Advanced Doubles Tactics Illustrated

In advanced doubles, serve and volley used to be a given on first serves and almost as expected on second serves. With the power of groundstrokes in contemporary pro tennis, it's not as easy to handle the return as a serve-and-volleyer, and the server can also do more with a first groundstroke in place of a volley; therefore, you'll see some doubles servers take the return as a groundstroke instead of a volley. For most pros, though, and below the pro level as well, serve and volley remains the most effective tactic, because the server or server's partner can often put away anything but a low and/or exceptionally well placed return, and the pressure this puts on the receiver increases the likelihood of a return error. Serve and volley requires more than strong volleying skills, though; it's a whole skill in itself that can take considerable practice before it pays off in percentage of points won. If the receiver's partner sees that the return will be volleyed aggressively, she should back up until the opponents are about to hit, but if she sees a strong return, such as at the feet of the incoming server, she should move forward to pick off the weak reply.