Tennis Tribe started in 2016 as a doubles blog. Today, Tennis Tribe has grown into a website with tennis gear reviews, professional tournament guides, and a popular podcast where we interview top coaches and players. Over 100,000 tennis players use our content each month to improve their game and stay up to date with pro tennis – mostly doubles 😉
I’ve been teaching tennis over 30 years, and I thoroughly enjoyed your Doubles guide!
Clear, brief explanations and I loved the video analysis of the WTA players and their preferences.
I heard you for the first time on Craig O’Shannessy’s webinar about dubs and was hooked.
John C.
Tennis Coach | California
Will Boucek | Founder & CEO
ATP & WTA Doubles Strategy Analyst
Host of the Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
My name is Will and I started Tennis Tribe to help people (and myself) get better at doubles strategy. You can find more about my tennis experience and background below.
- ATP & WTA Doubles Strategy Analyst
- Over 20 years of experience playing and coaching tennis
- Former College Tennis Player
- Current NTRP 5.0 Rating
- Contributor for the Women’s Tennis Blog, Dartfish, & Ace the Moon
- Featured in Tennis Congress, Tennis View Magazine, & Ontario Tennis Magazine (here)
- Writer & tennis data analyst for the Tennis Analytics blog
- Guest on the Talk Tennis Podcast, Broudy Tennis Podcast, Tennis Files Podcast, Talking Tennis, and Vida Tennis Podcast
I live in Fort Worth, Texas, and am constantly studying doubles. 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. I work with club-level players, D1 programs, and top 10 doubles players on the ATP and WTA tour to help them better understand their game.
I also review tennis gear including the latest racquets, shoes, strings, and more. I love testing out new gear and helping others find the right tennis gear for their needs.
You can learn more about me here.
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 his 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 Tennis Tribe at all hours of the morning and evening.
He writes long-form content for Tribe Talk, ranging from doubles features to interviews with tennis industry professionals. Hanlon’s writing was featured on SI.com in 2020 and again in 2022, being recognized by some of tennis’ biggest names. In 2022, he covered doubles in person at the Dallas Open, Indian Wells, Atlanta Open, National Bank Open, and WTA Finals in Fort Worth. He is also the face behind our social media accounts.
Hanlon has now attended 3 of the 4 majors and has his eyes set on Roland Garros soon to claim his last bucket list slam. In his free time, he’s typically either scanning Tennis Twitter, listening to tennis podcasts, traveling, or enjoying the outdoors.
Follow Hanlon on Twitter at @HanlonWalsh or connect with him on LinkedIn at @HanlonWalsh.
Nate Pagel
Certified Master Racquet Technician, Tennis Gear Expert, Reviewer, & Writer
I was a walk-on for my D2 tennis team before transferring schools so that I could get a degree in Professional Tennis Management from Ferris State University in Michigan. I have coached tennis all over, including the Chris Lewit Tennis Academy in New York and Van der Meer Tennis in Hilton Head Island. I also spent time as the Associate Director of the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association and am a certified Master Racquet Technician. I’ve written for Tennis Industry Magazine, reviewing stringing machines and other gear.
I currently work as a Business Analyst in Knoxville, TN during the day, writing for Tennis Tribe and stringing and customizing racquets for my own side business Pagel Racquet Sports in the mornings and evenings. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, taking hikes in the smokies, relaxing on the water, and, of course, playing tennis.
Isaiah Buse
Tennis Gear Expert & Content Editor
Isaiah helps us with our gear reviews, podcast editing, social media, and more.
He is a tennis enthusiast who currently plays at William Woods University in Missouri. He has two years of experience covering the ATP & WTA tours for Tennis Tribe and other blogs. In addition to writing, he coaches and enjoys teaching the younger generation of tennis players. He also tests and studies the latest tennis racquets, strings, and other gear.
The Tennis Tribe 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 Tennis Tribe as a way to share my strategies with others and connect doubles players with each other to share their own ideas.