Six lessons you can learn from Bob and Mike Bryan

This week, Maria Sharapova, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Look for special features throughout the lead-up on TENNIS.com:

🎾 Tuesday: Maria Sharapova's Hall of Fame induction is tennis royalty well-earned
🎾 Tuesday: 119 doubles titles, 16 Slams, Hall of Fame: How tennis’ legendary twins, Bob and Mike Bryan, did it all
🎾 Wednesday: Maria Sharapova was all business, no matter the medium
🎾 Wednesday: Bob and Mike Bryan made music on and off the tennis court
🎾 Thursday: Four lessons you can learn from Maria Sharapova
🎾 Thursday: Six lessons you can learn from Bob and Mike Bryan

As Einstein was to physics, Mozart to music, Shakespeare to playwriting, 2025 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Bob and Mike Bryan have been to the discipline of doubles: first-rate practitioners at every step of the process.

From the way the two walked on to court, to the focus brought to each practice session, to how the Bryans conducted themselves throughout their matches, there are tons of lessons any player can learn from them.

No matter your skill level, here are six big-picture Bryan doubles principles you can apply to your own tennis:

1. Love Your Partner

We’ve all seen this doubles scenario: When one partner makes a mistake, his partner sulks. A common explanation: “He’s so competitive.” But if he’s so competitive, why isn’t he competing?

“Bob and Mike always had each other’s backs,” says their father, Wayne. “You’ve got to take every step possible to keep things positive between you and your partner. Encourage him, praise him and never get mad when he misses.”

This will keep your team positive from start to finish.

2. Practice With Purpose

A typical gambit for recreational players is to meander onto the court with little focus or idea of what they wish to most focus on—other than perhaps winning that day’s practice match. Better yet, follow Bob and Mike, who brought an MBA-like precision every time they entered the court.

A start, for example, might be the “Alley Rally,” wherein the brothers hit controlled forehands to one another strictly inside the doubles alley. Another favorite, dubbed the “RDC” because Wayne had seen it employed by the Romanian Davis Cup team, involves cooperatively volleying back and forth in slow and delicate angled fashion. Those are just a few drills that comprise the repertoire.

“They never had a bad practice,” says former US Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson.

👉 Read More: The Bryan brothers' path to the Hall of Fame began at Roland Garros

3. Think Small, Play Big

For all the missile-like volleys and overheads Bob and Mike dispatched, they were also masters of subtlety. As children, Wayne and their mother, Kathy Blake, often put them through drills that required not just a terminal volley, but an angle, a drop shot, and also a hard or soft deep placement into a corner.

“These shots may seem small, but they’re actually incredibly big,” says Luke Jensen, who paired with his younger brother Murphy to win Roland Garros in 1993. “But unless you practice them, you won’t know how to adjust properly. Bob and Mike were always ready for just about anything.”

4. Find The Soft Spot

Whether through advance scouting or in the early stages of a match, it’s incredibly helpful to closely study your opponents to determine each player’s skill set.

“We’d always have people we focused on,” says Bob. “If Leander Paes was at the net, we’d go at the other guy. We always had a guy we called the ‘Huckleberry’ and we would pick on him.”

5. Learn to Receive in Both Courts

The longstanding tradition in tennis was that the lefthander received in the ad court. Such had been the case for such doubles greats as Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Mark Woodforde, Tony Roche and Martina Navratilova. It was also true for lefty Bob Bryan. But in 2003, on the eve of Roland Garros, the brothers made a major change, switching receiving sides. The mix of Mike’s sharp returns and Bob’s forehand volley in the middle of the court was just one element that helped them go the distance in Paris and earn their first major.

“There’s no reason you should think of yourself as strictly a deuce or ad court player,” says Jensen. “Learning to receive in both courts will greatly help increase your value to any team you’re on.

6. Never Lose a Point Down the Middle

“Bob and Mike were geniuses at understanding the geometry of the court,” says one of their heroes, nine-time Grand Slam doubles and mixed champion Rick Leach. “And one way they did that was to always be pinching the middle of the court.”

Too many recreational players worry about being passed down the alley. But the truth is that it’s not easy for many players to hit that spot consistently. Better yet to dare opponents to strike the ball there and instead constantly cover the middle of the court.