We've had an unbelievable amount of comments asking us to talk about doubles
rotations so in this video we're going to teach you why to rotate when to rotate and how to rotate
and throughout the video we have our first guest to the channel Chris Langridge who's going to offer
some of his insights into doubles rotations. It's going to be an information packed video so
make sure you're ready!
So firstly we asked Lango why we need to rotate in doubles...
The main point of rotation is generally to help your partner out and to move around each other in a fluid movement to either put more pressure on the opponent or to relieve some of the pressure on yourselves
so when do we rotate and where do we rotate to? Well there is no definitive answer to this
you don't want to be running around the court like an absolute maniac trying to rotate on every shot
but equally you don't want to be static making it too easy for your opponents. At the top level
we'll often see a 50/50 scenario where the players will ask should I have rotated there? And often
there is no right or wrong however there are a few do's and don'ts which we'll cover now
Do rotate when the rear court player has a short lift on one side and is in a good position to come forward
after playing the shot. From this short lift you can play a straight smash and as you do this your
net player should recognise this and come back allowing the rear-court player to come forwards. Now
who gets what shot after this? To simply break it down if you have played the first attacking
shot straight down your side then the straight drive which is the most likely reply is your shot,
the straight lift is also your shot and the straight block is your shot
anything cross-court or even to the middle is your partner's. And what about if you attack
to the middle or cross-court from this short lift? Well if you play a fast slice or smash to
the middle or cross court then your partner would rotate off and you would each take side by side again
If you attack down the middle and the reply is down the middle then you need to communicate
whose shot it is. It would usually be whoever's in a better position and able to take the shuttle
earlier! And in both of these situations you shouldn't worry too much about the lift
going over your head, you should focus on moving forwards and applying pressure onto your opponents
If you play a good shot with angle and power then the lift over your head is an unlikely reply
This scenario is by far the most complex out of the four we're discussing! There isn't one exact
answer and we'll explain why. Firstly the height of the lift is really important, if it's a good high
lift you probably wouldn't rotate. This is because your opponents will have more time to react to
the shot you play and decide what to do as the shuttle will slow down that extra bit and take
longer to reach them. This means your opponents are more likely to play a better quality shot
such as a soft block or another lift where rotating would actually open up more gaps
on the court which goes completely against why we rotate! From this good length position you want to
be patient and keep playing drops slices or half smashes to get a shorter lift or even a drive into
the mid-court which is then when you'd hit hard and rotate. Having said this if your opponents
don't have a very good defence or if you have a massive smash then you might be able to get
away with hitting hard from a high lift on the back line! Now, what about if the rear court player
isn't in a good position when hitting the shot or if the rear court player has hit loads of shots and
not getting anywhere? If you feel that your partner needs support, if you feel that they've hit
a lot of shots often that means you should have rotated or you need to rotate to help them out! It
could be helping them out that your partner can't get through it could be help them out that you
need to come off the net any of those things but it should just trigger in your head if you haven't
hit the shuttle for 20 30 shots there's a reason why! This however still depends on what shot the
rear court player plays; if they play a slow drop then the opponents won't have enough pace to whip
the shuttle and you therefore wouldn't rotate. The rear court player has to play a fast slice
or smash it's then the net player's decision whether to rotate out or not. This is usually
decided on instinct, quickly recognising what shot the rear court player has played whilst also
assessing the opponent's stance and grip to make a split-second decision if they think they will
play a shot up the line or not if so they will then move back and cover this half of the court
even getting the lift and making this move early is really important as Lango will now explain...
The earlier you move the easier it is for your partner to see, so if your partner moves early you
can see that so you can make the move to cover the other part of the court which is essential and key
if you want to be able to rotate smoothly and fluidly. Of course the net player shouldn't move
too early to show big gaps to the opponents, the danger shot here is the cross block
however not many people have the skill and vision to play this shot. The natural reply
is a straight drive up the line it's almost a trap you want your opponents to fall into! So
in short don't rotate if your opponents have hit a really good high lift to the back of the court
or if the rear court player has hit any shot with less than 60% power. You should play one or two
or even three more shots to keep building it until you have that good opportunity to rotate and
communication and making a decisive move is really important as with every rotation in this video!
Well we said that was a complex one we hope you're still with us, on to scenario three!
So this scenario is common in a no-lift style game which is usually when the shuttles are fast
and neither pair wants to give the attack away it usually occurs when a pair are in a front and back
formation and the net player is heavily involved if the net player is out wide then the rear court
player should filter round to cover the net on the other side of the court. Both players would
then cover their own side. Again it depends on the shot you play, if you're pulled really
out wide you may play just a soft shot and then you would stay in this front and back formation
however if you're pulled out wide and then play an aggressive shot
you may need your partner to rotate round and cover the shot on the other side of the net
if the rear court player or the net player when in a front and back formation ever give the attack
away with a lift then they should revert to side by side defence. This is of course unless the net
player or the rear court player does a flat lift then the net player should duck allowing the rear
court player to do some singles defence! So how do you rotate from side by side defence into attack?
If you ever play a good defensive shot into a gap in the court then you should move forwards
after this. You would then expect your opponents to lift it or play a weak reply to the net. If it's
a really good shot your partner may join you in moving forwards to cover a side of the court each
If it's just you moving forwards after your block then you would expect your partner to rotate
round to cover the whole rear court. So three important points that we've discussed so far...
Firstly you'd mainly rotate when either you have a short lift when you can play an aggressive shot,
if your rear court player is under a lot of pressure and you'd rotate to prevent them being whipped, if
the net player is pulled really far out wide and your partner would come through to cover the gap,
or in a defence to attack situation. Secondly you need to think about what shots you're playing and
where on the court you're playing these shots to! And as Lango says, communication is so important
in doubles rotation! I mean I get a lot of a lot of stick for shouting so much and so loud for Marcus
But I think for me it's to make it very evident if it's mine or his you do see
even top level some of the best players in the world there's a slight second of
uncertainty, I try and stop that by calling Marcus's name on a regular basis
but I do think that helps because as soon as you know if it's yours or not yours you can
make that move and if there's a split second of hesitation that's where problems can occur!
And every partnership will be different in how and when they rotate, it's so important to just
make moves to signal to your partner that they need to fill in the gap and you will get it
wrong occasionally but it's better both of you going for the same shot than none of you right??!!
You can practice doubles rotations by doing open rallies in a 2v1 or 2v2 scenario with the feeder
encouraging rotation however an emphasis should be on the working pair playing the right shots
in order to be able to create this rotation you don't want to stage it too much and this is why
it's better to just practice with one shuttle in an open rally. Multifeed can be good to encourage
rotation however it can be quite predictable so you don't want to practice when it's unrealistic!
Wow that was a lot of information, we hope you've managed to understand the basic concept of doubles
rotation and for those of you who were familiar with this topic already we hope you've benefited
the subscribe button and maybe watch one of these videos that are on the screen now!