Doubles Strategy (from Tough Tennis, How to Play Like a Pro)

Doubles is the social, lower-pressure side of tennis. a good doubles team communicates well before matches as well as between points or games.

Pre-match discussions should include a decision on who will take the shots down the middle, when you will both go to the net, how you will handle lobs, and signals you will use, if any. Comments between points should be brief and specific, mostly complementary or supportive...

Play doubles to experiment with going to net more often and work on your concentration skills. Though you will not be responsible for every ball that comes into your court, to be a good doubles player you must play as if this were the case. When your partner is returning a serve and in any other case where the ball gets behind you, immediately observe the movements of the other team and you will know who will be returning the next shot. In your alert, active ready position point your racket towards that player's racket and you will follow the ball better. Try it!

Top secret tips for beginners:

If i could only tell you a couple of things to help you get started in this lifetime sport, or to raise your current level of play, these would be at the top of the list:

The best ready position is an active one (think "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!"

The goal of all your shots is the actual ball contact, and if you can imagine a screen or field of some sort at arms length in front of you, beyond which no ball can penetrate, perhaps you will be meeting your shots at the earliest possible point where you can best control them.