Nate Lammons is the 19th-ranked doubles player on the ATP Tour. He and his doubles partner, Jackson Withrow, made the semifinals of the US Open earlier this year. Nate played college tennis at SMU in Dallas, Texas where he still lives and trains with other professional doubles players like Austin Krajicek and Hans Hach. In this conversation, we discuss: Who's had the biggest influence on his doubles game? How Nate practices his serve - he has one of the best serves on the ATP doubles tour. ...
Nov 27, 2024•45 min•Ep. 207
Today, Sunday, November 24, is the last day to get 35% off the new Tennis Tribe Memberships (coupon: LAUNCH) . This mini-lesson covers a phrase coined by Craig O'Shannessy ( Brain Game Tennis ), that has had more impact on my doubles game than any other lesson I've learned over the last decade. I believe that if you can focus and train with this simple lesson in mind, you'll improve faster and understand doubles on an entirely different level. If you like this shorter format, let ...
Nov 24, 2024•13 min•Ep. 206
Dan Kiernan is the coach of Gaby Dabrowski who just won the 2024 WTA Finals alongside her partner Erin Routliffe. I spoke with Dan a few days after winning the title in Riyadh. He shares: Behind the scenes stories from the Finals. How his coaching process has changed over the last 18 months with Gaby. What types of adjustments the team made from 1st to 2nd set in different matches. Dan is one of my favorite guests because of his ability to share messages through stories. Doubles fans and players...
Nov 20, 2024•55 min•Ep. 205
Do you prefer to play doubles from the baseline or net? I'm better at the net but often get lazy and have to remind myself to get up there and quit hanging out in the back of the court. This episode reminds the baseliners (and me) the benefits of getting to the net. You'll learn: Three reasons to move forward Why I think many people aren't comfortable at the net (but should go anyway). What the win percentages say about the net vs the baseline. The Membership launches next Tuesday...
Nov 13, 2024•19 min•Ep. 204
Do you use different serve and return formations? You should be! This episode will cover the pros and cons of each formation. When to NOT use regular formation while serving. What is the best formation against BIG returners. When should I play 2-back while returning? This is a preview of my presentation from Tennis Con 8 which goes live today. To watch the full presentation, sign up here before 10/31 . Get lifetime access to all 40 presentations here . ----- **Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsle...
Oct 29, 2024•23 min•Ep. 203
Peter Freeman hosts Tennis Con 8 starting next week. It's a free event where some of the best online tennis coaches present on different topics to help you improve your game. I asked Pete to share the best doubles lessons he's learned over the years from Tennis Con. We discuss eight lessons. Gigi Fernandez's 123 Poaching Formula Jorge Capestany's Doubles Dance Ian Westermann's Angels in the Outfield Roy Emerson's Play for your Partner ( Bonus Never miss a return) Wi...
Oct 23, 2024•46 min•Ep. 202
Bob Bryan is a 23-time doubles grand slam champion (16 men's, 7 mixed), and Captain of the US Olympic and Davis Cup team. Bob and his brother, Mike, known as the Bryan Bros, are widely regarded as the greatest doubles team of all time. In this conversation with Bob, you'll hear us discuss potential rule changes that could help doubles, how he's transitioned from player to coach, his experience captaining at the Olympics where his US doubles teams beat Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz,...
Oct 16, 2024•30 min•Ep. 201
We celebrate Episode 200 of the Doubles Only Podcast with a live webinar where I answered your questions. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and joined live 😀 Topics covered included... Offensive vs defensive court positioning at the net. How to end or win the lob wars. Differences between volleys in singles & doubles. How to best train volleys for doubles. Why you shouldn't necessarily volley with "the edge of your racquet leading." and more... Thanks again to everyo...
Oct 10, 2024•54 min•Ep. 200
I recently released a 3-part doubles lesson on the most important volley in doubles... the Serve +1 volley. You can watch all 3 lessons below. This episode covers the serve +1 volley in even more detail, including my response to several Facebook and Instagram comments on the lessons. You'll learn how to practice the serve +1 volley, the different types of this volley, and several rules to follow to make it easier. Master this shot and everyone will want to be your doubles partner because th...
Oct 02, 2024•29 min•Ep. 199
Ellen Perez is world number 11 on the WTA Doubles Tour, with seven career titles. In this interview, Ellen shares her tennis journey, WTA doubles serve, return, volley, groundstroke, rankings, and more. Here are a few topics we dive into: Learn the benefits of returning with backhands in the middle, which Ellen and her partner, Nicole Melichar-Martinez, do. Racquet customization. Ellen explains how she got her athletic prowess. Advice for left-handed players. Known for her speed and epic slides,...
