What Doubles Players Hand Signals Mean

If you’ve ever attended or tuned in to a doubles tennis match, you may have noticed the player closest to the net signals behind their back. If you play doubles, you may have used these signals yourself! But what exactly are the signals for, and what do they mean?

What do doubles hand signals mean? The player at the net will use hand signals to communicate where to serve or return the ball and also where the net player will move after the serve.

Purpose: Stealth Communication

Much like the catcher in baseball or softball signals to a pitcher in a way that the batter can’t see, doubles tennis players also use their hands to make sure they’re on the same page. The player at the net uses hand signals, and the player at the baseline calls yes or no.

If the server or returner disagrees with the player at the net, they will audibly call out, “No.” In that case, the net player would suggest another signal until they both agree. At that point, the server will begin the play from the deuce side of the court (the right-hand side of the court as the server looks towards the net).

Similar to singles tennis, serves begin on the deuce side and switch to the ad side while playing the odd-numbered points.

Two Components of the Serve Signals

1. Where to Place the Serve

At first, the net player will establish where the server should hit the ball on the serve. There are three general options for serve placement, and each has its own hand signal. They are: body serve, wide serve, and T serve.

For a body serve, use your middle finger to point down, as if making a rude gesture at your partner. 

The server will aim the ball directly to the body of the receiving player, which is a difficult serve to return for many players. A returning player may get flustered at the directness of a body shot, which makes it a powerful tool for servers in both singles and doubles.

To signal a wide serve, you should curl all fingers in except for the pinkie finger. This indicates to your server that they should place the ball near to the sideline as they make the serve. 

This will cause the returning player to move out of position and limits the options for where they can place the return. In a doubles match, the player at the net may have a better opportunity to hit the ball returned from a wide serve because generally speaking, players deliver less power on a return if they have to make the hit while they’re on the run.

When suggesting a T serve, make a fist and stick your thumb out, as if hitchhiking. Serving down the T means that the ball is placed on the middle line of the tennis court, which will cause a right-handed player to return the ball with their backhand.

This is also an advantage in doubles tennis if a right-handed returning player is lined up in the ad court near the alley, since they will have to move inwards toward the center of the court to make the return.

2. How the Player at the Net Will Move After the Serve

Once it has been established and agreed upon where the player serving the ball will aim, the next thing the players need to agree on is what the player at the net will do and thus, which areas of the court that each player needs to cover after the ball has been served.

While it is true that a key advantage of doubles tennis is that each player is responsible for less of the court, it is critical on a skilled doubles team that the players know where they’re both supposed to be to avoid confusion that would allow the other team to win points.

To indicate the net player will stay, simply make a fist.

This is fairly self-explanatory. In this case, the net player will stay at the net and be prepared to make plays on balls that are returned in the half of the court closest to the net. The serving player will stay back and cover the baseline.

If committing to a poach movement, open all five of your fingers as wide as possible. 

In this case, the net player is signaling that they will absolutely move to the opposite side of the court (for example, if the net player is on the ad side, they will move to the deuce side). This allows the net player to be in position to hit a cross-court return, which is a common returning tactic.

On this play, the serving player will also move to the opposite side of the court (if serving from the deuce, they will move to the ad side) so that all of the court is covered. This means both players will switch sides after the serve.

Lastly, a pinch or “wait and see” option is communicated by pinching your thumb and fingers together. 

This is an in-between position, where the player at the net is ready to move to the opposite side if needed, but isn’t committed to this movement. Since any movement is to be determined based on the play, the players won’t swap sides like they do in the poach.

Returning Team Signals

Since both teams obviously have more than one player, the returning team also needs to communicate. Again, the player at the net is using their hand to make a suggestion as to what the team should do, and the player standing back agrees or disagrees verbally.

The player at the net then also signals how they will move once the ball is in play.

What the Return Player Should Do

If suggesting a return cross, point your pinky down from your fist.

The returning player should hit the ball toward the opposite side of the court, back towards the serving player. This is a common return and is used in order to keep the ball in play.

If you think your partner should return down the line, point your index finger in the direction of where the returning player should place the ball.

On a down-the-line return, the returning player positions the ball near to one of the sidelines. In this way, it is similar to a wide serve, in that the player needs to rush towards the line in order to return the ball.

For a return that goes down the middle, point both your middle and index finger down towards the ground.

This is a play where the returning player hits the ball down the centerline of the tennis court, and it is a powerful return that some sports analysts say is an underutilized weapon. (source 1)

What the Net Player Should Do

The player at the net will also indicate how they will move once the ball has been served and returned, and they use the same signals as previously mentioned for stay, poach, and pinch.

Doubles tennis is a game of strength and strategy just like singles tennis, but it is also a game of communication. Confusion among teammates could signal disaster for their team, and if a player is unsure of what to do or where to be, they will undoubtedly lose points to their opposing team. 

When playing doubles tennis, use these generally accepted signals and build on them with some of your own, as long as your partner always knows what the signals indicate.