• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Tennis Tribe Logo

Tennis Tribe

Tennis Gear Reviews, Doubles Lessons, & Tour News

  • Gear Reviews
    • All Gear Reviews
    • Tennis Racquets
      • Best Racquets Overall
      • Beginner Racquets
      • Intermediate Racquets
      • Advanced Racquets
      • How To Choose A Racquet
    • On-Court Gear
      • Shoes
      • Bags
      • Skirts
      • Dresses
      • Shorts
      • Sunglasses
      • Socks
      • Elbow Braces
    • Tennis Equipment
      • Strings
      • Ball Machines
      • Tennis Balls
      • Ball Hoppers
      • Overgrips
      • Training Aids
  • Doubles Strategy
    • Podcast
    • Lessons
    • Products: Ebooks & Courses
    • Newsletter
    • ATP/WTA Scouting & Strategy Analysis
  • Pro Tour
    • Tournaments
    • Pro Doubles News
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • About
    • Contact
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Bruno Soares Interview: Habits, Routines, Practice, & Doubles Strategy from a 6x Major Champ

Will Boucek ยท February 12, 2023

In this interview, we chat with six-time Grand Slam champion, Bruno Soares. Bruno has been one of the most respected doubles players on the tour for many years and is full of insight.

He talks about winning Grand Slams with Jamie Murray and Mate Pavic. He does a great job of analyzing the game from a coach’s perspective.

In this conversation, we talk about:

  • What Bruno does to prepare before a big match (including his favorite meal).
  • How he game plans for specific opponents and practices during tournaments.
  • The way he splits his time between fitness and tennis in between tournaments (a very methodical approach).
  • Specific strategies he uses to beat his opponents, including the way he returns vs the serve & volley.
Will Boucek and Bruno Soares at Indian Wells Tennis Garden
I first met Bruno at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters.

We also discuss how Bruno got into tennis, his plans for the summer swing, and how he thinks exposure can make doubles more popular.



Ebook: 25 Winning Doubles Tactics

Ebook: 25 Winning Doubles Tactics Guaranteed to Help You Play Smarter

25 expert serve (7), return (5), net-play (5), baseline (4), & approach (4) tactics you can use in your next doubles match.

learn MORE

Interview Notes from this Podcast

*To help support The Tennis Tribe & provide more free content like this, we may earn a percentage of purchases through the links below. See our affiliate page for more info.

  • Follow Bruno on Instagram and Twitter
  • Bruno currently plays doubles with Jamie Murray (brother of Andy). They won the Australian Open and US Open in 2016.
  • Habits, Routines, & Practice
    • During tournaments
      • He tends to practice less as the tournament goes on.
      • He likes to focus on his physical well-being and spend about 70% of practice on specifics for the upcoming match.
      • If he was playing a team like Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic that he knows well, he would rely on past experiences and their present play equally.
      • He credits watching film for his ability to adapt.
      • He loves to eat sushi and relax the night before a match.
    • Between Tournaments
      • He likes to do a lot of physio, fitness, and progressively more tennis as he gets closer to a tournament.
      • Practice consists of 100% specific, individual things he needs to work on during this time. He would get warm with the things he has to do often (serve & volley, reactions, etc…).
  • Strengths & Weaknesses
    • According to Bruno, Jamie’s strengths are net play and reading the game well. His weakness is returning, although he has learned to add variety and improve a lot in this area.
    • Bruno believes his own strengths to be his ability to adapt his game to attack any opponent’s weakness and be consistent. His weakness is that he doesn’t have a great shot that he can rely on.
  • Doubles Strategy
    • Overall
      • He likes to prepare for the opponent’s weaknesses rather than his strengths.
      • He likes playing with a left-handed partner because it gives the opponents more to think about and it’s easier to protect his weaknesses.
    • Serving
      • Bruno likes to get to the net often but will always prioritize positioning. He’s not as athletic as someone like Joe Salisbury, so he has to be more creative.
      • Communication, about where and how you’re serving and moving, is important. When he played with Alex Peya their strength was creating different looks.
    • Returns
      • When facing someone who stays back he likes to be more aggressive so they don’t have an easy shot.
      • When facing someone who comes in, he likes to be consistent and give them a difficult volley.
    • Tiebreakers
      • Bruno likes to be more aggressive but also just plays whatever has been most successful that day. Jamie prefers to play high-percentage tennis and avoid unnecessary risks.
  • Bruno felt like he never matched up well against Michael Llodra during his career.
  • Bruno’s Favorites
    • Tournament: US Open
    • Movie: The Usual Suspects

About Will Boucek

Will Boucek is the Founder & CEO of Tennis Tribe. With over two decades of experience playing & coaching tennis, Will now works as a doubles strategy analyst for ATP & WTA tour players and coaches. Will helps tennis players at every level play better doubles through smarter strategy. He also has expertise in tennis racquets & gear, testing the latest products from Wilson, Babolat, Head, Prince, and other tennis brands.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar


Your style and advice worked where hours of private lessons with coaches have not in the past.

- Cindy L. 3.5 player from Atlanta
Get Your Free Doubles Tips & Strategies

Review Tennis Gear. Learn Doubles Strategy. Follow The Pro Tour.

  • Tennis Gear Reviews
  • Doubles Lessons
  • Doubles Strategy Products
  • Pro Doubles News
  • Tribe Talk Tennis Blog

Doubles Only Tennis Podcast logo

Become a smarter doubles player with expert tips & strategy. Learn from ATP & WTA Coaches and Players.

Listen Here


Most Popular Lessons

  • Doubles Strategy: A Complete Guide
  • How To Be A Good Doubles Partner (& What To NOT Say!)
  • 7 Tips For Poaching In Doubles
  • The 3 Step Volley Checklist [Volleys Made Simple]

Featured Product

Ebook: 25 winning doubles tactics
 

Ebook: 25 Winning Doubles Tactics

Follow Tennis Tribe

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

FREE 20-page guide - Learn 3 doubles tactics to force errors and get more easy volleys! Download

Tennis Tribe

Copyright © 2023 | The Tennis Tribe

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy