Does Tennis Have A Doubles Problem?

[@joelsuraj2501]

Earlier singles style was fast paced and had a lot of serve and volley so it wasn't that different from doubles, so players could easily transition into doubles...but singles today has become more of a baseline grind which is very different from doubles and the toll it takes on body has increased too...that could also be one of the many reasons u said ryt

[@markvanderwerf8592]

This. Plus the tour just gotten more packed. Harder to compete in both => less prices and big names => even less incentive to compete.

[@Zephyr77]

"People will watch doubles because they play doubles" It's totally true that the vast majority of recreational players play doubles, but my perception is that the vast majority of pro tennis viewers don't play themselves at all.

[@Rywen]

This is true but most pro tennis viewers don’t watch doubles either.

[@UpperPlus1]

not only that but I know a lot of club players who really dislike playing doubles. Which I can't really understand because a good doubles match can be so much fun!

[@sportslover2356]

When the Special K's won the AO22 doubles the country went absolutely wild. They were extraordinarily good and belted it out like nobody had done for many years. So guess what happened? The media wrote that their fans were low grade drunken yobbos who were noisy and didn't belong on a tennis court, that the K's were producing a new sort of sport that nobody wanted, disgusting and downgraded and degrading, and any decent person would walk out, and if they had their way (the media) this would never happen again. Weeks of terrible press followed. Kyrgios was so upset that he left the court after receiving his cup and flew straight out of Melbourne. He and Kokk had done wonders for tennis and doubles, lifted everybody's spirits and, as usual, been buried alive for it. So - no more having fun on court.

[@BlakeJaSmith]

Mixed doubles is where it's at if you're talking about potential growth. It has the most reach and marketability with it being one of the only major sports with a unisex league. Women and men have an equal chance of wanting to watch the same team because they both could have a player they want to watch on that team. It also has the added benefit of cross promotion between the ATP and WTA, which is something that is desperately needed. Get the top ATP/WTA singles players to start making doubles teams, and I guarantee that you will start seeing more turnout and general interest in doubles as a whole.

[@halflink]

Tbh, I (a woman and an amateur tennis player who plays both singles, doubles and mixed doubles) like watching mixed doubles the least. Simply because the strategy seems always to be for a male opponent to hit to a female opponent. Which makes it very unbalanced. Same sex doubles are way more balanced.

[@DrSt-mu4zw]

uhmm have you heard of table tennis and badminton ?

[@Tom-f8r8o]

No. Men's tennis wins hands down because they are way better. Singles obviously, but men's doubles outranks womens and mixed by a large factor.

[@diggler2002]

I was watching mixed doubles at the United Cup recently. Fun to watch. Yes sometimes the man just bashes at the woman at the net. Sometimes the woman matched it with the men at the baseline.

[@jacobyang6175]

No more doubles would be bad

[@Dan1elAndrade]

Why

[@jacobyang6175]

@@Dan1elAndrade doubles is an important part of tennis, showing that sometimes tennis isn’t just an individual sport. There are many other reasons that were stated in the video too.

[@lostsheep4205]

I love watching doubles more than singles at the Australian Open It’s very fun to watch and the crowds love it.

[@sn7747]

The modern singles is a completely different game and requires different set of skills compared to doubles. What makes you successful in singles (baseline play, deep topspin ground strokes, ball clearing the net by few feet) will get you slaughtered in doubles. What makes you successful technically in doubles (volley, fast low shots that prevent poaching, fast reflexes at the net) won't help you in Singles. So the two have become much more specialized, since the serve and volley in singles has died out.

[@TheSupinesmokey]

But what's interesting is how women can still be top singles and doubles players still even as the game has evovled

[@EmilyMoyer]

One of the things I strongly dislike about the doubles is that there is often no explanation of what happened when the doubles team breaks up. Recent example…Krajcek and Dodig. They were the number one team very recently. What happened?

[@francesco153]

i totally agree with the part of promoting more mixed doubles. there is always this discussion of equity between men and women in sports, and when we have the occasion we don't promote it. also ATP and WTA are very popular and a collaboration between the two could help to promote mixed doubles and attract a lot of fans from both parts

[@diggler2002]

Not all tournaments are mixed. United Cup was fun to watch.

[@G_R_C]

I like doubles, but I’ll never be able to like it as much as singles. And I’d want my fav players to do what they need to win singles GS. Which could mean not playing doubles to stay fresh

[@kennnethcorre1328]

atp should at least upload some doubles highlights. they seldom do it

[@bernardospinelli5588]

Doubles are treated as a third class product by the ATP and the WTA. Sometimes it feels that if they could, they would just get rid of doubles. Some important tournaments like Madrid have been quite openly hostile to doubles in the last years. But doubles tennis can be as entertaining as singles tennis, and tournaments miss a great opportunity to attract more audience treating doubles this way. Take Grand Slams, for example, with the exception of RG which offers some affordable tickets for outside courts, tickets are VERY expensive. Big tournaments could offer in the second week cheap ($10?)tickets that grant access to the premises and to the smaller courts where doubles are scheduled to play, many people would get attracted by the chance of just being inside the premises and doubles would get a guaranteed audience. Double finals could be played at courts like RG´s Simonne-Mathieu or US Open´s Grandstand at 10 bucks a ticket that also grants the entrance to the whole tournament complex minus the main courts. From my experience from some years of watching qualies and outside court games at RG and Paris Masters, the audience watches whatever is available to them to watch once they are inside, it doesn´t really matter who is playing.

[@Courtside_Tennis]

That’s a really good point!

[@MegaGo68]

When I think of tennis, I don't think of doubles at all. Yet I am old enough to (vaguely) remember McEnroe-Fleming, Navratalova-Shriver, and the Woodies. Those matches got attention and were great! Such a good topic for thought and discussion -- thank you.

[@eriktempelman2097]

Dutchman here. Don't forget Paul Haarhuis and Jacco Elting.

[@Assen87]

Doubles are fine. Casual players like me will continue to play doubles.

[@yutaegil4944]

The quality of your vids keep getting better

[@Courtside_Tennis]

Appreciate it!

[@TheBlackopsbeast360]

From my POV, in high school doubles was for the players that weren’t good enough to play singles…. Most high school players in my area saw doubles as a secondary thing

[@Tommie22x]

sponsorship is usually towards single players and viewership and exposure. even look at atp. more people watch singles. also as partnerships in doubles can change. so its more unpredictable. is the team bad or the teammate is bad?. is the team good or just someone is carrying the team?

[@icecreamman1337]

Until your team was actually competitive and doubles becomes instrumental in big wins. Just like NCAA

[@SaadKhan-pm1tm]

An issue with doubles also is the partnerships. They are random and change all the time.

[@TomMarvan]

Superb analysis once again, thank you! I grew up in Melbourne watching a lot of tennis in the 70’s/80’s, and it was a surprise to me when a top singles player did not play doubles. I think it was a great way to for players to hone their skills and make some extra money back then but, as you mentioned, players like Borg had a style that did not lend itself to improvement playing doubles. I don’t recall Lendl and Graf playing a lot of singles, at all, I think for this reason. Today, the prize money is insane for singles vs. doubles, as you outline at 4:55. It is interesting to ponder why some top players today still do play doubles. Maybe almost none do. Krejcikova, then… who else?

[@ribenaribena]

How about a ranking that takes into account both doubles and singles rankings!

[@Courtside_Tennis]

That could be cool to see implemented

[@grunchlk]

It starts at the club level. In Switzerland, there's no points for doubles, I don't even have a competition license anymore, because I only play doubles.

