Between serving and volleying, top doubles teams like to talk a lot between points. They really do not want anyone to know what they are discussing. Any viewer will notice the hands and tennis balls covering their mouths as they talk in hushed voices. Is this necessary or have doubles players read too much about Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots?
We can understand not wanting the other team to hear your strategy, and with shotgun microphones in range, that is a very real possibility. Before judging too harshly on lip reading, remember high definition television cameras make this another spy tactic.
Not too much talking please!
Mike and Bob Bryan make up the best doubles team in tennis history, and they think teams talk too much. They identify with a few words about position and serves, but some doubles players go on too long.
“A few teams talk for, like, 30 seconds, and it just gets kind of boring,” Mike said. “There’s no need to go out there and have a conversation. You have a two-second serve, and they miss the return, and you’re back to the drawing board again.”
In the early 80’s, Australians Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee won a long list of doubles titles. McNamee feels many of the decisions in doubles should be obvious to professional players.
“If you’ve got a good understanding with your partner and in principle understand the game of doubles, you don’t need to talk as much as they do,” McNamee said. “At the end of the day, the best communication is unspoken.”
| THEY JUST PLAY |