Doubles Take: Service with smiles and Olympic memories

Doubles Take looks at what the pros from both tours have been up to.

EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY

Over the course of the past few months, players from both tours have been sharing their fitness routines and providing tennis tips through social media.

Former world No. 10 Abigail Spears has thrown her hat in the ring, and in one of her latest videos, she gives tips on how to improve your serve.

As you would expect, coming from a Grand Slam champ, those are great pointers. What Spears has also done, though, is show that making those videos isn’t exactly automatic.

Sure, there were some bumps along the way, but the end result came out smooth.

GOT IT COVERED

While he has yet to hit the heights of his countrymen Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner has had a solid go of it the past few years, reaching 12 ATP finals since 2016.

Now, it looks like his efforts are attracting some attention.

The world No. 48 is the subject of a big feature in Revista Winner online, one that includes a chart listing out the 26 different partners he’s played with—in only a couple of seasons.

DIFFERENT STROKES

During this time of lockdown, it never hurts to pick up a new hobby, especially if you have time on your hands.

Hao-Ching Chan has decided to dive in to something she’s always wanted to do.

Sitting at No. 14 in the standings (tied with her sister Latisha), Chan says she hopes to make more progress with her swimming—and is also planning to improve her singing, too.

It only makes sense for a doubles star to work on two hobbies.

WHEN THIRD FEELS LIKE FIRST

Before the career Grand Slams in men’s and mixed doubles, Leander Paes wasn’t too shabby as a young singles player. His career highlight in that discipline came at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he won the Bronze Medal, a run he reminisced about recently.

Paes’ Bronze was the first individual medal won by an Indian since 1952, and also put him on the podium with singles Slam champs Andre Agassi and Sergi Bruguera: not-too-bad company to be around.