[@ustulo3488]

As a 3.5 singles player for many years I know I will be playing more doubles because the effects of aging, injuries etc. It's a way to stay on the court and still play and the majority of rec players are doubles players in organized competition because they are not fast enough, agile enough, or have the game to play singles. It doesn't take away from the enjoyment of doubles though and it can be super fun. I just don't see doubles ever being as big as singles on the ATP/WTA tours because it's not really the height of the sport as far as pure athleticism and talent is concerned and obviously the prize money is so low compared to singles that the best players in their prime will focus on singles only and with good reason. Also no one ever talks about great historical rivalries and matches in doubles like what the singles game has given us...that's just a fact. That being said, doubles has its place especially on the rec level while on the pro level it lives in the shadows of singles and most likely always will.

[@TrứngMuối-d9f]

I don’t know where you live or if it’s popular there but Padel is a super fun sport to transition to instead of doubles tennis. Much more technical than pickleball, but with the same sociability and scaling for aging folks.

[@annamariaisland1960]

I saw Laver & Emerson play Ramirez & Gottfried, but I have no idea who the double players are now. In the 70s pro tour (WCT, before ATP) the tour was small, and players pretty much had to also play doubles just to fill up the schedules. With 5 level tournaments now, there are so many players that singles players don't need to also play doubles. The thing is, there are plenty of boring singles matches to go around, but boring doubles matches are infrequent.

[@ladystarlightnyc]

Wow, the quality of your videos just keeps going up and up. Keep us the great work!

[@Courtside_Tennis]

Thank you!!

[@brendajohnson5525]

Great video. I learn something every time I watch one. I will try to pay more attention to doubles. I admit that I have not. 👍

[@harding7250]

Great clip mate. I've personally always been a fan of 'team tennis' like the Davis cup or the Olympics over 'two randoms I've never heard of" I feel there's a gap for sponsors to set up teams with team names and rotating players for each team.. Could you imagine the tennis equivalent of Manchester United vs LA Lakers? I'd even take team Nike vs team Adidas. Or Yonex vs Head

[@Courtside_Tennis]

For sure, it would be awesome to see more brand integrations into doubles, similar to what we see with F1 or even pro pickleball. Another breakout tour or event for only doubles could be on the horizon?

[@markmcalister4188]

Doubles is a completely different game than singles played with a continental grip. Different skills and tactics. Modern tennis players are not familiar with the continental grip and are uncomfortable playing with it. Doubles is a net game and singles is a baseline game. Hence serve and volley players in the past like McEnroe and Edberg were very familiar with moving forward to volley and baseline players like Borg and Agassi were not. Today's singles players use extreme western grips for more topspin and as a general rule do not like to move forward towards the net unlike that have a clear advantage.

[@vanshanahan4950]

Firstly I want to say this was set up wonderfully and spoken well on topic. I am inclined to go out and do more doubles as a player because it has been helpful in the past. I appreciate the fast paced, quick wit, and the absolute need for a calm mind to play doubles. Even when I practice for doubles I mix it up to focus on singles dependent things. If there are three people on my court I have two on one side and I will be on my own to practice singles. Later I will swap one of the people on the other side to join mine to practice doubles. Of course we alternate so we balance out the practice.

[@ClemsonTiger75]

I'm 74 yo and still play doubles weekly, but I never watch the Men's doubles. I do watch Women's doubles and have for years. I prefer the Women's games as they use more strategy than just raw power like the Men's, and I can relate to the Women's game more since I don't have the needed power to emulate the Men's game. 30 years ago I had a partner in Men's USTA League tennis that was on the same page with me for court coverage, and that is a huge advantage in doubles. Excellent video and spot on with how doubles are overshadowed in pro tennis. The weird thing is - I love doubles, but don't care much about watching doubles on TV. It was the same for me when I used to play golf. I loved to play, but did not care to watch it on TV.

