I-formation (tennis)
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I-formation is a doubles tennis strategy carefully planned to confuse the opponent returning the serve. "The name comes from its resemblance to American football's I formation, in which the fullback positions right behind the halfback, who positions right behind the quarterback."[1]
.[2] The net player then indicates, (privately); typically with their hands behind their back which side of the court they will move to as the return of serve is hit. These hand gestures let the server at the baseline know which side of the court they are to serve to, and than move to. For intermediate players such as league, or club players it is recommended that the server head to the opposite side to which the net player is headed so that maximum court coverage is obtained) Advanced competitors such as professional; and tour players are known to use other combinations for example Australian Doubles which deliberately exposes one side of the court to entice the return of serve be hit into the open space.
The ultimate aim here is for the net player to cut off the return of serve hopefully ending the point.
Why I-formation is Effective
In tennis you want to keep the ball away from the net player, because it is easy to put the ball away from closer to the net than any other position on the court.
This tactic has the player returning the serve guess as to which side the opponents net player will be. So basically there is a 50–50 chance the person returning the server is going to hit the ball right into their opponents net player which effectively can be the worst place to return the serve in doubles.
Tips
To play this tactic successfully It's important players be comfortable serving the ball with enough precision to place the ball out wide, into the body; and down the "T" in each service box. Accuracy is also required so you don't hit the net-player in the back or head.
Another key to success with this tactic is understanding the ins and outs of returning a serve, and what is involved when choosing to hit down the line as opposed to a crosscourt return. For example, it is harder to change the direction of the ball when it is travelling quickly. Also, there is a higher margin of error when hitting the ball crosscourt, because the distance between the net and the baseline is longer and the net is lower in the centre where the ball path crosses the net.
It helps to know your opponent's weaknesses and strengths before playing this strategy; so if your opponent has a whopping big crosscourt return of serve, this is good to know beforehand; because you can force them to return the ball down the line where the net is higher, the distance is shorter and the angle is harder; this can intimidating the player returning the serve into making an error.
The net-player is required to get low, and it is important that they be able to move quickly out of this position, so it's recommended the net player be on their feet, crouching, as opposed to one or both knees. Also, it is easier to move to the ball from the balls of the feet as opposed to being flat-footed. Also typically you want this position to be uncomfortable because you are going to want to move out of it quickly.
Communicating to the Server
Often the net player will put their hands behind the back to indicate where the server should serve. So if the server is serving on the deuce side of the court the index finger is used to point to the ad side, The middle finger is used to indicate a to-the-body shot, and the pinkie finger is used to reflect the down-the-line position.[3] The net-player then communicates if they are going to move to the ad or deuce service-box. It's also common for the net-player to walk back to the service line and whisper his/her choice of combinations to the server; this helps to slow the game down, which can frustrate the returning team's rhythm; and also helps the server to stay calm.
References
Antoun, A. (2007) Women's Tennis Tactics, United States of America, Human Kinetics.
Krajco, K. ("n.d.") The I-Formation: Variation of Australian Doubles retrieved 19 March 2017 from http://www.tennisserver.com/wildcards/wildcards_02_10.html
Westermann, I. Aug 14 2015. Using Hand Signals in Doubles - Ask Ian #49. EssentialTennis. Retrieved on 22 March 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXoOGJkBIuQ
- ^ (krajco "n.d.") http://www.tennisserver.com/wildcards/wildcards_02_10.html
- ^ "The net player on the serving team crouches down (so they don't get hit by the serve.) On the centre service line. The server hits the serve from directly behind her on the baseline".
- ^ (Westermann 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXoOGJkBIuQ