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/

Storm Hunter is one of the best doubles players on the WTA tour over the last several seasons. She's a Wimbledon finalist (2023), world #1, and US Open mixed doubles champion (2022).

Unfortunately, the 2024 season was cut short for Storm as she suffered a torn Achilles in April. I spoke with her from Australia in June as she continues rehab. We discussed her timeline for recovery and her success on the court over the past few seasons.

Here are a few topics we cover.

• When does she expect to return to pro tennis?
• How has she been able to succeed with a variety of doubles partners who have different game styles? Caroline Dolehide, Elise Mertens, Katerina Siniakova...
• Why Storm started playing tennis right-handed.
• What does she do differently in mixed vs women's doubles?
• Strategy advice for lefty's and righty's who are playing with a lefty.
• Which of her Aussie teammates would do best in a fight with their scary wildlife? 🤣

You'll get some great insights into life on the pro tour, Storm's childhood, and tons of doubles strategy in this episode. We hope to see Storm back soon!

See the shownotes for this episode here: https://www.thetennistribe.com/storm-hunter-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/

• A strategic adjustment he and his partner, Mate Pavic, made to turn around their semifinal match against the top seeds after dropping the first set.
• What he's learned from his new partner, a 7x major champion himself, this year.
• His thoughts on how to make doubles more popular.

If you're not a Marcelo fan yet, you will be after. He's an incredibly positive and generous guy with great energy on the court. Vamos Chelo!

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

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

• 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

• 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/

Paul McNamee is one of the best doubles players AND doubles coaches of all time. He has four men's doubles major titles, plus a Wimbledon mixed title. Today, he's best known for being the mastermind coach behind one of the best and most entertaining doubles players in today's game, Hsieh Su-wei.

Paul joined me as the grass court season was just getting started. We chatted about his career, doubles strategy, and of course, Su-wei.

• How does Paul create a game plan for Hsieh with new doubles partners?
• Why he switched from a one to a two-handed backhand during his career (he's the only pro player to do this successfully)
• How often Hsieh breaks her strings - funny story 🤣
• The different roles Hsieh has played during her most recent major titles - French Open (Wang), Wimbledon (Strycova), Australian Open (Mertens)

There are few people on the planet with as much doubles knowledge as Paul so this is an episode you might listen to more than once. You'll learn something new every time.

See the shownotes for this episode here: https://www.thetennistribe.com/paul-mcnamee-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/

Angela Kulikov is a WTA doubles player with a career-high ranking of 57 in the world. She played college tennis at USC where she was the #1 doubles player in the country. She joins me from California as she rehabs an ankle injury.

We discussed her wide array of hobbies including flag football, coaching tennis, and now, golf. She shares her path to becoming a professional tennis player and how she's dealt with injuries, using them to reset and propel her game forward.

You'll learn:

• How Angela improved her game during COVID.
• Why she and her partner, Sophie Chang, play two-back on her 2nd serve.
• The "contingency" or "sparkle" serve play.
• How she thinks about using different serve formations.
• A serve and volley drill that helps with timing the first volley.
• The Reuleaux Triangle framework to follow at the net.
• Angela's GAT method for decision-making during points (this is at the very end).

Finally, she shares a few book recommendations, her favorite tournament, and how to make doubles more popular.

Angela has a great doubles mind and we'll plan on a round two with her to discuss the psychology of doubles (she has a master's degree in applied psychology). Hopefully, we'll see her back on court soon.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sophie Chang Interview
• Doubles Reuleaux Triangle

See the shownotes for this episode here: https://www.thetennistribe.com/angela-kulikov-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/

Greg Moran has coached tennis for over 45 years and specializes in the recreational player. He's a member of the Wilson Advisory Staff, the Cardio Tennis National Speaker's Team, and the USTA's Coach Developer program. He's also written several books and in this conversation we discuss his latest, The Truth About Tennis: The Definitive Guide for the Recreational Player (affiliate link).

We discuss:

• Why most adult tennis players get stuck at the same level.
• The difference between 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, & 4.5 USTA players, including how to level up.
• Exactly how often you need to practice to get better.
• Why Greg has never worked with any of his students on power.
• What you can and cannot learn from the pros.
• and more...

Club doubles players serious about improvement will get a lot out of this conversation and Greg's book. Stay till the end when Greg makes a special offer for listeners.

Contact Greg at gmoran[at]4seasonstennis.com and purchase The Truth About Tennis (affiliate link).

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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/