[@markhibbitt1269]

I think ladies doubles is a good watch. The serve is more returnable and you get better rallies with a variety of shots. I think club level players can relate more to the style of their own doubles game when watching ladies doubles. Mens doubles though tends to be 3 shot rallies: serve, return and smash / volley, it doesn't make for a good watch. Sometimes finding doubles to watch on TV can be tough especially in the ladies game.

[@yuanhu6031]

I agree with star has a lot of impact in the sports, getting starts more incentive to play double is critical. Second, I am a recreational tennis player, pro's double is very different. I went to Indian Wells and watched several double matches, I say 80% of the points finishes with less than 3 shots (men's double here specifically). Thera are a few points that can make it to the highlights, but the reality is most of the match is not very fun to watch.

[@JayRuf3438]

If doubles dies in tennis, I'm betting you'll see more players move to padel where the highest pro level is played in a doubles format.

[@TrứngMuối-d9f]

Yes!Haha I just made a comment about this.

[@kloppskalli]

how is there even a padel pro level 😅 ... are people watching it on TV? i thought it was created for fun and exercise 🎉

[@emmanuelokosun7624]

I’m loving the Djokovic x Krygios partnership!

[@Courtside_Tennis]

Same!

[@FahimHoq]

This highlights the point exactly. When stars are playing, people will watch.

[@louis1326]

I think theres a lot of issues around doubles but it will always be a problem if the atp and wta arent invested in it. You only have to look at official social media accounts and posts from the atp to see that you maybe get one doubles post per 100 singles ones. Of course no one is going to be drawn to it, theres practically 0 exposure. I also think you can talk about singles players needing to play but they withdraw so often that it is ridiculous, also they tend not to do particularly well anyway in the tourneys, its a completely different sport with different skills nowadays, maybe the top pros dont play because they arent good enough at the net.

[@lordbyron3603]

I love watching good doubles match and playing in one ! What I like about it is the mentality of one player vs two -or- two players vs one ! In addition, if you’re the one at the net , your sole responsibility is to put the ball away as quickly as possible. It’s a game of strategy . And never boring !

[@fridogaming4058]

Kyrgios / Djokovic Doubles was a blast 🎉

[@kevinmartens2667]

I thought he would talk about how many teams in the davies cup this year didn't even let their double experts play the double match but the singles players instead, like the US, for example. That very much tells the viewers that singles players are just better, even in doubles.

[@rafarequeni822]

Establishing a maximum number of singles and doubles tournaments you can participate would solve doubles exposure problem, and player's fatigue problem at the same time. If you can only play at, say, 14 tournaments in singles, and up to 20 tournaments in doubles (since doubles are less physically taxing), then players would select carefully their calendar year, and singles-focused players would use some of their doubles allowance to warm up and prepare for big singles tournaments.

[@TabbyCat041]

Really good video, thanks. My very first take is there's a bunch of "P's" that would help - Players, Prizes, Placement, Promotion. One out of the box idea for teams could be that the deciding match has to be a doubles match. I also do have to note that almost all of my tennis feed on various social media is singles and the great rallies, shots being made, whereas for pickleball, it's completely reversed.

[@philanthropenos1074]

McEnroe, Edberg, etc these were serve-and-volleyers. Now in the world of baseline grinders who go to the net as much as wheelchair players it is not that surprising you have a different set of profiles for doubles. Now it is totally a different game. What is the highest ranking of serve-and-volley player on the men's tour? In 2024 it was Pierre-Hugues Herbert, currently ranked 149 in singles. So the player quality for doubles and the prize money is at the same level with challengers. Lack of followers is no surprise, at least to me.

[@michaelm1105]

14 years ago doubles was the main attraction in early rounds at Indian Wells with standing room only courts. Singles would be 1/2 to 3/4 filled and doubles would be packed! IMO with players hitting groundstrokes instead of chasing the net has made doubles boring. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of training/skill or just too much power from todays equipment that the serve and volley chip charge are gone from todays doubles game.

