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Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
The only tennis podcast with a focus on doubles. We believe doubles should be more popular and get more coverage than it does, so we’re fixing that. Our goal is to help you become a better player with pro doubles tips and expert strategy. We interview ATP & WTA tour doubles players and top tennis coaches to help you improve your game.
Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
Louis Cayer Interview: Coaching Language, Performers vs Players, & ATP Doubles Changes
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Louis Cayer is one of the smartest doubles minds on the planet. He is a Senior Performance Advisor for the LTA, and the strategic brain behind every successful British ATP doubles player of the last few decades. He's worked with players doubles grand slam champions like Jamie Murray, Joe Salisbury, Neal Skupski, Henry Patten, and more.
I spoke with Louis at the 2025 Australian Open, several days before one of his teams (Henry Patten & Harri Heliovaara) won the title. Whether you're a coach or player, this is an episode you'll want to listen to more than once.
We explore the world of doubles coaching on the ATP Tour, the difference between the player and the performer, and how to effectively communicate. The discussion highlights Louis' coaching philosophy, evolving strategies, and passion for doubles within professional tennis.
- Why clear communication is key to good coaching, plus the exact phrases Louis uses with his players
- The significance of a supportive team environment in doubles
- Balancing team strengths vs opponents' weaknesses
- The evolving role of a coach: from directive to empowering
- Mistakes he's learned from in coaching
- ATP doubles changes & growth of the sport
This is one of my favorite conversations I've had on the podcast and Louis is someone I look up to greatly. I hope to speak with him again at some point to dive deeper into the puzzle that is doubles strategy.
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Doubles Tennis Strategy With Louis Kaye
Speaker 1So I've been doing this podcast for almost five years now and my favorite conversations are with those coaches or players who are able to articulate an idea or get information across in as few words as possible. Way to think about this is they're basically the opposite of politicians. You can imagine a politician, at least especially here in the States, where they will get up there, they'll make a speech, they'll talk to the camera and they'll say absolutely nothing over the course of 30 minutes or an hour. Nothing gets across, no information gets across, they avoid questions and so on. Now my favorite interviews are the exact opposite of that. I will listen to five or 10 minutes. I will talk to someone for five or 10 minutes and I'll want to re-listen to that over and over again and I'll learn something new in that conversation every time, and that's what you're about to hear.
Speaker 1Louis Kaye is possibly the best doubles coach in the world, is possibly the best doubles coach in the world. He is the senior performance analyst for the LTA. He works with all of the top British ATP doubles players and I chatted with him for about 25 minutes in Melbourne and we talk about the tournament. Overall. He's there managing five teams. I asked him how he's able to do that. He talks about how some of the results had been disappointing to that point. However, less than a week later, he did have a team win the Australian Open in Henry Patton and Harry Heliavara, whose direct coach I interviewed on the podcast several days before, which you've already heard. His name is Calvin Betten. So Louis talks about how he's able to manage five teams, his role with the LTA and how he's developed this kind of British tennis system and you're going to learn so much whether you're into ATP doubles or just trying to improve your own game strategically. I ask him how much weight he puts on his team's strengths versus the opponent's weaknesses. He talks about the difference between the performer and the player. He uses one of his teams as an example that recently had a bad performance in the Australian Open and he doesn't even analyze the match because they didn't show up mentally. So he talks a lot about that and it's got me thinking since that conversation a lot about how to make sure that I am getting the most out of players mentally before I even go to the strategic side. He also talks about what he's changed in terms of his coaching style over the last 20 years. We talk about mistakes that he's made. He talks a lot about language that he uses with his players, and this is something that I'm trying to improve on myself and I really, really want to emphasize it for you. This language might not only apply to coaches, but it also applies to you as a doubles partner.
Speaker 1If you're somebody who listens to this podcast, you're very into strategy. You may not play with players who are as tactically minded as you all the time, so how do you get them bought in? It's a question I get a lot from a lot of you. I want to do I formation, but my partner just wants to do regular and he doesn't want to think about all that stuff. Well, Louie has some specific tips in terms of language that you can use to try to get them bought in to these types of tactics.
Speaker 1He also talks about how the game has evolved, and then we talk about rule changes on the ATP tour and what we can do to make doubles more popular. So, whether you're into the pro tour, whether you're into your own game, you can hear how excited I am about this episode. I'm definitely going to re-listen to it here very soon and then probably multiple times throughout the year because I learned so much. But if you're involved in doubles at all, this is really a must-listen interview with Louis Kaye. So, without further delay, enjoy this super insightful and helpful conversation with Louis Kaye. Hey, everyone, welcome to the show. I am back in Melbourne and this time we have one of the best doubles coaches in the world on. We have Louis Caillet Louis, welcome.
