Doubles Winners Share Their Thoughts on Playing Doubles Tennis

Finding a doubles partner can often be like looking for a best friend or life partner. There are certain qualities you look for, a special connection from the start, and a perfect balance of chemistry to work like a united team. But just because you think you know what you’re looking for, doesn’t mean it will work.

 

We caught up with the champions from a recent L3 Doubles tournament with a Q&A to hear about how they started playing doubles together, their thoughts on doubles tennis, and what goes into making a great doubles pair beyond simply getting along off the court.

Boys' 18s: Nicholas Chen & Ryan Torres

How was your overall experience at the tournament? As usual, it was a great experience. We got to see many friends once again, and we all had fun and enjoyed the competition. 

 

How long have you been playing with your doubles partner? We’ve been playing together for about 3.5 years. We have played many doubles sectionals together over the course of 14s, 16s, and 18s. 

 

What made you decide to want to play with your doubles partner? Nicholas: Ryan has a really solid serve and is really great from the baseline. His volleys are very consistent and he puts many shots away. Ryan: I decided to play with Nick because he has an insane net game that works well with my groundstrokes and serves.

 

Do you and your doubles partner have any game day rituals? We tend to warm up an hour and a half before the match and talk about strategy. 

 

What do you and your doubles partner like to do together in your free time? We love to play Clash Royale, either with or against each other. 

Who is your favorite professional doubles pairing? Our favorite pairing is Herbert and Mahut, since we understand how important it is to understand each other’s game. 


Girls' 18s: Ava Martin & Natasha Rajaram

How long have you been playing with your doubles partner? We met in tennis clinics 8 years ago and started playing doubles together 6 years ago. However, our friendship and energy off the court has been our foundation for success.

 

What made you decide to want to play with your doubles partner? We were friends first and trained together. We had great energy and similar mindsets on the court. It was a natural extension for us to partner.

 

Do you and your doubles partner have any game day rituals? We originally started our positive reinforcement journey with a reward of Cheetos if we won. This then became a deal with our parents to go to Six Flags. However, in reality our rituals evolved over time. Much of this starts and ends with a positive attitude to our opponents, to each other, and to ourselves. A positive mindset and daily practice are the heavy lifting elements for any tournament.

 

What do you and your doubles partner like to do together in your free time? We love watching movies together.

 

Who is your favorite professional doubles pairing? Bryan Brothers


Boys' 16s: Evan Burnett & Cooper Han

How was your overall experience at the tournament? 

Evan: It was a good tournament with a lot of strong doubles teams.

Cooper: It was really fun because I love playing doubles and I’ve missed playing as much doubles because of the pandemic. In this tournament, I really enjoyed seeing so many friends and having time to hang out before and after matches.

 

How long have you been playing with your doubles partner? 

Evan: We have played together a few times, most recently at the Doubles Sectionals in June where we finished 3rd.

Cooper: We’ve been friends since we started playing 12U tournaments and have been partners for the last 3 Doubles Sectionals.

 

What made you decide to want to play with your doubles partner? 

Evan: Cooper is a friend of mine and we enjoy being on the court together. I know he will always give his best effort and be supportive.

Cooper: We are good friends. Now we go to the same school, so we’ll be teammates and have fun playing together.

Do you and your doubles partner have any game day rituals?

Evan Burnett: No

Cooper: We warm up together in the morning before our first match and try to talk a lot during our match to keep our energy up.

 

What do you and your doubles partner like to do together in your free time? 

Evan: I'm excited that Cooper will be at the same high school as me this year so we will get to play together more often.

Cooper: I like being with my friends, watching Ted Lasso and Cobra Kai on Netflix, and playing piano. I just started running cross country at my new school, which is really fun.

 

Who is your favorite professional doubles pairing? 

Evan: Ram/Salisbury

Cooper: I would like to see Francis Niño Alcantara (who I know!) and Nick Kyrgios play together!


Girls' 14s: Audrey Feng & Kaia Giribalan

How was your overall experience at the tournament?

Audrey: It was pretty good. We got along well and our playing styles together were effective in matches.

Kaia: The tournament was a lot of fun and exciting to play. All our matches started on time and the tournament was well organized.

 

How long have you been playing with your doubles partner?

Audrey: We have played together once at Doubles Sectionals two years ago but hadn’t since then.

Kaia: The last tournament we played together was the G12 doubles sectional in 2019. We have not really played doubles as a team since then.

 

What made you decide to want to play with your doubles partner?

Audrey: When I was thinking about people to play with, I thought that our playing styles would work well together.

Kaia: Audrey complements my game and we work together well as a team. I was not initially planning to play the doubles tournament, but I decided to give it a try when she reached out to me.

Do you and your doubles partner have any game day rituals?

Audrey: Not anything in particular.

Kaia: We warm up for at least an hour before our match, no matter how early it is. The final match was at 8am and we woke up at 4am to be able to get to the courts in Manteca for practice.

 

What do you and your doubles partner like to do together in your free time?

Audrey: We went to get boba after the tournament was over with another doubles team.

Kaia: We usually hang out at the tournament and watch other matches. This time after our finals, we hung out at a boba shop nearby with our opponents.

 

Who is your favorite professional doubles pairing?

Audrey: Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos

Kaia: I don’t have any. All doubles matches are fun to watch.


Boys' 12s: Kotaro Kunimoto & Moodal Lee

How was your overall experience at the tournament?

Kotaro: Very good!

Moodal: It was great to be out in Sonoma and partnering with Kotaro.  

 

How long have you been playing with your doubles partner?

Kotaro: This is the first time.

Moodal: About 3-4 years.

 

What made you decide to want to play with your doubles partner?

Kotaro: He is very competitive.

Moodal: I just wanted to go out and compete with other players. Kotaro and I played single before and we thought we could be good double partners.

 

Do you and your doubles partner have any game day rituals?

Kotaro: No, I do not.

Moodal: Not really.

 

What do you and your doubles partner like to do together in your free time?

Kotaro: I like watching Japanese comedian shows (Manzai).

Moodal: We live too far away so we do not get chances to get together.

 

Who is your favorite professional doubles pairing?

Kotaro: Bryan Brothers.

Moodal: N/A