[@quirri]

Thanks for the great deep dive! Though I think one part of the equation that gets only mentioned briefly is patriotism. Fans love to see a team from THEIR country playing together and winning titles. A good example from my country are Krejcikova/Siniakova. During their peak time they became national icons in Czechia as a duo and women's doubles was all the rage (in a country that is blessed with quite a few top female singles players). After they split up interest in doubles significantly faded, even though they were still winning major titles, but with partners from other countries. It just wasn't the same. But when Siniakova/Machac won gold at the Paris Olympics the level of excitement was suddenly back. Of course their "are they?/aren't they?" story helped a bit as well.😉

[@FahimHoq]

Agreed, Bryan brothers or Venus and Serena Williams also come to mind as iconic duos that people loved watching.

[@Jacksracingprojects2]

I’ve watched 2 pro tennis matches in the past 5 years, both were Nick playing doubles.

[@rocks2900]

The biggest problem as a player and audience myself is that the points are too short! Most points are won by a net player smacking the service return. I want to see rallies, not a bunch of short quick points like going through the motions, and taking a break after playing a minute (1st changeover). They could change the rule so that both players on the serving side start at the baseline and we would have much better rallies; offset the increase in length with shorter breaks.

[@torstenmalcherczyk6274]

Getting your point but I don't think that's the way to go. With that you basically try to mimic singles tennis, because that is what you like. Why not take another route and see the short rallies, serve and volley, etc as the differentiator and USP of doubles tennis? I grew up in the 70s/80s at a time when people like McEnroe, Edberg, Becker, etc. were considered the greats and up until today I enjoy short rallies and aggressive play more then grinding the baseline no matter how hard they hit their ground strokes. So maybe there is a market for both.

[@livwebster7295]

Great video and discussion

[@Courtside_Tennis]

Thanks for watching! A lot of time and research 😅

[@effi9148]

I think that the scheduling and Money are the biggest problem. If your main focus is singles it's already hard to stay healthy just playing singles. Most singles players seem to enjoy doubles when they play it. Kyrgios keeps saying he loves playing in team formats.

[@AidenClaws]

I think the professional circuits need to take a book from Texas UIL team tennis for the perfect team tennis environment. It would have to be adjusted slightly for the pro level but it could work wonders and having experienced it is the most fun team tennis.

[@diggler2002]

People want to see stars. If people see the singles stars playing doubles, some of the star quality will rub off onto the doubles players. How to get the singles stars to play doubles? Prizemoney helps but right now it would be pouring good money into something that doesn't sell tickets. You have to give ranking points so playing doubles will help your singles ranking. Also doubles has to be short enough so players can save their energy. 2 sets and a match tie break. Maybe deciding point on deuce too.

[@martinsenoner8186]

Jasmine Paolini plays dobble and single at high level

[@leonkozma9148]

But thats the WTA 😢

[@scarymonkey581]

Not the same as ATP. Imagine finishing a doubles final and then playing a 4-5 hour final in a best of 5 the next day.

[@bobbyfischerman4811]

@@scarymonkey581they used to do that

[@rafarequeni822]

@@scarymonkey581 WTA matches are best of three, but they can make it to 4 hours too... there had been quite a few this year.

[@annewalden3795]

Martin you are right and doubles is very entertaining.

[@gganticgary]

I think tennis has more problems regarding marketing and popularity than just their doubles

[@markangelocalica1478]

In my Opinion the problem of modern Double Tennis is too fast and I mean every rallies are short or less than 9. One of my idea for the Double is changing the Point system: instead of classic Tennis' points (15-30-40), they can use the traditional one and the first who score 24 points, win the Set; of course they serve twice like in the Tie-break. At the end I still enjoy Double, but they really need more exposure to catch up the popolarity that they lost

[@caseysmith544]

My thought is to have a tournament for doubles only that is promoted as well as with it being illegal to have other top ATP/WTA tournaments out there that are singles on that one tournament week.

