Bruce Lipka is the coach of WTA #1 doubles player, Erin Routliffe. He has coached over twenty top 100 ATP and WTA players, won USPTA Tour Coach of the Year three times, and now is the head men's coach at Penn State.

Erin has improved immensely under Bruce's coaching, and it's something I've personally noticed since watching Erin over the past few years. In our discussion, we talk about her improvement, as well as specific drills that you can use.

Bruce has been the Director of Tennis at Woodmont Country Club in Maryland for the past 25 years where he worked with club players. His principles-based thinking provides a proven improvement process for players at every level.

• How Erin has gone from outside the top 50 to world #1.
• The best drills to improve your net game.
• Why Bruce offered a one-hour tennis lesson for $1,500.
• Exactly how Bruce and Erin structure practices.
• Drills for club-level players.
• and more...

He also answered many of your questions from Instagram and Twitter towards the end.

Bruce is one of the top coaches I've had on the podcast and I expect this episode to be a big hit for players and fans. You might listen twice to absorb all this doubles knowledge.

See the shownotes for this episode here: https://www.thetennistribe.com/bruce-lipka-interview/

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**Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players**

• New doubles strategy lessons weekly straight to your inbox: https://www.thetennistribe.com/join-the-tribe/

**Doubles Strategy Courses** These video courses will help you play smarter doubles and make winning easier.

• Net Play Strategy for Doubles - The Masterclass: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/net-play-strategy-for-doubles
• 25 Winning Doubles Tactics Video Course: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/25-winning-doubles-tactics
• Mental Game Masterclass: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/the-mental-game-masterclass
• League Doubles Training Masterclass Video Course: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/league-doubles-training

**Doubles Ebooks** These guides offer proven advice to improve your doubles strategy.

• 25 Winning Doubles Tactics: https://www.thetennistribe.com/25-winning-doubles-tactics/
• Return Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/return-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/
• Serve Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/serve-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/
• Net Play Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/net-play-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/

This episode covers three lessons I learned from watching the men's doubles final at Wimbledon as well as a private lesson that made me sad...

1. Return team lesson - If you're having trouble breaking serve, you might be making one of these two mistakes.
2. Serving on a fast court - How should your serve tactics change on grass? or a fast indoor hard court?
3. Maximizing practice - I recently watched a private lesson from a few courts away. They didn't even finish one basket of balls in the entire hour. Why is that a problem?

• US Open Doubles Camp: https://www.thetennistribe.com/camp/
• Return Cheatsheet: https://www.thetennistribe.com/return-cheatsheet/

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**Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players**

• New doubles strategy lessons weekly straight to your inbox: https://www.thetennistribe.com/join-the-tribe/

**Doubles Strategy Courses** These video courses will help you play smarter doubles and make winning easier.

• Net Play Strategy for Doubles - The Masterclass: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/net-play-strategy-for-doubles
• 25 Winning Doubles Tactics Video Course: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/25-winning-doubles-tactics
• Mental Game Masterclass: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/the-mental-game-masterclass
• League Doubles Training Masterclass Video Course: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/league-doubles-training

**Doubles Ebooks** These guides offer proven advice to improve your doubles strategy.

• 25 Winning Doubles Tactics: https://www.thetennistribe.com/25-winning-doubles-tactics/
• Return Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/return-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/
• Serve Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/serve-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/
• Net Play Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/net-play-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/

James Cerretani is a former ATP doubles player with a career-high ranking of #45 in the world. He won four ATP doubles titles, made the Wimbledon quarterfinals twice, and played college tennis at Brown where he is in their Hall of Fame.

James joined the team of Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic earlier this year to help improve their performance. I spoke with Marcelo a few weeks ago in a previous episode and was excited to hear about the two-week run to the Roland Garros title from a different perspective on their team.

James and I discuss.

• His role on Marcelo & Mate's team and how he spent his time during and between matches.
• Why gratitude can help you in tennis and life.
• What "growth mindset" means and why it's important for peak performance.
• How to "rep your mindset" & why you should, similar to how you rep your serve.

This is a deep dive into the mental side of the game, an area I've not covered on the podcast a ton, so it was great to get James's expertise. At the end, Jamie shares his favorite tournament, books, and how we can make doubles more popular.

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**Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players**

• New doubles strategy lessons weekly straight to your inbox: https://www.thetennistribe.com/join-the-tribe/

**Doubles Strategy Courses** These video courses will help you play smarter doubles and make winning easier.

• Net Play Strategy for Doubles - The Masterclass: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/net-play-strategy-for-doubles
• 25 Winning Doubles Tactics Video Course: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/25-winning-doubles-tactics
• Mental Game Masterclass: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/the-mental-game-masterclass
• League Doubles Training Masterclass Video Course: https://the-tennis-tribe.teachable.com/p/league-doubles-training

**Doubles Ebooks** These guides offer proven advice to improve your doubles strategy.

• 25 Winning Doubles Tactics: https://www.thetennistribe.com/25-winning-doubles-tactics/
• Return Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/return-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/
• Serve Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/serve-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/
• Net Play Strategy for Doubles: https://www.thetennistribe.com/net-play-strategy-for-doubles-ebook/