Is Doubles Dead?

Opinion

The Death of Doubles

Doubles on the pro tour is dying.

At the Australian Open this year, both doubles finals had the attendance of an elementary school during flu season. 7-time Grand Slam doubles champion Jamie Murray has been frustrated by the ATP’s lack of support for doubles, and fears that it’s “losing its purpose on the tour.”

Rather than jump into all the reasons why doubles is failing (yawn), let’s jump straight into what I think can turn it around.

A Path Forward

The single most impactful change would be to require some degree of participation by the top players. Because let’s be real. None of the top doubles players can sell tickets like Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, and the like can.

I’ve seen this firsthand. At Indian Wells in 2022, Casper Ruud and Dominic Thiem packed the stands for an early round doubles match. At the 2023 US Open, Ben Shelton and Taylor Townsend filled up The Grandstand for just a second round mixed doubles match. And just yesterday, it was announced that Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will team up in Brisbane. Singles stars draw crowds, period.

The said, requiring 2v2 combat wouldn’t be a walk in the park. The vast majority of top singles players are already frustrated by the hyper demanding 11-month tennis season. Adding doubles obligations could increase burnout, diminish the quality of singles matches, and put players in tough positions.

For instance, imagine if Aryna Sabalenka made both the singles and doubles final at Wimbledon. Already exhausted from 12+ matches, she’s faced with the decision to withdraw from doubles to prioritize her chances in singles. That’s not exactly setting the stars of our sport up for success.

In addition to the obvious way to entice singles players to participate in doubles (money), doubles needs to adopt a faster format. I’m in favor of an 8-game pro set with no-ad scoring — long enough for a worthwhile fan experience, while short enough for players to save energy for singles. Playing service lets could also infuse needed drama and excitement to doubles.

TLDR: Doubles is in serious danger of fading into irrelevance, but it doesn’t have to. With real star power, a revamped format, and increased prize money, it can be a vibrant and vital part of the game. God knows how refreshing it is to see someone volley these days…

Trivia

This is the only doubles player, aside from the Bryan brothers, to have won all 4 Grand Slams, all 9 Masters 1000s, the ATP Finals, and Olympic gold. Who was it?

A. Daniel Nestor

B. Nenad Zimonjić

C. Rohan Bopanna

D. Leander Paes

Meet the Player

Taylor Townsend

From: USA 🇺🇸

Best Slam Result: Wimbledon 2024 Champ with partner Kateřina Siniaková

Career High Ranking: 5 (Doubles)

Fun Fact: Started playing righty for two years, then switched to lefty

Game Analysis: Great serve, quick hands, can’t lose. A disruptive net player, Townsend causes trouble for even the hardest hitting players on the tour. And if she hits a slice serve on the Ad side, good luck. You might as well stand at the side fence.

Career Prediction: Townsend is playing some of the best tennis of her career. I think she’s got a shot at becoming World No. 1 in doubles, and etching her name into a few more slams.

Shot of the Week

When you think this point can’t get any crazier, it just keeps going. On match point no less. Enjoy 😎

News

Headlines From the Tours

💵 Think you can make it on the pro tour? With Saudi money OneVision, the ATP’s initiative to help more players make a sustainable living on the tour, your chances just got better. Last week, they announced a record $28.5 million in Challenger Tour prize money for the 2025 season. Just 3 years ago, that was $12.1 million.

🎖️ And the award goes to… Michael Russell (coach of Taylor Fritz) and Renzo Furlan (coach of Jasmine Paolini)! Both won Coach of the Year, as voted by registered ATP/WTA coaches, but brings up an interesting question. While Fritz and Paolini had incredible seasons — should the coaches of those who ended the year ranked No. 1 automatically get the award? Jon Wertheim sure thinks so.

🍼 Which Gen Zer will reign supreme? 8 rising stars born 2004 or after will compete in the Next Gen Finals hosted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia tomorrow. The field includes Americans Alex Michelsen, Learner Tien, and Nishesh Basavareddy. Notable: this is a huge deal financially for all 8 players. Everyone is guaranteed $150k for just making the tournament.

Memes

tenniscoachconorcasey

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This one always hurt when I was a junior, so I do it at least 2x per lesson nowadays.

Answer

A. Daniel Nestor 🇨🇦

The Canadian was a winning machine. He became the first ATP player with over 1000 wins, and stayed in the top 100 for 24 consecutive years.