[@Courtside_Tennis]

It’d be interesting to see how that would play out.

[@caseysmith544]

@@Courtside_Tennis Yes it would and the way we could bring non doubles players who are like the doubles players forced by ATP/WTA rules to play it to keep playing in the ATP/WTA the rest of the year like tack this in during the middle of the year like around The independence days some countries like the USA or Canada have maybe later if in France around Bastille day insuring that players play The Doubles event.

[@Braselton21]

Remember when all the top players would play Doubles at Indian Wells ;(

[@NgoTheVinh90]

Doubles is inherently less interesting to watch than singles. Most points end after 2-3 shots with a poach or an unforced error. I would argue that most doubles players are worse technically than singles. Just pair up two top singles players, and they have pretty good chances to beat a top doubles team on a good day. I love doubles, but I can't say it's not repetitive and boring sometimes. To appreciate doubles, you have to understand what's going on, which is not easy at all. So it takes a bit of audience education and good commentary to make it watchable. They should show and explain all the hand signals and the point of each play. It's a bit like chess - there's nothing interesting about two guys pushing wooden toy soldiers unless the intricacies are well understood.

[@guroux]

I don't like the short points in doubles, server with a volleyer is very hard to break. perhaps add a new rule where all players must start behind the baseline, make their way toward the net organically during the point.

[@harryganz1]

So, maybe require it to bounce once on each side before they can volley, like in Pickleball.

[@guroux]

@@harryganz1 yeah, something like that might work as well.

[@bertwagner2623]

The issue is also coverage. Free network TV doesn't broadcast doubles, likely due to lower advertisement income. To watch high-level doubles on TV, one usually has to have a dedicated network subscription whereas singles can be watched for free with a cable-TV subscription with few exceptions.

[@kaytae4053]

Doubles is needed

[@thistagworked]

1 change would make doubles watchable to me. Smaller less powerful rackets. I can watch women’s doubles because they don’t serve as well and they get into intense rallies. With the men it’s like bam bam point over.

[@iang8169]

I'd watch doubles if it was played like it used to be played ie the server serve and volley d on every serve . That was exiting .now the server stays back and there is a long cross court rally ..who wants to see that

[@lukavidanovic5070]

Great video but dude clean your screen 18:41😂💀

[@rubenmoreno2651]

I think it’s fault of the tv producers that never transmit de doubles matches in the important tournaments. I’m a fan of tennis and I would like to see the doubles matches.

[@alexandreleblanc9582]

"[...] better commentary and analysis during broadcasts" Truer words could not be spoken... when the commentators are good, I come back for more...

[@vanshanahan4950]

Doubles is exciting especially during the United Cup like what is going on now in Australia. It can be fast paced still and it can be very fun to play.

[@dudefromtx1404]

My first thought is that playing both doubles and singles takes a physical toll on the body, especially after playing these fast pace singles matches. Top players don't want to risk injuries or money lost and rankings drops for doubles glory. At all levels from high school on up, doubles takes a back seat to singles. My old tennis instructor used to make me run bleachers for not signing up for singles play for example.

[@daysha_edits7733]

I just did a lesson with Luke Jensen last summer. Cool video

[@Courtside_Tennis]

He’s the best! An absolute character

[@0ppaiDragon]

Doubles/Mix should be freely available online (use change overs as ads paid space). Davis changed to 7 matches. 1 single/double FRI, 2x Doubles & 1 single SAT, 1 single/double SUN. (If possible, Multi) Year long teammates or team names. Easier to remember and follow. Separate joint Race/Year singles/doubles ranking (using ATP criteria). Early schedule doubles matches both ATP/Majors finished by Friday at the latest. The return of Super Saturday but at all Majors (singles SF on SAT).

