Customer Reviews

The Art of Doubles: Winning Tennis Strategies

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a must read for the player who wants to advance. I wish I had this book five years ago when our team went to USTA sectionals. Every chapter has practical advice to win at doubles. It's worth at least a game every set. The book can be read and re-read until the truths sink in. Improvement does happen when the player realizes that there are optimum plays and positions and begins to understand what their jobs on the court are. Well worth the price.

To improve one's game, nothing beats getting out on the court and playing competitive doubles, but this book is a great off-court companion. By breaking down various situations into easy to understand components, Blaskower enables players to understand why certain shots and positions are better than others. She uses photographs and figures to illustrate her points, thus reinforcing her words with visual aids. Don't read this book only once - refer to it often as you improve your doubles strategy.

This book is not for beginners because it makes certain assumptions about your understanding of tennis. I recommend it for the advanced beginner and intermediate player (NTRP 2.5 to 3.5) to hone teamwork and shot selection.

Having played and coached at the college level, Blaskower pretty much summed up in a couple of hours what took me years to learn the hard way. I hope my competitors don't read this book. This is a great book for intermediate and up.

I love this book! I had been in a bit of a slump when I picked up this book. The author gives very clear, specific info on court position in every imaginabe situation. She breaks each position down to jobs. You learn what is expected of you as the server, receiver and partner of the server and receiver. It leaves nothing to guesswork. This is a great book for womens' doubles. If you are a player looking to have better court presence and anticipation and consistency read this. It is specific to doubles. I am playing more consistently and confidently and I am sure that I will refer to this book for many years to come.

The author has done a wonderful job of clearly presenting the most important aspects of being a good doubles partner, court positions, and shot selections. Some old myths about doubles are taken to task by the author. It is refreshing to see a tennis pro speak the truth rather than simply rehashing old and tired cliches. This is also a great reference source for teaching pros to coach a specific style of play to the players in their leagues programs.

Did not read book in it entirety. In first several chapters found the author repeatedly refering to terms and topics and not properly defined in previous paragraphs or chapters. I believe the book well suited to experienced doubles players who already understand this facet of the game and are trying to improve, but not well suited to players such as myself, who are just beginning to play doubles and need understanding from the ground level up.

This is a very clear book on virtually every aspect of proper doubles play. It demystifies doubles and allows you to understand how good players execute in doubles. The author writes extremely well. I can not recommend this book enough to anyone wishing to truly understand advanced doubles play.

This is one of the best books I've ever read about doubles strategy. It is very clear and concise with plenty of ideas that can be immediately put to use in your doubles game. I coach girls' tennis at the high school level, and I refer to this book all the time for strategy and drills.

I am an avid tennis player and I have read numerous books on tennis techniques and strategies. This is by FAR the best doubles book I have ever read. You might argue with some of the advise, (i.e. the rules are hard and fast), but if you implement them, you will win far more matches. I highly recommend this book. I own copies and I lend one out to my tennis friends, whenever they need help.

When we began playing tennis 4 years ago, we purchased the first edition of The Art of Doubles. Pat showed us strategies that no one else was teaching and we referred to her book many times since 2005. Now that we are reading Pat's second edition, with her new strategies that are evolving like the game of tennis is, we are winning matches. Even when we are playing with other partners who aren't using our new strategies, we are scoring more points than we used to. I will read this book cover to cover many times over like I did the first edition. I highly recommend this book to anyone who plays tennis or who is considering playing someday.