Quinn Gleason: What a pro doubles player thinks about at the net (and how it can help you improve)

Hey everyone, on today's episode we have Quinn Gleason. She's currently ranked 52nd on the WTA Tour in Doubles and has won 21 professional titles. On today's episode we discuss her mindset at the net, what she's thinking before serving and returning, and how to handle playing with tons of different parties. So sit back, relax, and prepare to become a smarter tennis player. All right, Quinn, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to have you on. Uh I met you in Intense last winter. I think it was maybe in December. And we did an Instagram video together. I'm actually gonna put it in the in the YouTube link, but it I was trying to rip feeds at you at the net. And first of all, you were incredible at it. But also the thing I didn't even realize at the time was on your forehand reflex volley, you had your left hand on. And I've got a ton of comments about like

Well it's a two hand, four hand volley or what's going on there. So I would love for you just to be able to explain your methodology for when you're close to the net and you're reflexing like that. That's so funny. So last summer I was just working on exactly the drill we did.

And I was trying to figure out how I can make it more stable and more repeatable. And I figured out like if the ball's coming right at me, if I have my hands on a swivel, it kind of works better. And I can actually re react faster and take less of a back. So it's more stable, more controllable, more repeatable. So I've just kind of stuck with it. But yeah, it was just kind of something I developed randomly almost.

It's funny, so I don't know if your you know your coach is there, but like are you pretty open minded? Because I think most people would say, Well, a two hand, four hand volley with your left hand like literally on the throat of the racket is probably not something it's ever been taught, but then also if it works

Then like that's the whole purpose, right? So do you kind of seek solutions like that for things in your game usually like trial and error experimentation, or are you kind of like a more by-the-book person?

So I like to experiment and see what works. And I think that kinda worked right away. So I was really excited about it. And honestly, it wasn't that big of a change. It's just like a reaction. When the ball's coming fast at you, you just kinda keep that hand on. So I would recommend it to anyone that's facing like

really fastballs and having the reactions tested. I love that. Okay, so I'm gonna put that in the show notes on Apple. It's gonna be in the description on YouTube, but it's actually a sick volley. For the rest of the day I actually want to get super nerdy with you'cause I loved talking with you when I met you and I just kinda wanna know how you think through things in doubles as someone who's top fifty five in the world, you're an incredible player.

The first thing I wanna know is just kinda like how you and your partner I know you play with multiple partners, but how you guys work through just like what you're gonna do. Like what formation are we using, where are we serving? How are we using the net player? How the score factors in. How do you and your partner call plays on your surf?

So on my serve I've been really working hard on developing like I don't have the most power, but I am pretty good at like variation and using spin. So I try I try to keep the people guessing, kinda like Greg Maddox is a pitcher or Nestor Cortez. Those are two of like my inspirations. But you know, if you're

If I'm serving slowly, ev if I can use variation of like placement, I think for me placement is super important. And then using different spins that can kind of keep the the opponents guessing. And then Using iFormation, I think, has been a big change I've made in the past year where I almost exclusively use iFormation, first and second serve. And I love it because I can kind of dictate as a server, like

based on if I hit my target and if my partner goes here, they're gonna get the ball eighty percent of the time. It's like the only option for the returner to go. So for example, like If I execute my, let's say I'm on the do side and I hit a wide serve. out of I. I'm gonna hope that the opponent is gonna return late and they're gonna go line with the return. So my partner, I'm gonna have her go that way and expect a backhand volley and try to hit a short angle.

volley winner. Does that make sense? So like a hundred percent. Yeah. So there's just plans with every serve. There's gonna be an accompanying volley. And that's kind of the plan you set out too. You try to like make a plan for the first two shots of the point. And then obviously you're gonna have to improvise, but if you the the best you can control the first two shots, I think the best chance you have as a serving team. What is the matrix on how you weight things so

Uh you're choosing a play, but what serve do you feel most comfortable with? And then well what volley do they feel most comfortable with if they're gonna get something, right? And then it's like well if they don't get the volley, what ground stroke or first volley are you most comfortable with?