[@WillMcDevitt]

Unpopular opinion but maybe we follow what the usta does in juniors which is have doubles points contribute to singles rankings (about 20%). So if winning the singles draw gives you 100 points, then winning in doubles gives you 20 points towards your singles ranking

[@Courtside_Tennis]

That could be cool to have both be under one ranking system

[@vladyslavdiumin4124]

Fantastic video❤❤ the great topic for discussion on the doubles formats🎉🎉 especially I love the Team competitions like Davis cup, United cup, also the most recent one in the United Arab Emirates where team Falcons, Eagles and another two teams have been playing. Kind of a good way to showcase how mixed doubles and just regular doubles can be combined in one tournament structure in very fun way.

[@booleaninfernusstudios5352]

Doubles with players mic'd on is GOATED

[@WSBM]

At least team tennis either at the high school or college level in the US has historically included doubles for every dual match. Way back in the early nineties when I played, dubs at the D2 level was still 2 out of 3 regular scoring. This has been abbreviated now, but there's no doubt there are benefits to playing doubles that can help your singles quite a bit.

[@Em4gdn1m]

Not only could I not name any player from the top 5 in either tour, even after looking them up, I only recognize one name (Jordan Thompson). I enjoy watching doubles, but not having any big names, and the lack of coverage make it hard to keep track of.

[@sportsart21]

I‘m all in for it to change the system. There is one ranking and all the results of singles and doubles are part of this ranking. You could still be nunber one if you only play singles but chances are, that a player who plays singles and doubles will outperform you. There should be the four slams and two Masters 1000 before each slam (which includes a little adjustment of the calender. Sorry Wimbledon, but there will be a real grascourt season as a bonus) and one or two 250 and 500 tournaments as well (which means, some can only play 500 or 250 if they are not good enough). The players have more time to recover and can play both, singles and doubles. Maybe count at doubles as they count at the next gen ATP finals to make it less exhausting for the players so they can play both. And the season ends at the end of October (to give them time to recover). How about that?

[@romanosaraviadis]

Spectators want to see the best players and the most competitive, technical matches. For the past 20 years, you've had that in singles and in some cases in doubles too, whether that be the Bryan brothers or some singles star playing doubles for some weeks. Even in the Laver Cup, the doubles matches where the stars of the game teamed up, I believe were the most watched. But the rest of the doubles circuit, despite being highly specialized great players, they lack that wow factor that captures the public's attention. I repeat, especially in the past 20-25 years, where the comparison with the singles circuit favoured the latter..

[@seanpeel7076]

I love watching doubles. More exciting tennis. But I don’t know the doubles players so less likely to look for them

[@98WTF]

Tv channels could help by showing doubles instead of pickleball.

[@ButHearMeOut]

Physicality is easier to understand than inteligence As a casual viewer (if I happen to see there's a match being televised), I'm more likely to keep watching if I see 2 players running across the court like madmen

[@johnwest901]

Hearing the insights of Routliffe was very interesting, Great video

[@anwealde]

exhibition doubles with mic-ed up legends and current stars still seems popular

[@OneAdam12Adam]

Like Navratilova said, "You can't call yourself a tennis player unless you play doubles"

[@lastxp]

Use to watch doubles because it was nice to watch in-between singles matches

[@music-discovery]

More mixed-doubles promotion & much more money, because the male-female dynamic is both fun and of perennial interest to adults. Doubles players to take far more responsibility for promoting themselves in alliance with the tournaments, and on their own social media channels. More money and better courts for all doubles players. Close the finance gap.

[@benthelearner6104]

The shortening of doubles matches is a consequence of top players not participating. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam to retain the best-of-five sets format. If top players played double, people would not care about the lenght of the game.

