MARCUS ELIS &
CHRIS LANGRIDGE'S
TOP 5 DRILLS
Olympic medallists Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis have handpicked 5 of their favourite drills to help you improve your game.
The defensive player is positioned in the half-court, the feeding player at the net. The feeding player only hits the shuttle straight, in a controlled manner. The defensive player is hitting the shuttle back to the feeder and within 5 defensive shots they will turn the shuttle cross-court.
A lot of emphasis is put on defence in doubles, but far too often we are focusing on just retrieving the shuttle rather than trying to find a space on the court. We use this exercise a lot because it forces us to get comfortable being under pressure from your opponent and having to wait until the right time to play the cross court shot. Its a great tool to add to your defence.
The feeders are positioned as two at the front and one at the rear of the court. The working player starts in the centre of the opposite court. Begin the rally by pushing the shuttle to one of the front-court feeders. Focus on lateral defence, handling high-pressure situations around the body. When the shuttle drops too low to maintain control back to the net, lift straight to the rear-court feeder, who will attack straight.
The defensive player aims to counterattack by returning the shuttle to the front court, resetting into a push-down, high-pressure situation. Prioritise quick recovery and precise placement under pressure.
This exercise is one of our favourites because not only is it about defending under high pressure, but also being able to move laterally to retrieve shuttles that are out of reach. This exercise also challenges our shot choice on when to try to keep initiative by playing back to the net or when to lift and get ready in defence. Having so many things to think about in one practice is tough, but its also why we like it so much.
The feeder will be in a half-court of their choosing, in a slight defensive position. All shots hit to the worker must be behind the front service line and in front of the back doubles service lines, but can be played on the full width of the court. Patience from the working player in attack is key in this practice. Try to play with control until you get an opportunity to cause pressure from your attack. The objective is to challenge the working player’s movement in a full ‘box’ court. Complete exercise on both sides.
Box attack is a staple exercise on many doubles players program, and for good reason. It condenses the court so the feeders can challenge your movement but if you are clever with your shot choice in attack, it would be very difficult for the feeders to gain a big initiative in the rally. Being able to play within these restrctions is really important on a doubles court and thats why its one of our favourite attacking exercises.
The feeder positions themselves in a half-court in a slightly defensive stance. The working player covers the full width of their court, focusing on flat and drive shots. The feeder should aim to keep the working player engaged without excessively dragging them side to side.
Maintain a steady pace, keeping drive pace at around 80% intensity until consistent rally quality is achieved. Ensure the exercise is practised on both sides of the court for balanced development. Focus on precision, control, and maintaining a controlled shot trajectory.
We like this exercise because it made us practice new shots that we would never have otherwise tried. Even though we call this a drive practice, we dont have to hit everything hard. as long as the working player pushed everything past the front service line, it was ok. we realised there are so many variations in between a soft block and full drive that we hadn’t utilised. different paces and angles that might not look as impressive, but actually are very difficult for an opponent to deal with. This practice was really helpful in developing our midcourt game.
The feeding pair begins side-by-side at the front service line, feeding hard downward shots to the defending pair, who are positioned side-by-side in defence. The defending pair aims to execute a strong block and follow it forward to gain initiative. Once a good block is played, the feeding pair can respond with any shot, including net play, mid-court pushes, or lifts, transitioning into an open rally. From this point, they are free to attack fully but the feeding pair will try to regain initiative, potentially returning to side-by-side at the front service line to attack again. Focus on defensive precision and effective coordination between partners to handle the counter transitions effectively.
This is our favourite pair defence exercise. Being solid in defence is important but being able to turn the defence into an attacking position is crucial. No one wins by just defending so having a good counter attacking exercise like this especially in a pair is great for development not just for individual shots but also the cohesion between a pair being comfortable going from defence into attack.
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