Pickleball 411 is one of the top watched shows on Pickleball Channel because of its commitment to providing helpful information about the sport of pickleball. However, it’s sometimes nice to have an article you can refer back to as a companion to your instruction and training.

In this article, we have long-time doubles team Alex Hamner and Jennifer Lucore. Since most pickleball players actually play doubles rather than singles, Alex and Jen are going to share some really easy and useful tips about how to improve your doubles game.

As a team, Alex and Jen have been partners for almost 7 years, playing in top tournaments around the country and winning over 20 titles. After you have read through the article, be sure to check out the entire video on Pickleball Channel so you can see visual examples of their advice in action.
Jennifer: Have some serious fun when you’re on the court. Having fun makes you relax. When you relax, you can place the ball, you can make your shot, and all with less errors.

Alex: Hi, I’m Alex.

Jennifer: And I’m Jennifer.

Alex: We’ve been playing pickleball together as a doubles team for about 7 years.

Jennifer: We’re going to share some tips today that can improve your doubles team.

TIP #1
Alex: My first tip would be to have fun.

Jennifer: Have some serious fun when you’re on the court. Having fun makes you relax. When you relax, you can place the ball, you can make your shot, and all with less errors.

Alex: It’s a game. Games should be fun.

TIP #2
Jennifer: People ask me all the time, “Where should I hit the ball?” In doubles, you want to look for holes and
fill them. For example, if there’s a big gap in the middle, you hit it there. If there’s a big gap down the line, you hit it there. So, think about how you can visually fill in the holes made by your opponents and find a perfect placement for the ball.

TIP #3
Alex: The third hint that will really help any doubles team is to move together. When you’re at the base line, you move forward together. And when you’re at the kitchen line, you move left and right together.

Alex: If you don’t do that, you’ll create open holes for your opponents to hit through. So, to decrease the holes, move together.

Rusty: That’s your Pickleball 411 for today. Thank you so much to Alex and Jen for sharing those great tips on improving your doubles game. And now there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s go play!

Special Thanks to: Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner

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Rusty Howes is the Executive Producer and creator of Pickleball Channel. Rusty worked for the likes of Warner Bros and Disney before creating Pickleball Channel to develop and provide fantastic, professional video content for the pickleball community. He is deeply involved in promoting the sport of pickleball at home and across the country.