Doubles Domination

Tennis Hits the Books (And Sometimes Media)

When I published a summary of all the doubles books reviewed on this site last year, a couple of people asked me how I managed to miss “Doubles Domination: The Best of the Best” by Bob Allcorn. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know that the book existed. In retrospect, the omission is a travesty. It is very good.

I knew that Allcorn’s ideas would resonate with me from the opening line in the introduction.

Every day you have a choice to work at your game and get better or do nothing and get worse.

Bob Allcorn, Doubles Domination

For players intent on improvement in tennis, the layout of Doubles Domination is extremely intuitive with tactics and tips organized by subject. The advice rendered is immediately actionable. Allcorn explains just enough of the philosophy to convey the “why” behind his advice without overburdening the reader with esoteric theory.

The book itself is a relatively short read, yet manages to pack in a lot of great information. Allcorn spends time focusing on tactics for all four starting positions in a point. In other words, the server, returner, and each of those player’s partners. Doubles Domination also includes an inventory of shots that every doubles player should master along with the tactics of use during match play.

Allcorn has a particular focus on how the Rules of Tennis relate to doubles strategy. For example, he emphasizes that all serves should be taken before the match starts per the USTA Code. His specific advice is to use that opportunity to return some of their opponent’s serves.

The advice to “pinch the box” was also rendered in Doubles Domination. That tactic places the receiver’s partner very close to the center line to give the illusion that the service box is smaller than it is. Allcorn points out that per the Rules of Tennis that the receiver’s partner can stand anywhere. Some might say that those legal tactics are slightly underhanded.

For a book that starts with the imperative that work is required to get better, it is no surprise that Allcorn prescribes some of the well established classic doubles drills. The book also recommends playing practice matches or drills with only one ball because no one (theoretically) likes wasting court time continuously retrieving wildly errant shots.

The book concludes with a checklist for diagnosing and fixing issues that occur during match play. Those lists are a fantastic basis for written notes that may be legally used on court during sanctioned competition. The advice is both solid and comprehensive.

Doubles Domination: The Best of the Best is one of the most approachable and value packed resource for any doubles players intent on elevating their level of play. I highly recommend it.

Doubles Domination: The Best of the Best Tips, Tactics and Strategies

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