Don't Let the Stunt Double Die

Carlos Navarro | 22 Feb 2025 | 22.37

Not long ago, doubles played a prominent role in the circuit. In this image, the Bryan brothers take care of the ATP Finals 2009 draw, featuring the same prominence as Andy Murray. Source: Getty

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There is a growing trend, driven by various players on the ATP circuit, to devalue and belittle tennis players who focus exclusively on the doubles mode. Yes, one of the three main branches of this sport, a way of playing that has propelled legends like John McEnroe to glory and others, just in case someone has forgotten, more recently named Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

It may be that doubles has never been as undervalued as it is today. It is experiencing a time of interim war in a circuit dominated by the iron will of the Bryan brothers, with frequent appearances by members of the Big Three, and playing a starring role in competitions like the Davis Cup or the Olympics. However, the ATP and Grand Slams, in a dishonorable attempt to cut costs and entrust everything to their biggest stars, experiment with it at their whim. In the process, these changes sweep away job opportunities for many great players.

There are multiple arguments to bet more on this mode, though perhaps no one better to reflect them than Andrea Vavassori, who has been really successful in it in recent seasons. The historical argument, since not so many decades ago, many of the world's best in singles also paired up to achieve glory doubly in the best tournaments worldwide. Additionally, the stylistic and gameplay argument, reintroducing elements that seem lost in 21st-century singles tennis: angles, quick bounces, net play, finesse, exploiting the width of the court. Are you tired of overwhelming exchanges of pure power with very little variety? A small dose of doubles will quench your thirst in no time.

Andrea Vavassori wrote this statement on Instagram pic.com/WN3VVECNIp
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) February 21, 2025src="/themes/sami/js/empty.js" charset="utf-8">
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However, ATP has directed its commercial strategy in recent years towards the absolute (and almost sole) visibility of the best players worldwide. They are the ones taking a central role, denying luxury extras the chance to tell their stories to the public. Their earnings impact the rest of the players, who almost have to bow down and be grateful for the existence of players like Sinner or Alcaraz, as if tennis had not survived with a broad casting for centuries.

And doubles, which rarely includes singles stars in the mix, is pushed aside to play an almost residual role. It doesn't matter that there are achievements like those of Mate Pavic or Sara Errani, who achieved the Career Grand Slam last year: you'll hardly read news or articles about them on the ATP. You'll barely see players and journalists advocating stories that reach the heart, as if not so long ago it was doubles, for example, that brought together two nations in perpetual conflict (India and Pakistan) with the 'PaqIndo Express' by Bopanna and Qureshi. It's just one example, among many others, of the possible reconciliatory and teamwork role that this mode can have in the sports world.

On the contrary, ATP is experimenting and offering fewer and fewer opportunities to doubles players, diminishing their importance in the tournament lists, creating a television blackout at times in 250 tournaments (doubles finals can't be seen on the official streaming platform, which is hard to believe), validating opinions like those of Reilly Opelka, who loudly proclaims that tennis should "do away" with a discipline with more years of history than he could ever have. Having grown up watching Davis Cup ties where doubles lifted the audience from their seats and took center stage on Saturday, witnessing the continued excellence of two monsters, Bob and Mike, whose merit no one can ever deny, seeing how a doubles formed by a certain Swiss and a certain Spaniard paralyzed the world, how Verdasco and Marrero shook a country in the ATP Finals in London...

I can only say, do not let doubles die. There are great names out there who advocate for this mode like no one else. There are incredible stories that will give you goosebumps, as much or more than those of many singles players. Doubles is tennis, no matter how much someone insists otherwise, and perhaps just a bit more focus, promotion, and affection could be enough for it to start being valued as such. Because there have been many fans I've met who have been amazed watching a doubles match on court for the first time... and denying them that privilege would be shooting ourselves in the foot. Watch more doubles, folks!
This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, No dejen morir al dobles