So how does that play into when you're calling a play? Like do you just go out there and go, Look, I like serving wide, so that's what we're gonna do and then here's the formation that we're gonna use off of that serve. Right. So I'm tr I've been trying to like make sure I own all of my spots so I have all the options as a server. I think that's been something I've been working on really hard the last few months.

Um, if there's a big point, I'm gonna love my kick serve. I think that's something I rely on heavily, just get it out of the strike zone on the back end on the opponent. Um Hopefully I will have a partner that is comfortable going to both their backhand and forehand volley. That's not always the case, so I'll definitely adjust based on that. Um, for me on the baseline, I don't have a huge preference if I go to forehand or backhand. So that kind of leaves it open ended. I think that's helpful. Um

But yeah, it also depends on the returner. So if they're like late hitting a back end return and you can expect that, I think you call that play, you know. Um, and I think Yeah, it it really just depends on the situation. So situational awareness, how you're feeling that day also like can really dictate what plays you want to call the surface sometimes. So like slices obviously work super well super well on grass courts. So if you want to go like

on the ad side, IT and your net person goes left, they're gonna be late a lot of times on grass, you know, and their only option is to either like lob or to go late contact. So Yeah, you'll have a good play on it either way. Yeah. From a communication standpoint, like you said, it does depend on every day. Like you feel differently. Sometimes your best serve isn't working or the court is so slow it makes it not beneficial or that returner has a great answer for what you guys like to do.

Do you usually evaluate that stuff in between the points on that serve game? Or is that usually a conversation where like you go to the changeover after getting broke and you're like, hey, that's not working today? Like when do you guys figure that stuff out? There's a lot of film prep that goes into like preparing for a match. So usually I know like I try to know exactly what to expect from the opponents.

And then in the warm-up, you kind of generally have a good sense of how you're feeling that day, what serves might be useful on that surface. So you kind of go into the match with a good game plan and then if you find it's not working, you try to make adjustments on the fly.

Like you don't want to wait until you're broken, obviously. So if you're noticing f after the first two points of your service game that, you know, maybe they're guessing where you're serving, which is obviously that happens. Um or they're adjusting well to where you're serving, then it's you wanna make a change as soon as you can.

Yep. So I want to talk about the flip side now. So you're the net player. Your partner is serving. So this is what most adults that I coach, they're working on, right? Gaining confidence at the net or even junior tennis players'cause they don't work on volleys ever.

Um and I feel like I get two responses from adults. It's either like I say, What are you thinking about when you're at the net there? And the first answer is usually like nothing, like I don't know what to think about, or they are thinking about eighty-seven. Right. And it's like, whoa, that's a lot. Okay. So I would love you are professional. You have a lot of things dialed in, but I would just love to know.

You know, let's say your partner just calls whatever the standard Deuce court play is and you're jogging to the net. What is going through your mind up until when the point starts?

That's a really good question and kind of a shift I'm working on making right now. So I used to think like very technical and very like specifics, but now I'm just trying to like trust my instincts. I think that's the the biggest thing. So in practice you want to hone in like all the details and then once you're in a match, that's when you just let your instincts take over.

So like there's a few cues that help me during matches, which is like time the split step. So I really want to make sure I'm splitting on time with the returner. Um, that's one, but honestly, I don't think of any target. Like I I try to make like perfect those in practice. And uh I think like as a net player, it's super important to like hunt the ball.

So you wanna have like a broad range of coverage as the net player. That's like a big thing. So you just wanna like make sure your eyes are ready and you're watching the opponent's grip and be ready for the chip lob or anything that comes your way. So when you go up there you c you almost see like a territory at the net where you're like, Okay, we called a play, let's say it was for you to go left out of the eye.

You see a part of the net and you're like, I'm going to get the ball there. And then you're just going to react with whatever ball they give you. That's how you're going to choose the volley tart. Exactly. You really don't have time to think. As the net player, like the ball's coming at you fast. You're just gonna have to trust yourself and your training. Have you heard of uh there's a thing in golf.