[@emmanuelokosun7624]

100% agree

[@LaraDorren1]

I may have a bit different opinion but although I play mainly singles game - when I am at some tournament or simply watching in tv I much more enjoy doubles game. It’s more lively, faster paced action (& I don’t have hours and hours to watch one match) and team spirit that makes it for me (former volleyball player). IF played right - IMO doubles have so much more potential than singles game - but core change to how competitions are handled should be made - from „it’s an individual sport” to „It’s a league sport”

[@marielou1982]

padel took the spot for doubles

[@BlueberrySwede]

The world in general has become much more individualized over the last 10-20 years, not least due to the social media. Doubles feels like something from the old days. And people who play tennis are typically not really interested in teams sports anyways. I mean, if I play a good match, and make some great winner shots, I can take all the credit myself. And if things go less great, I only have myself to blame (or a better opponent), and I definetely prefer that.

[@jhors7777]

Thank you for posting this interesting video

[@bojack3827]

Great discussion regarding an really interesting issue.

[@timlamiam]

doubles is practically a different game tbh

[@errorerror1337]

So cool to see footage of Erin @ Veltri, that's my home court! Go Erin!!

[@brandonlittle8233]

who are the guys at 00:49

[@ttwarrior1]

needs to be on regular tv more for one

[@TrứngMuối-d9f]

I kinda wish all the good doubles tennis players switched to padel, which is already a doubles racket sport which requires similar skill and arguably more teamwork than doubles tennis. Singles tennis is still the cream of the crop racket sport, esp for spectators/viewership, but doubles tennis is worse than padel and even doubles badminton.

[@normangoldstuck8107]

Doubles was great in the sixties. Touching each other after each point makes today's doubles unwatchable.

[@Eclipse_Graphics]

Tennis doesn't push doubles properly. This is another reason why Pickleball has left tennis in the dust. Pickleball is mostly about doubles play.

[@TrứngMuối-d9f]

Tennis doubles is also way too short rally wise. Pickleball fun to play, but feel skill ceiling not as high as Padel.

[@flamesniper126]

The Williams sisters made women’s doubles interesting

[@aviation1337]

I play at the recreational level but I personally don't even like playing doubles and I find it boring

[@hillpitt4585]

Its much funner and you can play more at the net. In singles, if you go to the net, the point will very likely just end right there, where in doubles there’s more continuity

[@aviation1337]

@hillpitt4585 it's all subjective. Where I live the level people play doubles is just too low and they moonball too much and it's just like a ping pong game. I'm athletic, I want to run so I'll play singles. Beside that, you're responsible for what you do on the court and don't have to rely on others. Unless pro play doubles I don't want to see it, hear about it or have doubles take up all the public courts

[@wongjefx980]

Won't lie... I'm too old and slow to play singles now.... and enjoy the social aspect of doubles. Maybe you don't want to watch it, unless there are brand name singles players participating, but like Pickelball, doubles Padel, darts and bowling, rather play than watch it. Doubles tennis and Pickleball, the play is too fast to follow, the point drama doesn't build like in singles tennis or even doubles badminton, because the birdie floats, giving your eyes time and brain to process it.

[@TrứngMuối-d9f]

Padel there’s time to process. Also, skill ceiling higher than pickle. I think padel is the most logical alternative to doubles tennis since it’s a mandatory doubles format. Doubles badminton is fun to watch and play though.

[@K4R3N]

5:45 follow the money

[@theprogressivemichigander6588]

Merge the singles and doubles point systems. Give each doubles player one half of the points that a singles player in the same round would get. Then singles players will play doubles. And TV will broadcast doubles with better singles players playing. So doubles specialists (who can still get points from both mixed and regular doubles) will be able to get more endorsement money because they'll actually be seen. And since singles players will actually care about their doubles results, they'll keep the same partnerships for longer and become known as teams again.

[@leonardofonseca9181]

Make a video about Joao Fonseca

[@zelamal9897]

As someone who plays primarily singles and a slight bit of doubles, and someone who watches far too much tennis, I literally don't think I've ever watched a doubles match, completely different game that I find to just be less interesting to watch

[@eternalchi8898]

Personally I can't watch doubles - the speed is impressive but causes me too lose focus easily due over stimulation. Also way prefer playing singles over playing doubles.