at the moment I only play doubles, but I got mad respect for the footwork that singles players have, their ability to lunge and cover the court, their deception, and I'm wondering if I took up singles if it would help my doubles game??? and what about vice-versa???
Im a singles player and occasionally play doubles and I gotta say, I have respect to you doubles players. The rallies are so fast-paced that it definitely helps me improve my reaction time in singles. In singles, you won't be able to smash as much or as strong so I don't really think it could help too much in my opinion
I think singles has helped improve my fitness and overall stamina. But the tactics and the types of shots you play are so different, I don't think it helps otherwise. (There are some men who play mixed doubles the same way they play singles--but they probably shouldn't!)
I believe playing an occasional singles match will make you a better doubles player and vice-versa, because you train skills in one discipline that you can then use in the other, as long as you can adapt your tactics (which really shouldn't be too hard). Singles will improve fitness, precision and court coverage whereas doubles will improve reaction speed and raw power.
Doubles players only benefits from better footwork, fitness/stamina and shots accuracy. For strategies n tactics, they are totally different.
I second what yves. said. I've been playing singles recently and I've developed a couple of strokes that I apply occasionally in doubles. In particular I found that in singles the smash can be very counter productive unless it's very well placed. To this end I've become more aware of space and have developed a flatter more deceptive drop shot variation as well as a steep and accurate cross court smash. Combined with the better awareness of space I've found both these shots can occasionally be applied in doubles. I've also learned not to overcommit to smashes, it's cost me some power but I can recover quicker, this was an occasional problem for me in doubles. Conversely the improvement in my doubles play has led me to utilise drives in my singles game. The different styles and tactics of the two disciplines has led me down different paths of thought and resulted in me developing and employing different strokes, some have cross over potential.
i'm probably just repeating but from my point of view as a doubles player, singles thought me not to smash too often and drops are just a deadly if not more deadly than smashes as it gives a movement preassure to the opponent. Unlike doubles, in singles consistency and footwork are more important than pin point accuracy and power. however, one thing you notice once you switch back to doubles is that you end up "clearing" more often when you should actually smash
If you do have a partner which is happen to be more or less like FHF, who broke up his string on a rally & run as fast as he can to take another racket, and yes, playing Singles will be beneficial for you as sometimes during a rally, you are forced to play against 2 opponents with no partners, . Additionally, recreational Singles Player do rarely play drive shot, if you do play doubles as well, you are quite familiar & comfortable to use this shot, you may caught your opponent by surprise by flat drive. On the other hand, you may utilize your lob shot which you use quite often at Singles to again caught your opponent by surprise when you play Doubles.
I have a varied background. Started off recreationally playing both. Tried to play singles but although fit enough, there was something missing. Through University, I mainly played doubles (because nobody else played singles) and later mainly played doubles. Later in life, I tried training in singles again. The first couple of coaches would say, "run to the shuttle like this". I became quite disillusioned with them (they are well respected coaches in the local community) as it wasn't easy to copy them. I chose to do one to one lessons and told the coach I need footwork and "good" footwork. We trained in singles. In fact, my whole game improved for doubles because I can reach the shuttle with much less effort and stay in balance. Let's face it, even in doubles you do still have to run When I did the singles training, I also learnt how to play neutral shots - i.e. if you are in a defensive position and under pressure, those are the shots you play to neutralise the opponent's advantage. These are not shots to win points but to "play safe" - get the shuttle into play without giving too much advantage and continue a rally. They are very useful to make the opponents play the "extra shot". One or two shots in a rally is not going to make a difference but cumulatively over the course of a game, the opponents start to feel pressured as they know they must not make the unforced error. You will see the doubles players who were originally singles players work these shots into a game on occasions. Cai Yun is one such player.