Sep 25, 2024•55 min•Ep. 198
Tony Huber is the former coach of multiple doubles world #1 players including Liezel Huber, Martina Navratilova, Cara Black, Lisa Raymond, Ai Sugiyama, Latisha Chan, and Sonia Mirza. Today he coaches adult club-level players and I absolutely love his approach to the game. This is one of those conversations that you'll want to listen to multiple times. I believe it will change the way you practice and play. We cover: Tony's favorite doubles drills to help adult players better understand...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 197
This is an AMA episode where I cover three questions from you. I chose these doubles topics because they haven't been covered on the podcast before. How to use the swinging volley in doubles. What is the proper technique when faking at the net? How can you improve at doubles when most coaches focus on singles? If you have other questions you'd like me to answer on the podcast, email me: [email protected] ----- **Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players** Ne...
Sep 16, 2024•24 min•Ep. 196
Fabio Molle is the founder of Functional Tennis, a company that created products to help tennis players improve. Their Saber is one of the only training tools that I use and highly recommend to doubles players. In this episode, Fabio shares the story of the Functional Tennis Saber, how it is made, and why so many pro-level players are using it including Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Harri Heliovaara, Joe Salisbury, and more. I personally love the Saber for my volleys because it helps me consist...
Sep 04, 2024•47 min•Ep. 195
For the strategy nerds... Jonathan Stokke joins the show for a second time as we discuss his Stokke Six. What are the Stokke Six? Simply put, they are errors to avoid that will dramatically improve your game. And I mean dramatically. Jonathan and I could talk strategy and tactics for days. He's one of my favorite coaches because of his ability to simplify the game and help players focus on the most effective things that lead to winning tennis. We dive deep into the most common errors: Durin...
Aug 28, 2024•59 min•Ep. 194
🎾🥈 Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram won an Olympic Silver medal for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics. I spoke with them a few weeks after the Olympics to hear about their experience in Paris, beating Rafael Nadal & Carlos Alcaraz, working with the Bryan Bros, and more. We talked about how difficult it was to close out their quarterfinal match against Nadal and Alcaraz with the crowd so against them. What were they feeling and saying in those moments? They also shared how "comforting" ...
Aug 21, 2024•22 min•Ep. 193
This is a post-match interview with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin from the National Bank Open in Toronto. We spoke with them after a very close victory where they saved six match points. Bethanie and Sonya share insights into their strategies and conversations during the match, including how they stayed positive when down a set and a break. These two are a ton of fun to listen to because they're so transparent with their game plans and love to talk strategy. Shout out to Mike McInty...
Aug 14, 2024•15 min•Ep. 192
Aldila Sutjiadi is the 37th-ranked doubles player on the WTA Tour. Born in Indonesia and 2x doubles All-American at Kentucky, Aldila has a fascinating story. Tennis Tribe writer, Hanlon Walsh and I spoke with her on the grounds at the National Bank Open in Toronto. We discussed her story, how and why she plays with doubles partners with contrasting styles (loved this answer), mixed doubles, and more. While I love the tactics and strategy, I want to start diving deeper into the stories behind the...
Aug 11, 2024•29 min•Ep. 191
Team USA finished with two doubles medals at the Olympics. Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek won Silver while Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz took home Bronze. In this episode, I share three more lessons I learned providing strategy and scouting analysis for Team USA. How to beat Nadal & Alcaraz. The Andy Murray tendency. The two most important shots in doubles. These lessons will help players of all skill levels. Not just the pros ;) Only 5 spots left in our doubles camp! Sign up here: https://www...
Aug 08, 2024•23 min•Ep. 190
The Olympics are underway, and Team USA is off to a great start in doubles. In this episode, I share 3 lessons I've learned from scouting and analyzing data & video for Team USA over the past week. Who should be using the lob return? Why you need to be experimenting earlier and more often than you think. How to handle a BIG forehand. No matter which country you support, watch the doubles from Paris all week long. In the US, you can watch on Peacock. Enjoy the Olympics! #WatchMoreDOUBLES...