Speaker 2Nice Thanks for doing this with me, Will.
Speaker 1Yeah, of course. So how has Melbourne been so far? You've got two teams into the quarterfinals tomorrow. How have the two weeks been for you?
Speaker 2It's been quite good. I think we don't have any issue with practicing really here, of course, practicing on site, but they have NTC, albrecht, reser, stretchy. There's a lot of place. So training which is important because my job is to train the players is not an issue. I was here with four teams. We have a WhatsApp group and we time to practice that nobody practices at the same time. So the players have learned to work together, being very cooperative. They learn to support. They all wish that each of the other teams succeed in the tournament. There is no envy. So I'm quite pleased to have created what we call the British double system, the system where players support each other. So that was good.
Speaker 2As a result, our concern two teams out of the four and a quarter. I was expecting a third team, which was Joe Salisbury and Neil Skubski. Let's say their opponent played very well, but they had a they will, they will agree a counter performance. Yeah, that was not the day for them, and so I was expecting which happened quite often to have three British teams in their quarters. So that's it. And there's a player, luke Johnson, who, who played with Sander Ahrens and they started to really progress well at the last 7-6, 7-6, but it was a very high-level match, so I'm quite pleased. Besides one match, I'm quite pleased with the way it went so far.
Speaker 1Awesome. So we've got two British teams into the quarters. It sounds like you were expecting three, but you started. I emailed you before the tournament to try to set this up and you said you're managing five teams here, which seems like a ton. And then this morning I messaged you on WhatsApp knowing that neither of your two teams in the quarters played today, thinking you'd have more free time, and you sent me a message saying that you were on court from 8 am to 4 pm, so you seem unbelievably busy. How do you manage five teams? How does this all work for you? It seems very.
Speaker 2It is very difficult. A few years ago the Lta said we have to become decentralized, so therefore each team needed a traveling coach. So even if I'm often the kind of a bracket leading coach because sometimes the traveling coach I know them already, like neil skupski, it's Ken which I coach for eight years, jules Salisbury, anyway, pretty much everybody I've either mentored them, coached them, so I guess I'm quite often the leading coach, giving the objective and all this, but I'm not traveling full time with them. And so my point is the traveling coach, take care of practice, court, practice ball, whatever all the organizational is done. So me, my main thing is to look at the match. We have someone scouting the opponents, like you do sometimes for the American.
Speaker 2So, I receive, like today, the scouting. All the match are tagged so I can see, for example, for the next opponent, just their second serve on that court, just the return of just the I formation when they do it. I can see pretty much whatever I need. And then I'm part of the group to share what I think we need to do to beat them, and after their match, like today, right down to practice the thing that we need to do to beat them, and after their match, like today, right down to practice the thing that we need to refine for the next round. So it's quite easy because I have each team have their own traveling coach to do everything. So that's it. It's like we work really as a team, so each team has a coach and then I'm kind of I'll call that consultant, leading coach.
Speaker 2It's kind of a funny role because I'm supplied by the LTA, but the players and their traveling coach. I agree that I'm leading the direction that the team should go, but it will not be possible without a traveling coach and it will not be possible without the sc coach and it will not be possible without the scouting done in London by the LTA scouting team.
Speaker 1Of course yeah, and it's obviously a system that's had a ton of success over the years. I want to ask a strategy question real quick that I always like to ask people how much weight do you put on your team's strengths versus the opponent's weakness?
Speaker 2I think every coach will say on big points you have to match your strengths against the weakness. So I think it's a mix of values, but we're going to. Ok, I look at the weakness and if it can be matched with this is the way we play, this is our strength and we can attack that weakness without changing our game style then we're going to do it. For sure, there is no problem with that. If their weakness means that we have to change our game style, then we're going to hesitate a tiny bit. So at that level the weaknesses are not so big. What I look at on the scouting is more at what they never do. So if we you'll see, when you scout because you're doing that more and more you will see that sometimes they never poach on regular, or they will never poach on second, or they will never serve T from regular on that side or they will never serve wide on, I, and if you look at the stats and what never happened is a really solid base in several match then the receiver can cheat.
Speaker 2So for me some weakness is lack of uncertainty or lack of ability to see everything, and that's much our strength, because then it means we're going to modify our positioning and be able to return more offensively, and that's it. Or some players will never love opponents who are really closing.
Empowering Coaching and Doubles Strategy
Speaker 2So, I think, for me a definition of anticipation. Everybody talks about anticipation, anticipation. For me it's either read technically or predict tactically what the player will do or will never do. And I think, as me, when I scout, it's not try to see what they always do, because it's rare, they always have a variation, it's more looking at what they don't do, and that's very, very instrumental to win matches, in my opinion, of course.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. It's so nuanced and that question doesn't have a clear answer, which is why you have the long answer there. I'm curious what's something? You've been coaching doubles for a long time.
