. This sentiment couldn't be further from the reality of what goes on in matches like the above. In a lot of matches where one player is considerably stronger than the other one, that team ends up losing to the more well balanced combo. Here are some ways that the as the stronger player on a team you can ensure that you lead your team to victory and your partner shines. First- always hit to the weaker player even if it doesn't make a difference for you- maybe you can handle both the stronger and weaker player on the team but your partner might not be able to. The weaker player is less likely to be able to handle your shots and therefore will hit to your partner's strong side. In addition, work on setting up your partner. Figure out what they do best and make sure they are in a position to do that. Some people love to volley- - so hit hard forcing shots to give them a volley put away opportunity. Always try to cover for your partner Anticipate where they are going and make sure you get behind them or in front of them to cover for a miss.