The Tennis Tribe started in 2016 as a doubles blog. Today, The Tennis Tribe has grown into a website with tennis gear reviews, professional tournament guides, and interviews with top coaches and players. Our tennis lessons have expanded to include singles, technique, and the mental game.
“If you’re looking for a way to level up your doubles game, without long hours and weeks of practice, then this is for you”
Itunes Podcast Review
Will Boucek | Founder & CEO
ATP & WTA Doubles Strategy Analyst
Host of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
My name is Will and I started The Tennis Tribe to help people (and myself) get better at doubles strategy. You can find more about my tennis experience and background below.
- Strategy Analyst for WTA & ATP Doubles Teams
- Strategy Consultant for DI College Programs
- Over 20 years of experience playing and coaching tennis
- Former College Tennis Player, coached by a former top 65 doubles player in the world
- I work with several top coaches in the US, including current ATP & WTA Tour coaches.
- 4.5 Men’s and Mixed Doubles Champion in Texas (2017)
- I have an NTRP 5.0 Rating as of December 2021
- Contributor for the Women’s Tennis Blog & Dartfish
- Featured in Tennis Congress & Tennis View Magazine
- Writer & tennis data analyst for the Tennis Analytics blog
I live in Fort Worth, Texas, and am constantly trying to improve my doubles game. I’m fascinated by the strategy of doubles and think most players don’t take the time to think about what they’re doing on the court. That’s where I try to help.
Meet the Rest of Our Team
Hanlon Walsh
Content Writer & Social Media Manager
Hanlon has played tennis for over 20 years and was a former Division III standout at Birmingham-Southern College. A singles specialist by trade, he was known for his moonball lobs that blinded his opponents and rock-solid backhand. During his senior season, he finished with a 19-1 singles record and earned SCAC Player of the Week, All-Conference Honorable Mention, and All-Sportsmanship team honors. He also spent several summers coaching tennis at local clubs and summer camps from Alabama to Maine.
Hanlon currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where he works full-time as a public relations manager for a small communications firm. When he’s not managing PR clients by day, he’s side-hustling for The Tennis Tribe at all hours of the morning and evening. He writes long-form content for our Tribe Talk series, ranging from doubles features to interviews with professionals in the tennis industry. Hanlon’s writing has been featured on SI.com and is recognized by some of tennis’ biggest names. He is also the face behind our Facebook and Twitter accounts (Watch out Instagram…you could be next).
When he’s not trolling Tennis Twitter or listening to tennis podcasts, he’s usually enjoying some type of outdoor activity. He has now attended 3 of the 4 majors and has his eyes set on Roland Garros 2022 or 2023 to claim his last bucket list slam.
Isaiah Buse
Pro Tour News Writer
Isaiah Buse is a tennis enthusiast who currently plays at the NAIA level in Missouri. He has covered the top tennis stories and tournaments for over 2 years now and has enjoyed every second of it. In addition to writing, he enjoys teaching the younger generation of tennis players.
Chase Bartlett
Strategy Writer
Chase Bartlett was the men’s tennis captain at St. Edward’s University, an NCAA DII tennis program. He won the 2018 DII Regional Championships (image right). In 2020, he will play for DI University of Montana.
He currently has UTR rating of 12. Chase also has coaching experience at the Austin Tennis Academy, where he competed as a junior tennis player.
Chase writes most of our singles strategy content.
Our Story
When I started playing 4.5 USTA tournaments, I noticed that every single team did the same thing. People were scared to get passed up the line, and as a result, almost no one ever poached or attacked at the net in doubles matches.
I knew since I didn’t have 20 hours a week to practice, I’d have to play smarter than most people to win matches. So I started playing differently than everyone else. While playing a match in Austin, Texas, I told my partner to hit all kick serves out to the backhand. I started poaching and faking on every point.
The Result
I found that we won about 2 out of 3 points doing this. Yes, I did get beat up the line, but for every one of those, the opponent would miss two. We kept doing this and won the match, literally giving our opponents a down-the-line backhand on over half of our service points.
Since then I’ve had dozens of people tell me they “hate playing me” because of how I play at the net. Some people have told me I’m crazy, but I actually think it’s a completely reasonable way to play. Although it may not look this way, every single move I make at the net is very calculated based on my knowledge of my opponent and tennis in general.
In the story above, I knew a down-the-line backhand is much more difficult than a crosscourt groundstroke, so I poached a lot on the ad side to make them hit a lower percentage shot. I decided to create the Tennis Tribe as a way to share my strategies with others and connect doubles players with each other to share their own ideas.