Speaker 2What is something that you've changed, either change your opinion on or changed about your coaching style in the last, say, 20 years or so? Coaching style has to change because society changed. You cannot talk the same way, you cannot be as directive, you cannot be as forceful as many years ago, when it was even the trend in coaching to be like a tough guy and all that stuff, I guess. So not that I was very tough, but things change, communication change.
Speaker 2You have to learn to be more. When you mature, when you're a bit younger coach, you want to feel that you make a difference, feel almost needed, and when you get older you really want to empower your player so you're not needed. And to be like this you have to have matured a lot, because it's always kind of a feel good for a coach to feel needed.
Speaker 2But, how can you empower someone and be needed all the time? So I changed a lot in my vocabulary. So instead of saying, well, you have to, you must, you need to, I want you to, I will say, well, look at the possibility, it may be preferable, consider the option and I will give you a lot of empowering words where you're going to make your own decision with the court. So that's my vocabulary. I've changed a lot. I've worked a lot on responsibility. If a player say the opponent make me lose my concentration, or my opponent, I know me, then they have to rephrase I get annoyed when the opponent do that. I lose my concentration when the referee do that. Okay. So now that you have acknowledged that you're not a victim and you're responsible for the way you feel, now we can deal, you can deal with it. So I've learned a lot to empower people, give them autonomy, give them responsibility instead of victimizing, and I think that's a lot.
Speaker 2On the tactical point, about eight years ago the theme of the training camp of Alderbreeds was how to beat these deep, deep, deep singles players, because suddenly they were bowed back, serving, staying back, ripping their ground strokes, and all our tactics was to poach a lot in first volley, closing on first volley it was all base Because, I don't know, 10 years ago there was very few people staying back. I remember Cal Edmund telling me yeah, I play doubles, but I don't play proper doubles, I serve and stay back. Now he will say do you play doubles? Yes, I serve, stay back and rip my forehand. So last time I checked it was maybe a year and a half ago 55% of the top 100 players were staying back in the serve.
Speaker 2So that has changed so much compared to 10 years ago. So I have to change a lot of that. How to play against both back. A lot of tactics have changed because of the singles players serving same back and a lot of ball back so and a lot of hard hitting, which is, uh, intimidating. So if you watch the brit now, they're not allowed to defend on the volleys. They they were, I think, hard, they were defending and they were always losing the point. They always counter-attacked on the volley Ball comes hard, you will see it. It will go back to over the net all the time. I prefer they miss a few on the wide tape and play defensive and then feeling completely dominated by the power of the ground source and that has worked quite well.
Speaker 2We start to be very, very top singles players which maybe a few years ago we would have lost to so that's what I changed? Mostly tactically.
Speaker 1Yeah, yes, the kind of language advice seems like good advice just for life in general, taking ownership and kind of empowering if you're a CEO or if you're a manager of people, empowering your employees. And then that tactical advice at the end.
Speaker 2Yeah. And the reason I give these two answers is because in our British system we have what we call the performer and the player. And the player knows that if they didn't perform, come with their head, heart and legs on the match. We don't do match analysis. We don't do match analysis. We don't do video report, we don't do that. Like the match that I said was disappointing, we did no debrief, no match analysis, no stats because the performer was not there.
Speaker 2So why to say you know your serve was, why to blame the technique and the tactics when in fact you didn't show up for the match? So for me, being a high-performance coach is the word says develop performers. So it's to be able to work at the level of identity, belief, attitude, mindset, values. And if I cannot, as a coach, transform people, not just inform them, form them, my job is to transform any limitation at the performer level. If I can do that, then I can develop number one. If I cannot do that, if I just work at the level of the player hitting the ball and tactic will develop good things. But no, no champion, no slam champions stuff, I guess. So for me, performer and players are two aspects that the coach have to always approach at the same time makes sense.
Speaker 1So two more questions for you. Uh, what is a mistake that you've made and learned from over the last, say, 10 years or so?
Speaker 2Oh, I've made many.
Speaker 2Most frequent, I think, was probably and I'm getting better was to maybe be a bit too directive, kind of you know like, and my language was probably creating a bit of anxiety or stress. You know, okay, you have to, uh, you need to poach a lot, you have to return line, you have to do this and, and just think about it, if you say you have to see me tomorrow versus you want to see me tomorrow, the energy is very different. So that was a mistake. I think I was putting some stress on the players and now I will say for sure, 100%, you could consider a return line against that team. It may be preferable you had a bit more lines against that team. You may choose to have a bit more lines against that thing. All words that I'm not putting pressure on them, but of course I know I influence them a lot, that they will probably do it, but it will be their decision, their choice, their liking, their wanting, and not mine.
