How to communicate with your doubles partner

Decide the middle ball before it's hit. Call every switch.

Key facts

1
The common signal set has three serve-direction signs, T, body and wide, plus movement signs for stay, go and the pinch.
2
A closed fist behind the back means stay and cover the alley. An open hand means go, so the net player crosses and the partners switch.
3
The pinch is a read-and-react half-poach with no switch.
4
The standard answer to a lob over the net player is cross and switch: the baseliner crosses behind to take it and the net player retreats to the other side.
5
The rally vocabulary is four words: mine, yours, switch and back.

Why it works

The net player signals behind the back, where the returners can't see. The signal sets the play in about a second, so the team runs service games fast and silently. Formations and poaches only work when the decision was made before the toss.

Coaches widely see the middle seam as the coverage club pairs miss most. Who owns it should be decided in advance by position and handedness, not improvised when the ball is already floating down the middle.

A committed wrong move beats two hesitant right ones. Hesitation leaves the gap open for the whole flight of the ball.

The line to say on court
“Down the middle solves the riddle, and the signal says who solves it.”

Drill: The call drill

15 min · with a partner

Have a feeder send ten balls down the middle. The agreed owner calls "mine" before the bounce. The feeder scores whether the call came before the bounce and whether the other partner cleared.
Have the feeder send ten lobs over the net player. The baseliner calls "switch" at the apex and both players cross. Score the call timing.
Play four service games with a signal before every point. The returners try to read it.

Number to beat18 of 20 balls called before the bounce in the first two steps

More drills like this: doubles

Faults and fixes

Talking only after an error

The plan was needed before the serve.

FixSignal every point, even at 40-0.

The better player takes every middle ball

Both players guess and nobody moves.

FixSet a default by position and handedness, and agree it once.

Switching without a call

One player crosses, the other stays, and the seam opens.

FixCall "switch" at the apex and both move.

Questions players ask

Who should take the ball down the middle in doubles?

Whoever you agreed before the point, and they should say so before the bounce. Position and handedness are how you set that default.

What do the hand signals mean in doubles?

In the common set, a closed fist means stay, an open hand means go and switch, and a pinch is a half-poach with no switch. Other signs show the serve direction: T, body or wide.

What should you do when a lob goes over the net player?

Cross and switch. The baseliner crosses behind to take the lob, the net player retreats to the other side, and someone calls "switch" at the apex.

Do all doubles teams use the same signals?

No. Conventions vary by team and coach. The fist, open hand and pinch are the common set, not a rulebook.

What this doesn't cover

Signal conventions vary by team and coach, so this is the common set, not a rule. The claim that the middle is the most-missed zone is coaching consensus with no charted number behind it. The default owner for each ambiguous ball is a coaching choice your pair should agree on.

Sources

Tennis Creative: doubles hand signals
My Tennis HQ: doubles communication
Be Gr8 at Tennis: signal handout
The Tennis Bros: signal guide

Play the pointWhere to stand in doubles: standard, I and AustralianIn doubles, pick the serving formation that takes away the returner's favourite shot. The default is standard: the server about halfway between the centre mark and the doubles sideline, the partner at the net guarding the alley. If the cross-court return is hurting you, go Australian to remove it. The I-formation makes the returner guess which way you'll move.Play the pointWhen to poach in doubles tennisPoach in doubles when the returner starts their forward swing, not before, or they'll redirect the ball down the alley you just left. You can't wait for contact, because reaction is too slow. Poach more when you're ahead in the game and behind a T serve. Mix in the pinch and the fake so the threat stays real.Play the pointWhere to serve in doubles to set up your partnerIn doubles, serve to set up your partner's volley, not to hit an ace. T and body serves shrink the return angle and feed the poach. Wide opens the court but invites a sharper cross-court reply. Agree the serve target, your partner's move, the expected return and the planned next shot before the toss, as one plan.