You kind of reminded me of it. They call it think box and play box. We're like You're behind the golf ball and that's when you think about the yardage and, you know, oh, the wind is doing this and here's where I wanna be or here's where I wanna avoid and here's my swing thought and then when you step across that line, they're like you're just supposed to swing.

Which is harder for golf'cause the ball's just sitting there. But it sounds to me like you've done some thinking before the match. You might be doing some talking with your partner. And then when you're jogging up, you're kind of like just trusting yourself to play. Does that sound right?

Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm trying my best to do. It's not always the easiest. Sometimes like in the pressure moments you start overthinking things, but the less you think and the more you trust yourself as like an athlete and I think that's that's the best way. Love that. I want to flip it to return targets. So I actually don't know this is terrible. I don't know what side you play you.

Okay, that's honestly fair because I've flip flopped the past few weeks. So Okay, good. Okay. So what what what is your preferred side? Right now, it's funny, I've I always grew up playing ad side, but the past year uh a partner asked me to switch to Deuce just to try it out. And ever since then I've been like, I love the Deuce side. So all my best results have been deuced. So what do you what do you love so what do you think has suited your game? What do you love so much about it?

I think I I love that forehand return. If it's body, I'd do a pretty good job of being able to still pull it cross or Orgo line. And I also like a huge upside is the chip lob is over the back end of the righties. So I love that play and follow that to the net. And then the final pieces, I love like the return partner's volley. It's my backhand and I'm pretty good at like closing the middle with that backhand volley.

Oh, so when you're yeah, when your partner is returning and you're the net player, you're actually good with the backhand volley. Yes, I love that volley. Yeah. Interesting.'Cause most people struggle with that. That's why they don't want to play the deuce because most recreational players are just better with like that hammer forehand volley. And that's

That's interesting. What about catching that backhand late for a nice little inside out return? Is that something you That's true. That's true. I'm still working on that. That's I I think that's one of the hardest returns in tennis is that backhand inside out. I think it's like yeah, still a work in progress, but getting there.

How do you pick a return target? Like are you before the point kind of trying to anticipate what their play call is? Hey, they're going I, I think they're gonna serve me here. I wanna try to either use this lob because they've been poaching, or do you kind of react as the ball is coming to you, which I assume would be pretty difficult.

So again, it really depends on the opponent. If you know they like that cross court rally with their dominant stroke, you don't wanna get in that rally with them. You know, you kinda wanna disrupt their rhythm. So I I would say generally if you see them lining up I you want to go down the line, you know. Uh that's usually to a righties. backhand volley and to a righty's backhand from the baseline. So I think that's that's always a good play. Um

Last week, let's say I played to a lefty and a girl who likes her backhand better. So you're gonna shift your targets completely. So I what I ended up doing is I ended up lobbing cross and coming out. So now I have the weaker volley and the weaker stroke. So it really depends, but Sorry, I got away from your question there. Usually you try to make like a uh like a plan with your partner before, like, hey, I'm gonna try to go line. Usually you'll give a signal based on how they line up.

But it's tough to stick to that. Sometimes you have to be more reactive, you know. So like throwing a chip blob if you're on defense and I think it's like a balance of having a plan but also reacting if you need to. Just a quick break from the show to Call Out ADV. They just handed out forty-eight beautiful bags to my Indian Wells campers, and they've just added a new quartile to their lineup as training picks up for the spring and summer.

It's 100% organic cotton, no synthetics, no dyes, so it feels great on your skin and it's hypoallergenic. It's also double sided, made with a waffle-like texture on one side and terry cloth on the other. If you're curious, the link in the show notes has more detail. I know each match is different but Do you find there's

a more common way. So like you could go about returns two ways. You could say, We're gonna try to put all of them in play. We're gonna make as many as possible and make these players work. But then if you're playing someone who's really capable over there, they could just be finishing volleys and it's like okay, it has to be of a certain quality.

Once I up the quality, then of course I will start missing more and I've got to balance that out. So do you find that one of those methods is maybe a little more consistent match to match with breaking, or do you even like switch that in a match where you might try to make a few more returns maybe at 5-4, but at 2-1 in the first set, you're like, let's just kind of go for broke here and see if we can get a lead.