Speaker 1So what do you do if you say that and they don't return the line? And you know in your mind.
Speaker 2I mentioned that. I thought it was probably preferable that you had more line against that. So what makes you decide to do that? But I thought they were not poaching a lot. Okay, I understand. Okay, that makes sense, but was the guy squeezing the middle a lot and did he take most of your crossword? Yeah, yeah, so sometimes they poach, but sometimes they squeeze a lot. So this is a team that squeezes a lot in the middle. You have to keep them quiet, move it down like that and say okay, okay.
Speaker 2And the next time they play they will do it. But I will not blame them. I will always say and I don't say the word, why, why? It puts you on defensive right away. Why did you do that? So what makes you decide to return more and more things that invite a relation, but you're not in trouble? Why didn't you? Return the thing, like I suggested. So what makes you decide to go more across? And if you engage in a non-threatening communication?
Speaker 2then, they can talk freely, then you really see, how they think, and then you can realign them and make them learn that's good.
Speaker 1This is deep psychological stuff here. I like it but it's uh.
Speaker 2That's what coaching is all about yeah, it's good, um.
Speaker 1so last topic I want to talk about um, I want to get your thoughts on some of the rule changes that the ATP has experimented with over the last year, and then also what you would like to see going forward for ATP doubles.
Speaker 2I'll start right away with what I would like to see respect for the doubles. They do a website. They do everything promotion. They don't include the doubles. They do a website. They do everything promotion, they don't include the doubles.
Speaker 2So if the ATP itself as an organization don't promote the doubles they don't put it in their social media, they don't put it there how do you think the media who goes on it will feed on that and go in the media and so on. It's a vicious circle. I think ADP blame their anyway. They should take more accountability to promote the doubles and there's some vibe in the film that some pressure would determine the director or whatever to really get rid of the doubles or to just have singles players. I don't have good vibes for that, I'm not very happy about that and I think they should just acknowledge that doubles is a part in itself and to say that they want to promote more doubles by testing them, by playing top 50 players, you know. Like that they will say in which way to promote the doubles. That if dig or whatever, do not take my players, top 10 players losing 50 singles which they they can, because it's not easy to win a doubles match. It's not promoting doubles at all, so it's kind of the opposite. Anyway, I think there's some things that's okay. I think it's okay it's shorter as long as it's being used for TV, which it doesn't.
Elevating Doubles Tennis Promotion
Speaker 2We were supposed to have more center court exposure, which was mentioned. Never happens, so they do some problems that doesn't happen. So that contributes to quite a bit of frustration in the doubles world. Then the thing about coaching. We were doing it that way before because it has to be short, so you cannot get and make a deep conversation. And there's so much you coach because you do the game plan before. So most of the time it's just a realignment or a short change so you don't have to sit and talk 10 minutes. So nothing that I do more that I was not doing before, except I don't have to kind of hide or fake eye cough like hi hi for more eye formation.
Speaker 2So now I could just say I demand more eye formation, but besides that that's okay. And then there was a time nobody liked it and the ATP stopped it to rush it between points. It was way too short. Everybody ate that and I think the ATP acknowledged it. So I think they have learned that some prior rule change didn't work and some others they tried to involve more singles, which is fine, but just please promote the doubles.
Speaker 1That's all.
Speaker 2I want to say, yeah, promote the doubles. They deserve it. It's a good product, it's a nice you cover doubles. You know how exciting it is yeah so let's, let's promote it, and you're a good way of promoting it well. So I'm trying my best, doing that.
Speaker 1I appreciate it. Yeah, it seems like I was encouraged last year that they were starting to experiment and try new things, but to me, a lot of the changes were to the product and not the promotion Exactly. And they need more changes on the promotion side, because I am with you I talked with Calvin the other day. I think the product's great. When I go sit in the stands, you're in the coaching box and you're focused, so maybe you don't hear it as much, but I go sit in the stands, you're in the coaching box and you're focused, so you. Maybe you don't hear it as much, but I'm sitting in the stands with all the fans and they're all oohing and aahing about the points and the skills and they're all excited. I never hear people say this is boring, I'm leaving like that doesn't happen. So I think the promotion side I'm with you needs a lot more help Exactly.
Speaker 2You said in two key words exactly what I was thinking 100% Awesome, louis.
Speaker 1This was a ton of fun. Hopefully we'll be able to do it again sometime and good luck, the rest of the tournament and the rest of the season. Thank you.
Speaker 2And keep your great work. I'm a member of it, I watch your product, what you're doing, and it's very, very well done. And I'm looking, especially when you write about the club members, because I don't coach a lot of club members and I'm always very curious to see what you say to promo doubles at the club membership and, uh, it's very interesting.
Speaker 1I enjoy it thank you so much, thanks so much.