Defending Against an Australian or I Formation

Occasionally, your doubles players will face a team the introduces an Australian or I formation. In this configuration, the server stands close to the center service mark (similar to a singles player), while the net player moves in front of the receiver’s partner (close to the service line), rather than in front of the receiver.

Both players on the serving team are now on the same half of the court, leaving the half of the court directly in front of the returner open.

This is done to thwart a receiver who is consistently hitting crosscourt winners, sharply-angled returns, or who has difficulty returning down the line. It is frequently used on only one side of the court (against one player) as a way to take an advantage away from a strong player, or to take advantage of a weak player.

The serving team usually serves down the middle of the court, taking away the receiver’s ability to hit easily down the line (straight ahead to the open court), or may serve wide if the player has difficulty hitting down the line (for example, a right-handed player in the ad court may have a weak backhand).

While having an open court ahead of him may seem like a bonus for the receiver, he must try to guess if: 1) the net player is going to poach back; 2) the server is going to stay back and move over to cover the open court; 3) the server is going to serve and volley.

Players who have not played against this formation before may become rattled, especially the first time they see this formation, producing weak returns.

The first thing your players should do when they see an Australian formation is to immediately call a let. This will allow them to get together and discuss their response to this strategy. It also takes away the element of surprise from their opponents, as well as some confidence, as they now see that your players have a strategy to deal with theirs.

In general, the safest course of action against Australian doubles is to lob crosscourt. This immediately takes the net player out of the point. Whether the net player poaches or stays is now irrelevant and takes him completely off the receiver’s mind.

Additionally, if the server serves and covers the open court, she must now rush back to the opposite side of the court to track down the deep lob. Even if the server serves and stays, he or she will have to play a deep lob from the back court. If the server serves and volleys, this might be a problem for your players, but she will have to hit the overhead from midcourt. And how many high school players serve and volley.

In most situations, a crosscourt lob puts the receiving team in the driver’s seat.

Make sure your players understand what an Australian (or “I”) formation is and how to deal with it the first time they see it. Many novice players will even try to correct their opponent’s positioning prior to the start of the point, thinking they are lined up wrong!

If a serving team continues to use this formation to take away a strength of the receiving team, have your players continue to discuss their options between points and play proactively, rather than reactively.