That's a really good question. And again, I'm sorry to say it depends. So like last year I had a partner who would either hit an amazing return or an or miss the return. So with Comb combining with her, I had to be the steady returner, right? So like somebody had to put returns in the court and the other one was going for riskier shots. And I think that is a great combo, like a little bit of both.

Um, generally I'm the person that puts a return in the court. So if if I'm in trouble, I'm gonna throw up a chip lob, I'm gonna make them play a shot. And then a lot of times my partner is the one going for like the riskier shots, um, kind of the more Yeah.

If that makes sense. It absolutely makes sense. And yeah. I've been looking at your results and like you've alluded to it, but not only are you playing against different people all the time, but you have played with different people all the time, right? So Yeah. That's also something that pops up quite a bit for doubles players, is they recreational players are playing with different people all the time as well. How do you

How do you balance playing to your strengths, staying true to yourself? Like you just said, if you're playing with someone who's erratic, well now you need to adapt your game, right? But how much do they need to adapt to you? And so How do you strike that balance, especially you might just be playing with someone for like one week or two weeks and it's not this lifelong partnership and you guys are just saying like how can we win matches in this 14 day window? How do you balance those things?

Right. I I don't think you can really change someone's game or like what they're gonna do under pressure in two weeks. So you're kinda gonna have to roll with the punges and see how the matches are going and and kind of adapt. So Especially if you're like missing returns, then it's time to like maybe make a switch and mid match and be like, Okay, I'm gonna put balls in, you know?

So I I I guess it just depends again on the situation, the match, the opponents. Like if you're playing girls with good serves that are making you chiplub and Like you don't want to go for big strikes off big serves, basically, you know? Yeah.

What do you think is the most challenging part for you when you do play with different people? So you got you maybe go a two, three week stretch with someone and then for whatever reason they're they're injured, they're not playing the next tournament, they can't get in, and now you got a new partner. Like what is the biggest challenge of that?

I think the biggest challenge is knowing what they're comfortable with. So you have to have like a very open and like honest conversation about like Do you like your backhand volley? Are you gonna be comfortable on a big point going to your backhand volley? Like poaching, like what's your mindset on big points? Are you more conservative? Are you gonna wanna go for it? Because really the last thing you want is a partner that's gonna

say they're comfortable to poach, but then you know they don't trust themselves in that moment. You know, that's the biggest thing. So it's really just like you want to build that rapport as best you can on the fly. What about the communication style? Like is that a talk you have where like

Some people are like, you know what? Like I'm good if you don't really need to talk to me, you don't need to pump me up or some people need quite a bit. Is that a conversation you will actually have or is that like a feel thing where you kind of just experience it and go, I can tell she's responding well when I'm giving her stuff, or I can tell I told her one thing and she looks pissed. And so like I'm done. That's a good question. So I uh

you know, you never know how people are gonna react when they're under pressure. So I think it is really good to ask those questions before you take the match court. So like last year I was playing with a girl, um who was very sensitive to the things I would say on court. And so like

Sometimes it pumps me up to be like, oh, our opponents are really tight. Like this girl's not voling well. Let's let's target her. But that actually made my partner more tight in those moments and kind of shut her down. So, you know, just you gotta be ready for any kind of partner and what like What they want from you as uh energy-wise, you know? Yep. I'm gonna put the coach's hat on you. So this is not about you, this is now your advice for everyone else. People kinda ask me what I'm saying.

What kind of players should I partner with? Oh, I've I've got a good I'm a good servant vollier, so should I partner with a good returner? Or should we just double up on our strengths and just have monster serve games and then it's like, hey, we might not get broken or I'm someone who likes to talk a lot. Should I be with someone who's quieter? Like is there a blend in general? Are you someone who likes to

you think in general have a partner who kinda like makes up for your weaknesses? Like, hey, if I don't ret by the way, I did not return well. So like I should play with someone who does make returns or I could just have another guy with me and we could be twin towers and it's like we're never gonna break'em and then just hope that the other team gets tight. What is your philosophy there on kind of like mixing and matching styles?

