One of the best ways to work on and improve your doubles skills is by playing half court singles. The benefits of the game are, it only requires two players instead of four, and each player hits twice as many balls in the same practice period. Half court singles can be played either in a cross court or down the line version.

The rules of the game are simple. Score is kept the same way as in regular singles except you only use half the court including the doubles alleys. The server alternates sides each point as in regular singles. In the cross court version the server and the returner play the whole point cross court and are allowed to stay back or attack the net at any time. In the down the line version the only difference is the serve is still played in the normal cross court pattern but the rest of the point is then played down the line.

These games work on all aspects of good doubles play. The serve, return, ground strokes, passing shots, lobs, overheads, volleys and approach shots. By practicing both versions you will perfect your serve as well as both your cross court and down the line return. In today's doubles game, it is more important than ever to be able to recognize the right ball to attack the net on. Doubles is a game of forced errors and because of the half court format this game encourages consistent shot making over one time wonders.

Head to the courts with your favorite doubles partner, and instead of playing with them, play a few sets of half court singles against them to improve both of your games.