William Routsis, a Reno-based lawyer with nearly three decades of experience, became an accomplished tennis player during his youth in Northern Nevada. William Routsis was particularly skilled as a doubles player, going undefeated as part of the region's top-ranked team.

1. By William Routsis

2.  William Routsis, a Reno-based lawyer with nearly
three decades of experience, became an
accomplished tennis player during his youth in
Northern Nevada. William Routsis was particularly
skilled as a doubles player, going undefeated as
part of the region's top-ranked team.
There are a number of differences between
singles and doubles tennis. Perhaps the most
obvious of these is the doubles alley, a pair of
lanes running the length of the court on either
side. Both alleys measure three feet wide and are
only considered in play during a doubles match.

3.  The strategies used in singles and doubles often
differ as well. Take, for example, the tactic of
serving wide, which seeks to score a point off the
opponent by first dragging them off the court in
one direction and then hitting the opposite way
into the open court. In singles, servers using this
tactic must balance the angle of their serve with
how comfortable they feel guarding against an
up the line return, whereas in doubles, the line is
guarded by the server’s partner, allowing the
server to attack extreme angles on the wide serve
without worry.

4.  Another strategy unique to doubles tennis is
poaching. While many doubles teams play with
both players at net as often as possible, having
one player at net and one at the baseline is a
more common formation. Should the need
present itself, the player at net can quickly slide
into the center of the court and intercept, or
poach, a shot intended for the baseline player.
This aggressive technique, which typically makes
it difficult for the opponent to get a volley by the
player at net, can help a team quickly rack up
points.