That's a good one. Uh that's a good question. So for me, I'm I again I don't have the biggest serve. Um, I prefer to be the net dominant player of the team. So if I can partner with somebody with a good serve, I think that that's when I have the most fun on the court and the most success. Cause my favorite thing about tennis is putting away like the plus one volley off the serve. So I try to find partners with a good first serve. Um

I also try to find partners with very steady returns. I think I find personally that takes a lot of pressure off my return and kinda gives me more um more freedom to use my variety. I think that that's really fun. Um, so when I put those two things together, like a good server, good returner, a lot of times the issue is they're not a great servers partner. So a server's partner is the volume or at the net when I'm serving. And again because I don't have the like

the biggest serve, I'm usually looking to win points on my serve off the plus one shot. I'm not gonna win like I'm not gonna ace, I'm not gonna service winner too often. Like you know what I mean? Like realistically. So I need a partner that's functional at the net.

And sometimes that combo is like a a little difficult to find. So like obviously obviously you want like Serena Williams or Feder as your partner, but you can't always pick that. So you need to kind of prioritize. And I think lately the biggest thing I've been prioritizing is having a good

uh servers partner, a good net player on my service games. Because if we can hold, like I'm a pretty good servers partner. So if we can hold because of that, and if we can hold because of their volleys on my serve, I think that takes so much pressure off as the server. Like you don't have to Yeah, go ahead. Well how much do you think that actually happens

on the tour because obviously there's so many good players that are already like matched up. So it's not like this pool, not like every week you go in, like, hey, let me just see how everyone's like voling at the net, right? So like You've got this this changing small pool of players you could be with. And like you said, you're looking for someone, you specifically, who can make a lot of returns.

who can help you out, right? I would assume that you're actually I've seen you, so I know you're so good at the net that if there's serve like for me just watching you, I would be like, hey, someone who doesn't serve well, you might be able to make up for that because you could actually volley so well. It'd be easier if they had a good serve.

So yeah, what is the difficulty of that where you're like, okay, well there's only five available players and we've got to match up and also like I have to match what they want too. Like how difficult is that? Yeah, it's I think it's actually the toughest part about being a pro doubles player is like Yeah, and and it's week to week and like trying to match schedules and again there's like

fifty girls, but like half of them or mo probably eighty percent of them have like a regular partner. So at my ranking range, like to try to get into the thousands, like You're kind of mixing and matching and yeah, it's it's really tough, honestly. That's the hardest part is finding that partner.

You were just telling me before we started and I didn't even realize how you were saying getting into thousands is actually more difficult. So I think I I checked right before. I wanna say you're fifty two in the world right now. And I just assumed that like you're in Indian wells because

Oh like I guess if you divide that by two, that's twenty-six teams, right? So I'm like, oh well like she's in and you were telling me how you're one out. So why is that so difficult? Like explain that to the listener. Yeah, unfortunately so like the Grand Slams are a draw of sixty four, the thousands are a draw of thirty two. So online there's a sign in twenty four teams get in, and those are the teams that are only counting doubles ranking, and I happen to be number twenty five.

So twenty four I got in, I was twenty five, and then on site there's another sign in, but they can use their singles ranking. So you're gonna get a lot of top ten singles players or like girls that are highly ranked singles that decide to sign last minute. So Yeah, it's tough to get into those thousands, but I think once you get there, that's when you start getting like easier points. Like one round at those tournaments is like almost like winning a a challenger, you know. So

Everything gets easier once you're at that ranking to get into those. And you said you were gonna go sign in for that, right, at any? Yeah, I'm gonna call and if I'm one or two out, I'll go. So we'll see. So let's say you're w let's say you're one out and you go there and you're signing in. Like right now, realistically you're going, the odds I get in this tournament are what?

So I I do a lot of research before. So the last like four years, I think zero alternates have gotten into Indian wells on site. So that's a little riskier, but since Miami is the second week. You know, last year I actually got into Miami as an alternate uh ranked ninety. So I'm almost half that now. So I think there's a good chance for Miami just because a lot of the girls head back to Europe after that one.

Um, so maybe not as high, high a chance for Indian Wells, but for Miami, I I will definitely be there no matter what alternate number I am. I think I was 13 last. And ended up getting in. So you never know. It's week to week and based on the calendar. And I think Indy Wells just has a history, right? Where more singles players just kind of play doubles out there. Is that right?

Yeah, I think'cause they know they have to stay in the US that second week anyways. So that's a big reason honestly. They'll they're like, I have to be here anyways, I'm on the road, so might as well Get the free hotel, you know? Right. Yeah, exactly. Free hotel, a little bit of prize money. I want to shift gears at the end, just moving forward. You are definitely a very intelligent player just by your answers and watching you play.

I'm curious what you've learned about the game of doubles or about just performance in general in the last four or five months that maybe have helped you. Like you said last year at this time, your ranking was almost twice as high. So what have you learned or implemented in that period of time that you feel like has helped you play better?

I think just over preparing for matches before, watching a ton of film and like trying to know my opponents better than they know themselves before. And then just I also think the biggest shift I've made is being less reactive and trying to be more proactive in points. So I think the higher the level you go up, the more you have to win points and not expect them to lose points.

So you're out there and every shot has a purpose. You're not hitting neutral shots. I basically if you return neutral middle, you're gonna lose the point, you know?

Even if you make the ball, you need you need to either go hard line, hard hard cross, or lob. Like you can't hit neutral balls against good players. They're gonna take advantage of you every time. So just that mindset has helped a lot. And then just having set plays and just Honestly I I started working with a new coach, Roland Garros last year and just having his perspective and um

He coaches on the men's side. So ki I kinda trying to bring more of a men's doubles mindset into the women's doubles mindset if that makes sense and trying to get on offense as much as possible off the surf. I think that's a big shift. Yeah. Can you explain a little further what proactive means and how my my fear is that someone just heard and I was like, see, I need to go for my shots and I'm like

maybe not at the four oh level compared to like professional grand plant tennis. But also like there is a balance, right? You you definitely still have to make enough balls. Like at a at a certain point, right? Like you can't just go for shots all the time and be missing. So how are you proactive while still maintaining some level of consultation When I say proactive I don't always mean with like pace or aggression. It could be with placement.

So proactively setting up the point the way y you're gonna be most successful, right? So proactive could also be like using the chip blob line to the players back in and coming in. That's proactive, but also very safe play, you know? Yeah, that makes total sense. Um I I think that's the constant battle most players that I know deal with is

the balance of being solid yourself, obviously staying within yourself, but also trying to make your opponent miss or trying to I mean, I guess in doubles sometimes you're trying to hit a winner. Maybe if you're at the net more so, but like

How you balance those two things seems very tricky. Does that change for you at all during the course of a match where you're like, hey, I'm always gonna be proactive, but at five all in the third set ten point breaker, I'm gonna be proactively safe? Or It d like obviously it depends on the opponent, but like what what what is that balance for you in terms of the map?

For me, the more I can play on my terms the better. I think it's super hard to play like defensive doubles. So as quick as you can set up the point on your own terms, like if that's like serving to an opponent's weakness as soon as you can or like returning to the weakness on the other side, I think that's proactive. You know what I mean? Not reacting or not letting them get the pattern they

So I I try to like do that the whole match. You know, especially in a tiebreaker, especially under pressure, you want them to be playing their weakness, you to be playing your Your best. You know? Now now now that I just said it out loud, I'd love your take on tiebreakers, by the way. Do you do anything differently once you get to a breaker? Is the feeling different? Is the strategy different?

Obviously points are super valuable compared to like a forty love at three one down a break, right? But like how do you approach a tiebreaker to be successful?

You know, I I was having a tendency to be more passive earlier in my career in the tiebreaker and play more safe and like, you know, kind of be more reactive and see wait for them to miss balls, right? But the higher I'm getting, the more I'm realizing like I have to go and win the point.

