Practice, practice, practice. This will allow your partner to get familiar with your thought and movement patterns. Trusting your partner is intertwined with communication. For a net player trying to poach, the trust removes a layer of hesitancy when moving across the net. You need to be sure that your partner will cover you if the opponent returns the ball down the line rather than cross-court.
When this trust is lacking, the net player is less likely to take risks and attempt poaches. Remember that when your opponent is looking ahead, they can see your position and movement. If you move too early, they may have sufficient time to use that to their advantage.
If you move across too quickly, they can play a drop shot in your original position that neither you nor your partner gets to. Ideally, you want to move just before they swing such that they have no time to change their mind or while they swing. In either case, your goal is to avoid being seen too early. For higher and slower strokes, you may have sufficient time to decide where to hit your poach.
For more powerful strikes, you may only have milliseconds and not too much direct control over where to hit your poach.
I know this easier said than done, as you are making these observations and decisions in split seconds. Though, if you train yourself to observe the ball directly and your opponents peripherally, you can make these split-second decisions work to your advantage.
In other cases, all you have to do is tap the ball with your racket. Sometimes players may hesitate to complete a poach on a powerful strike from the opponent. However, a powerful strike requires a few milliseconds more for your opponent to recover. If you can adjust your racket correctly, you may be able to execute a drop-poach to their side, making it difficult for them to come forward in time.
This is more of a mental tip than an execution tip. The point of poaching is not just to win points although that is a huge part of it ; it also creates confusion for your opponent. Naturally, there will be instances where your attempts will backfire and not lead to a point for your team. As long as you follow the basics on recognizing the opportunities to poach and coordinate well with your partner, the minor failures can be covered up with some fantastic poaching action!
Personally, I think great poachers create the opportunities themselves, rather than waiting for the perfect ball to strike. The frequent movement at the net can give your opponent pause and lead to a weaker shot, giving you a chance to pounce. However, some situations indicate a good time to poach. Typically, these involve instances where your opponent is forced to hit a slower and higher return.
However, as I said, great poachers create opportunities for themselves. Sometimes your movement itself can force your opponent to hit a weaker return. Poaching well adds another level to your doubles game. Good communication and anticipation allow you to identify the best opportunities to move across the net.
The rest is just standard volley execution. If you are hesitant to force poaching opportunities for yourself in matches, do it in practice! But you can also poach during a groundstroke rally, or even when all players are at the net.
On this point, Bob Bryan poaches after the return. These first 4 times to poach are for intermediate to advanced players. The reason this works so well is that when your opponent has a low ball, they have to pop it up to get it over the net.
So to poach on a low ball, you have to read the ball as it crosses the net, and read where your opponent is. Another time I like to use this one is when both opponents are at the net and my partner hits a low groundstroke at their feet. They almost never see it coming but poaching here almost always ends the point. This works well if your partner has a good return of serve too. This tip is a little more advanced, and not used very often in recreational doubles.
I use this in 8. I like to do this from the ad side so I have an easy forehand volley to finish the point. Poaching before the other player hits rarely results in a volley for you, but often results in a missed return by the opponent. They almost always try to hit down the line and usually miss more than half.
I like to start moving towards the center service line, staying low, as the ball crosses the net. One important key to poaching in tennis is to change your timing up throughout the match! Start in the middle of the service box, then move diagonally towards the net across the court right when the opponent starts their backswing.
This will often result in a missed return, or a volley for you. Depending on your quickness and mobility, you can sometimes wait till the last second to poach, and other times fake the poach by going super early and recovering. These 3 poaching tips will help you get started and develop your confidence at the net. Poaching is all about reading the opponent. One of the best times to poach is when the opponent has a backhand or their weaker shot and is hitting from deep in the court, on their heels.
Also, if you do get beat up the line, it will probably be a lob, so your partner can cover it. Left-handed players can try from the ad side. The point is to get a forehand volley when you poach, which is usually easier for most players. This is a little harder for left-handed players because a wide serve on the ad side opens up the alley for the opponent.
Experiment with your partner serving up the T and into the body as well to see what works best. The seventh great time to poach is when your partner hits a deep ball from their forehand or stronger side.
I like to do this when I see the opponent hit a weak volley or groundstroke, and I know my partner has a short ball. Forgot your password? Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Recover your password. Get help. Women's Tennis Blog. Peng Shuai accuses a Chinese politician of sexual assault.
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