Mixed Doubles Tennis Tips
I have compiled the below list of mixed doubles tennis tips as I found there weren’t that many articles that focused on strategy, tactics, and general tips for winning more mixed doubles matches in tennis.
The tips are based on my experience of playing mixed doubles over the past 10+ years at the 4.0 and 4.5 levels.
Top 5 Mixed Doubles Tennis Tips
1. Be supportive of your Partner
I have put this tip first as I really do think it is the key to winning more mixed doubles matches.
If your partner loses confidence then a match can quickly slip away from you so it is important to be as supportive as possible.
Below are a few things you can do to be more supportive of your mixed doubles partner.
Don’t be negative or show negative body language If they miss a shot or double fault.
Don’t focus on errors from your partner. Just forget about them and focus on winning the next point.
Congratulate your partner when they hit a good groundstroke or serve.
Show enthusiasm even if you are behind in a set. Have a “We can do this” attitude.
2. The stronger player should play on the Ad side of the court
As Game Points, Break Points, and Set Points are often decided on the Ad side of the court, it makes sense to have the stronger player on that side of the court.
However, there are some scenarios where you might want to change this (see below).
Generally speaking, if a player is left-handed or they have a strong backhand, they would play on the ad side. Players who prefer their forehand, usually prefer to play on the deuce side.
Another thing to consider is the type of serve your opponent hits. For example, If one of your opponents has a killer serve down the T when they serve on the ad side then you should make sure the player playing on that side has a strong forehand if they are right handed or a strong backhand if they are left handed.
3. Be proactive at the Net
Mixed Doubles is much easier if you can dominate the net but often recreational players will not take advantage of this.
At my local tennis club, I will regularly see players playing one up and one back with the player at the net acting like a statue and watching balls fly by them.
By not moving, they are giving their opponents a free ticket to hit the ball cross court away from the net player.
Another thing I often see is when the net player’s partner hits a weak shot or a lob that their opponents can attack, the net player doesn’t move into a more defensive position either on the service line or the baseline when an opponent is about to hit an overhead.
By staying put, they will have little chance if their opponent hits a strong shot in their direction as they won’t have enough time to react to the shot.
Then there are players who are fearful of coming to the net as they think their opponents will hit a passing shot by them.
By never coming to the net, you are giving your opponent a big advantage as they will always have the option of hitting away from your partner at the net.
If you are also not at the net when your partner is serving, then you are making your opponent’s return of serve much easier as they don’t have to worry about avoiding a player at the net when returning your partner’s serve.
So if you want to win more mixed doubles matches then your first aim on every point should be to get into the net as soon as possible.
If you and your partner are both at the net, then this will give you both a big advantage over your opponents.
4. Don’t always hit the ball to the weaker player
This is something I see quite often at my local tennis club, where one player is at the net with a chance to hit an aggressive volley and the stronger opponent is also at the net but the player hits it to the weaker opponent at the baseline because they are afraid of the stronger player and want to avoid him at all costs.
This kind of strategy makes sense when both opponents are on the baseline but if you have a chance to hit an aggressive ball at the feet of the stronger player then you should do this every time.
No matter how good they are, they will have very little time to react to the ball and even if they do somehow get the ball back, their next shot should be an easy put away for you.
5. Hit your serve to your opponent’s weaker side 4 times out of 5
This is an often underused tactic at the recreational level but you will be surprised how many free points you will get by following this simple strategy.
For the vast majority of players, their weaker side will be their backhand.
So it is a good idea to improve your serve to a point where you can comfortably hit it to the backhand side of your opponent on both the deuce and ad side of the court.
If you are playing against someone who is left handed or someone who favors their backhand then you will need to be able to also hit down the T on the ad side and out wide on the deuce side.
Depending on the level you play at, your serve doesn’t even have to be that fast to produce errors from your opponent.
A good topspin or slice serve into your opponent’s weaker side will often win you the point or result in a weak return.
