Vandeweghe turns doubles experience into singles success

Despite initially being wary of playing both singles and doubles, CoCo Vandeweghe has been lapping up the rewards of all her hard work on the doubles court.

If you watched her storm to the Australian Open semifinals last month, you may have noticed her stronger tendency to close points off at the net.

"I think it has helped not only with understanding positioning—which is huge in doubles—but being in the right place and also cutting off high-percentage volleys," Vandeweghe told Baseline. "I think it definitely equates into my singles play."

The 25-year-old has always been laser-focused on her singles career, but since hiring Craig Kardon in the summer of 2015, she's appeared on court as a tandem more than ever.

"Ultimately playing more doubles will help your singles, so she’s buying into that," Kardon said at the 2015 US Open.

That's around when things started rolling for Vandeweghe. First, she and Anna-Lena Groenefeld reached the semifinals of the 2015 US Open and the quarterfinals of the 2016 Australian Open. Then she teamed up with fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win Indian Wells that March.

That run helped earn Vandeweghe a spot on the Rio Olympic team, which she has said was a dream come true. So while she had to deal with the disappointment of missing the singles cutoff, it was doubles that accomplished that very important lifelong goal.

Vandeweghe has also wandered over to mixed-doubles draws, reaching both the final of the Australian Open (with Horia Tecau) and the US Open (with Rajeev Ram) last year.

Playing more doubles has boosted her game in less obvious ways, as well.

"It's helped my return of serve," Vandeweghe said. "[Kardon] put me on the deuce side to start, because when he started coaching me that was my weaker side returning. I was way more confident returning on the ad side—it was just my preferred side. Right now I would say it's kind of the opposite. I would much prefer to return on the deuce because I’ve seen so many serves hit that way, and I’ve had to hit such a precise area."

In the summer of 2016, Vandeweghe's newfound doubles prowess caught the eye of Martina Hingis, and the two teamed up for the rest of the year (which resulted in another semifinal US Open showing). After two early losses this season, they parted ways via text, but with no hard feelings.

Ranked a career-high No. 20 in singles, Vandeweghe is more focused on singles than ever, though she's still eager to defend her Indian Wells doubles title.

"I think there’s so many things it has benefited, even though sometimes it’s not always my favorite thing to do," Vandeweghe said. "But if I go out there and play, I’m going out there to compete and win."