Jul 31, 2024•18 min•Ep. 189
Bruce Lipka is the coach of WTA #1 doubles player, Erin Routliffe. He has coached over twenty top 100 ATP and WTA players, won USPTA Tour Coach of the Year three times, and now is the head men's coach at Penn State. Erin has improved immensely under Bruce's coaching, and it's something I've personally noticed since watching Erin over the past few years. In our discussion, we talk about her improvement, as well as specific drills that you can use. Bruce has been the Director o...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 188
This episode covers three lessons I learned from watching the men's doubles final at Wimbledon as well as a private lesson that made me sad... Return team lesson - If you're having trouble breaking serve, you might be making one of these two mistakes. Serving on a fast court - How should your serve tactics change on grass? or a fast indoor hard court? Maximizing practice - I recently watched a private lesson from a few courts away. They didn't even finish one basket of balls in th...
Jul 17, 2024•18 min•Ep. 187
James Cerretani is a former ATP doubles player with a career-high ranking of #45 in the world. He won four ATP doubles titles, made the Wimbledon quarterfinals twice, and played college tennis at Brown where he is in their Hall of Fame. James joined the team of Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic earlier this year to help improve their performance. I spoke with Marcelo a few weeks ago in a previous episode and was excited to hear about the two-week run to the Roland Garros title from a different pers...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 186
Storm Hunter is one of the best doubles players on the WTA tour over the last several seasons. She's a Wimbledon finalist (2023), world #1, and US Open mixed doubles champion (2022). Unfortunately, the 2024 season was cut short for Storm as she suffered a torn Achilles in April. I spoke with her from Australia in June as she continues rehab. We discussed her timeline for recovery and her success on the court over the past few seasons. Here are a few topics we cover. When does she expect to ...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 185
Marcelo Arevalo is a top 10 doubles player on the ATP Tour who recently won Roland Garros for the second time in three years. In this episode, he shares his experience winning the French Open again. One of the things that makes tennis so difficult is the sustained focus required to win. This can create mental fatigue and stress. Marcelo doesn't dance around that topic in this episode. Instead of the typical canned responses you hear during post-match interviews, he shares how difficult it w...
Jun 26, 2024•26 min•Ep. 184
Paul McNamee is one of the best doubles players AND doubles coaches of all time. He has four men's doubles major titles, plus a Wimbledon mixed title. Today, he's best known for being the mastermind coach behind one of the best and most entertaining doubles players in today's game, Hsieh Su-wei. Paul joined me as the grass court season was just getting started. We chatted about his career, doubles strategy, and of course, Su-wei. How does Paul create a game plan for Hsieh with new...
Jun 18, 2024•55 min•Ep. 183
Angela Kulikov is a WTA doubles player with a career-high ranking of 57 in the world. She played college tennis at USC where she was the #1 doubles player in the country. She joins me from California as she rehabs an ankle injury. We discussed her wide array of hobbies including flag football, coaching tennis, and now, golf. She shares her path to becoming a professional tennis player and how she's dealt with injuries, using them to reset and propel her game forward. You'll learn: How ...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 182
Greg Moran has coached tennis for over 45 years and specializes in the recreational player. He's a member of the Wilson Advisory Staff, the Cardio Tennis National Speaker's Team, and the USTA's Coach Developer program. He's also written several books and in this conversation we discuss his latest, The Truth About Tennis: The Definitive Guide for the Recreational Player (affiliate link) . We discuss: Why most adult tennis players get stuck at the same level. The difference bet...
May 31, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 181
Watching pro doubles can 100% help you improve your own game, regardless of your skill level. Here are 5 things to look for when watching ATP or WTA doubles live or on TV. In between the points. Formations and variety. Net position, movement, court coverage, & shot selection. Baseline... When they MISS! If you're not currently watching pro doubles, you can do so with Tennis Channel Plus and TennisTV in the US. READ: I Surveyed 1,292 Tennis Fans ----- **Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsl...
May 22, 2024•19 min•Ep. 180
Over the past six months, I've closely studied net players at every level of tennis. One of the most difficult concepts to teach is where the your eyes should be at the net. This episode covers where to focus your eyes and what to look for when you're at the net. Almost no club-level players get this right because it goes against our natural tendency to follow the ball . But, if you understand when to look at the ball vs the opponents, you'll be able to read the ball earlier, forc...
May 15, 2024•15 min•Ep. 179
Murphy Jensen is the 1993 French Open doubles champion, tennis coach, cardiac arrest survivor, mental health advocate, keynote speaker, co-founder of WEconnect , TV host, and the most impactful guest we've ever had on the Doubles Only Podcast. This episode is not about doubles. It's far more important. Murphy suffered from depression and addiction while on tour, considered taking his own life, and was saved by a hotel manager. Decades later he fell on the tennis court and didn't b...
May 08, 2024•26 min•Ep. 178
