TT Doubles at the usual place and some new ideas!

Wed, 17/9/2025

The first was 

JA / OD (winner) vs KE / WX

The second was 

KE / OD (winner) vs JA / RO 

The third was 

OD / LK (winner) vs JA / KE

So if it was the case that, in singles, 

KE is 8

RO is 7.5

JA, LK and WX are 7 and

OD is between 6 and 7 (so 6.5) ...

The assumption that doubles results are just a simple add-up of the players’ skill level doesn’t really hold. 

In the first match, 13.5 defeats 15. Perhaps a particular player did illegal serves that were hard to read so this might not mean anything.  

The second: 14.5 wins 15. Most narrowly; the tiny difference means it could be because one pair had a little more chemistry or luck played a part. 

The third match is the weirdest. 13.5 defeats 15 again?! We can’t just attribute this to illegal serves because the players had already familiarized themselves with each other’s serves by this time. Perhaps it was tiredness as KE has played the longest at this point, but this has to be the best example against the “add-up theory” for doubles.

Potentialities for future doubles

So, what for future doubles matches? If we assume

NK,

KL,

KV,

XZ are probably 7.5

DV,

SM,

HC,

AU are probably 7 and 

XJ, RA are probably 6.5

And as previously mentioned, 

KE is 8, RO is 7.5, LK is 7…

What results might these great combinations yield? 

1. KL / XZ = 15+ (dual penholder finesse advantage)

2. KE / KV = 15.5 (dual chopper)

3. RO / XZ = 15+ (dual experience advantage)

4. KE / DV = 15+ (dual shakehand offensive advantage)

5. NK / RO = 15+ (left & righthander advantage) 

6. RO / LK = 14.5+ (dual shakehand offensive advantage)

7. NK / WX = 14.5 (dual shakehand)

8. DV / HC = 14+ (dual shakehand offensive)

And maybe…

9. AU / SM = 14 (dual penholder) 

10. XZ / RA = 14 (dual defensive all-round)

11. AU / XJ = 14 (dual penholder) 

12. XJ / HC = 13.5+ (dual speed defense advantage)