Again, it's just about being proactive. Being the brave one, I think under pressure always pays off, you know, and I think it's always better to get off the court and be like, you know, I lost the match, but at least I went for it and have no regrets that way. I know that's a lot less painful than losing the match. and letting them win it, you know? You gotta go for your serve under pressure. You gotta like trust trust it and go for it, you know, that's the only way.

How have you gotten over that hurdle of trusting and bring being brave? Because I know a lot of players who like hear that or like they've even told me, Oh, I want to do that. I just have to have the courage in the moment to do it. How did you get to that point mentally? Honestly I work on it every day. You know, being brave I think it's like I spend

about an hour every day before a match, like going over mindset cues and like things that will make me feel brave on the court. And it's just you it's something you have to do every day and that's something you have to work on every day. I mean, the best players get tight. Everyone gets tight, so it's a constant thing you have to work on, right?

What an incredible answer. I love that. I think most people think it's just like that you are, oh, you're just a brave person or Quinn is just confident. I love to hear that you spend that much time on it. That's incredible. I love it. Yeah, it's something I've been working on really hard the last month, you know. Yeah. Okay, so I've got a very difficult question to to finish this, but you've given us a lot of great info.

That's the hard part of this. I want to know what your best advice is for the three five, four oh, four five adult player, the junior who's just getting going, a piece of doubles advice that you think could apply to all of them that you have not already mentioned. And I'll give you I'll give you a little bit of an out if you'd like to make it a one A and a one B, you can stress something you've already said if you think it's super important, but I would like something new as well.

Uh, I would say know your game and play within yourself and Like know what shots you're comfortable making under pressure. Shot selection is huge in doubles. It's the biggest thing. So if you know yourself and you know what shots you can make under pressure, that helps you a lot. And, you know, in those big moments, it tells you exactly what shots to go for, right?

And then if you're on the same page with your partner with that and you know what to expect from them, they know what to expect from you. So that comes with playing with the same person a lot too. So just those two things. Like know your game super well and know your partner's game as much as possible. All right, quick follow-up. Some players think they have shots.

That they can make under pressure. And I've watched my players many times and I'm like, you do not have that shot under pressure. You have it sometimes, right? So when you said that, what does that mean to you? It's a shot that you think you're gonna make nine out of ten times. Or, you know, I just have this feeling like what does that mean that you own it under pressure? For me it's like I've made it enough times to completely trust myself. Um and that just takes

kind of self reflection on and like honest self reflection from each player. Um but yeah, if I can make it in the pressure points, I mean o time and time again then I start to trust it. So I guess if you c if you know you can make the shot Six, seven times out of ten, then that's that's good odds, right?

Um, if you're making it two out of ten times, like why would you use that, you know, in a match? Like that doesn't really make sense. I know it's fun and sometimes it does happen. Sometimes you have to based on the point, but generally you want to play the odds, right? This has been just as nerdy and informative as I'd hoped when I asked you to be on. This has been amazing for me. Um I've learned a ton. Hopefully everyone else has as well and

We're recording this, what is this? Monday before Indian Wells. So when would when would you actually if you do decide to fly out there, when do you actually go? So the sign in is tomorrow at six PM, Tuesday, and then I have a f like a cancelable flight for Wednesday very early and the double starts Thursday. So Me and my partner my partner's in Atlanta right now, the girl I'm gonna sign on site with, so we're gonna talk on the phone Tuesday night and make a call then. Yeah.

Okay, so this will be released next Monday, a week from today. So we will know if you got in. So hopefully in the outro of this podcast, I'll say hey she got in. And by the way, she won her first round because it's before the match. But we'll be rooting for you the rest of the year, regardless. And thanks for coming on the show. Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. This has been a blessed.

Alright, I want to thank Quinn for coming on the show today. I met her a few months ago in Florida at an intense tennis event and loved how she competed on the court and how smart she was as a tennis player. And I think you can tell from this episode how important it is to know your game.

Think about your game off the court, what your strengths are, what you want to avoid as a player, and then come up with game plans so you can adjust on the fly better once you get into matches. As always, thanks again for listening. I hope you just improved your tennis without even hitting a game.