Things You'll Need:
- Tennis rackets
- Tennis balls
- Tennis apparel
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Step 1
Start your doubles tennis game with two players on either side of the net. On each team, one player stands in the service box, close to the net, while the other stands back at the baseline.
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Step 2
Communicate with your partner throughout each point. The player in front can't see her partner during play, so it's important to call out switches, even when they seem obvious.
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Step 3
Serve the ball to your opponent by standing behind the baseline, to the right of the center hash mark. You must get the ball over the net and into the service box of the player diagonally across from you, who will be waiting near the baseline of her court. Don't play too close to the net during the serve. A good rule of thumb is to start off standing in the bottom third of the service box. This way you don't over-commit yourself too early in the point, and you give your partner a wide enough berth when he is serving.
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Step 4
Play out the point until one team hits the ball into the net, hits it out of bounds or fails to return an in-bounds ball. In doubles tennis, the outer sidelines are used as boundaries, making it a wider court. Note that for serving, the inner boundary is still used, just as in a singles game.
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Step 5
Switch to the left side of the court when the point is finished, while your partner switches to the right. You are now serving to the "odd" court, so called because the score will add up to an odd number whenever you are serving from this side. One person serves each entire game.
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Step 6
Stay on the opposite side of the court from your partner while the ball is in play. If the ball is hit over your partner's head on his side of the court, call out "Switch!" and swap sides. Only the baseline player should call for switches.
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Step 7
Relinquish service to the opposing team when the game is over. The serve is traded back and forth in this way throughout the doubles tennis match, with the players serving in the same order each time.
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Step 8
Receive the serve by standing at the baseline, while your partner plays the net. The receiving team does not switch sides between points. Instead, the players alternate playing the baseline and playing the net. The baseline player generally hits the ball after the bounce, while the net player "volleys" by hitting the ball directly out of the air.
