Stan Smith's Winning Doubles [Paperback]

Stan Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2002

Let one of the all-time great tennis doubles players improve your game! Stan Smith, a highly respected pro player and the coach of the men's U.S. Olympic team in 2000, teaches every aspect of high-level doubles strategy, from selecting a partner to tailoring shot technique for doubles-specific strokes and adding new drills to make practice sessions more effective. Guided by one of the all-time great doubles players, you will be able to

-find the style of doubles play that fits you and your partner;

-cover the angles, positioning, and court movement that keep your opponents off balance;

-learn communication strategies that will have you and your partner working as one; and

-adjust your tactics to exploit the opposing team's weaknesses and counter different playing styles.You will find tips for using spin and placement to maximize first serve percentage, returning the serve, deciding when to use power and when to use finesse, and using touch volleys to keep opponents off balance. Photos and court diagrams make it easy to see the correct positioning for each shot.

Smith shares anecdotes from his own experience to reinforce instructional points. He profiles top men's, women's, and mixed doubles teams, highlighting the unique traits that make each team's playing style so successful.

If you want to win more matches, let Stan Smith be your personal doubles coach. With Stan Smith's Winning Doubles you'll play better and enjoy the game more than ever.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stan Smith has played or coached tennis at the professional level for more than 30 years. He has won the most prestigious tournaments in both singles and doubles and has coached elite players and juniors. From 1988 to 1995 Smith served as director of coaching for the USTA Player Development Program, and in 2000 he was the head coach of the men's U.S. Olympic team at the Sydney Olympics.

Smith has played in 11 Grand Slam finals and has won a remarkable 61 pro doubles titles. He has a 12–1 Davis Cup doubles record, and he's a four-time U.S. Open doubles winner. He and his frequent doubles partner, Bob Lutz, are the only team ever to have won the national championship on all four surfaces.

Smith has been a contributing editor of Tennis magazine for 19 years, is the author of Inside Tennis, and is coauthor of Modern Doubles. He still plays doubles in the senior Grand Slam events, where he continues to enjoy competing against some very familiar rivals. He and his wife, Margie, live in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics; First Edition edition (June 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736030077
• ISBN-13: 978-0736030076
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,396,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights that only a true doubles player would know., November 11, 2004

By 

John Togasaki "Doubles-Experts" (Mountain View, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stan Smith's Winning Doubles (Paperback)

It's clear when reading this book that Stan put a lot of time and energy into making sure the book was filled with good information and no fluff. Many tennis books present the same things you can get from taking groups lessons from your local parks and recreation department. This book, on the other hand, contains the type of insights into doubles that you can only get from expensive private lessons from an experienced pro. It contains so many nuggets though, that there's no way you could get them all from a pro. That's why this book is great to refer back to over and over.

Stan covers the nuances of doubles, and explains in detail most situations you can expect to see in doubles. He talks about your options in each situation: the types of shots you can hit, where to hit them, the proper techinque for each type of shot, the psychology of a doubles match between you, your partner and your opponents, and explains the reasons for (and consequences of) hitting certain shots in certain situations.

I teach doubles clinics myself, and I often refer back to this book for new ideas to teach my students. It is an excellent reference for the advanced player as well as a great source for players just starting to learn doubles to get an idea of what they need to do to get to the next level.

5.0 out of 5 stars Kinda wanders but has some great nuggets!, January 25, 2011

By 

R. Rangel "Mr. Prytania" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stan Smith's Winning Doubles (Paperback)

Stan Smith was a top player so he knows what it takes to be a success. If you read this book carefully there is a ton of great tips and ideas for better play. He spends a bit of time on picking your partner - great advice take it from someone who broke all his rules and regretted it. He also discussed how to work as team from a psychological perspective. Again that is not always found elsewhere. Its usually just mechanics of tactics. I enjoyed reading his comments on improving the various basic strokes. I found his section on practicing to be spot on for doubles or singles and is a good read. On the other hand he sometimes goes from acting like the reader is a 4.5 with notes on interesting subtle points to basic mechanics at the 2.0 level. Its like he forgot the difference between those levels from his lofty position.

I do think he needed a better editor to organize his thoughts a bit better and cut out some strange tangents. He is also somewhat sexist about mixed doubles which I found surprising considering how popular it is. I figured he'd muzzle his own opinions on such things. He's an old timer. But that doesn't weaken any of the real lessons in this book.

I think you'll benefit from this book if you're > 3.0 player and have a consistent partner to practice these ideas with. I know in my club you can wind up with random players if you are in the leagues. This will not help you dig deeply into this book and its benefits. Find someone who wants to go on that learning journey with you using this book as a roadmap.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money, August 7, 2006

By 

A. Ferenchik - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stan Smith's Winning Doubles (Paperback)

This book was absolutely terrible. Boring, stiff, way too complicated. You can totally tell this guy is no fun to play with. I didn't learn anything. Definitely not for the beginner. I also purchased Dynamite Doubles and it was great. Easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply. It was a great, fun read.