What’s the point of doubles tennis?

Top-ranked doubles players Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal

Almost everything about doubles tennis annoys me. Men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles – all of it seems like table tennis without the table.

That thing where players whisper to each other behind their hands before every point so the other lot can’t read their lips – annoying.

That thing where the player not serving crouches down and does hand signals behind his or her back that none of us understand – annoying.

Or the thing where players fist-pump at the end of each point, even if they have lost – annoying.

And the fact that most matches are dull contests between players we have never heard of involving none of the athleticism, passion, drama and excitement of singles tennis – very annoying.

Let’s face it, about the best thing you can say about doubles is that it provides the broadcaster with a relatively cheap way of filling in the gaps between real tennis matches.

For the players, it’s a way for those who can’t cut it in singles to make a pretty decent living. Considering that nobody other than the most dedicated tennis nerds actually pay any attention, there is some pretty decent money to be made on the doubles tour.

The winners of the men’s and women’s doubles at the Australian Open will each collect $463,740 and the runners-up will make do with $262,786. Even if you get knocked out in round one there’s a $23,187 consolation. The mixed doubles winners take home $115,935, with the runners-up pocketing $65,696.50.

Australia’s Ash Barty is apparently a doubles advocate, saying it allows her to keep her eye in during tournaments and is a better competitive outlet than practising with a hitting partner.

But these days, top singles players rarely take doubles seriously – they either don’t play at all or view it as glorified training and forfeit at the drop of a hat when doubles commitments clash with anything to do with singles. And they don’t put the effort in to developing the particular skills involved in doubles – the whispering behind your hand and crouching down while sending hand signals behind your back.

Consequently, the doubles field is wide open for the B-grade brigade.

The top ranked men’s doubles player in the world is Colombian Robert Farah, with his partner Juan Sebastian Cabal ranked No 2. The highest ranking Farah has reached as a singles player is 163. Cabal made it to world No 184 in 2011.

The No 1 ranked women’s doubles player is Taiwan’s Su-wei Hsieh, actually a half reasonable player ranked No 71 in singles. No 2 is Czech player Barbora Strycova, who has been as high as no 16 in singles, but these days has drifted back to No 37.

The top 10 in both men’s and women’s doubles is littered with names you have never heard, along with a smattering of players past their best in singles.

The only arena where doubles retains some relevance is in teams events. Doubles clashes were a significant part of the Davis Cup back in the days when it meant something and the doubles match is the deciding rubber in the ATP Cup. Similarly, doubles have a role in the new Billie Jean King Cup – previously the Fed Cup.

But beyond that, doubles is a superstar-free zone. And until decent players can be attracted back to doubles – and they stop fist-pumping when they lose a point – it will remain annoying filler between the real tennis matches.