The Australian Formation

If you play someone whose crosscourt return is a laser and whose down-the-line return is a bunt, the Australian formation exists to punish them. It's the simplest advanced doubles tactic — no signals needed, no crouching, no timing.

Quick answer

The Australian formation: the net player stands on the SAME side of the court as the server, rather than the opposite side. This eliminates the returner's crosscourt option — the natural angle is closed off. The server serves and then crosses to cover the open half of the court.

The setup

Standard doubles: server on the deuce side, net player on the ad side. Returner naturally returns crosscourt from deuce to deuce.

Australian on the deuce side: server on the deuce side, net player also on the deuce side (right next to the server, closer to the net). The ad side is empty. The server serves, then immediately crosses to cover the ad side.

Why it works

The returner's job in doubles is to hit crosscourt away from the net player. In Australian, crosscourt goes RIGHT TO THE NET PLAYER, who's now standing there.

The returner has two bad options:

1. Hit crosscourt anyway — into the poacher
2. Hit down the line — into their weakest shot

Either way, you win the point exchange. The formation itself does the work.

When to use it

When the returner's crosscourt is elite. Big loopy topspin return crosscourt = kryptonite for a normal doubles team. Australian removes the shot.

When the returner's down-the-line is weak. Almost always true at the club level. Down-the-line returns require going near the net player, hitting a smaller target, and using less familiar angles. Most players avoid it.

On big points. A first-time Australian on a break point is a shock to the returner's system.

When your team can move quickly. The server MUST cross to the empty side after serving. Slow servers get lobbed.

The serve

Target: down the T or into the body. Serving out wide defeats the purpose — it gives the returner back the crosscourt angle.

Pace: whatever your normal first serve is. Australian doesn't require a big serve.

The server's move

Immediately after the ball leaves the server's racquet, the server takes 2–3 diagonal crossover steps to cover the empty side of the court.

Server does NOT stay on the deuce side. If the server stays put, the entire ad side is empty, and any decent returner will exploit it.

Timing: the crossover starts before the returner contacts the ball. If you wait, you're late.

Countering the lob

The lob over the net player is the primary counter to Australian. Your team covers it by the server's diagonal cross — as they move to the ad side, they're also moving back to intercept a lob.

If the lob is deep and well-hit, switch sides completely: the net player rotates to the ad side, the server (now returning the lob) stays on the deuce side. Communicate with "switch!"

When NOT to use Australian

• Against a returner who lobs beautifully
• On very slow surfaces (they have too much time to hit down the line clean)
• When your team's movement is compromised (injury, tired, cold)
• On every point — variety is the whole idea. Use it 3–5 times a set.

Practice pattern

One service game per set played entirely in Australian. Track:

• How many crosscourt returns went to the net player (good)
• How many down-the-line returns landed in (measure of returner's weakness)
• How many times the server got lobbed (fix by crossing faster)

Australian formation wins matches at 3.5 to 4.5 because almost no one at that level knows how to counter it.

If you're on the south side of Indianapolis and want a coach to set up Australian sequences with your doubles team, semi-private lessons work — it takes about 30 minutes to install and drill.