Yup totally agree with this - which makes it interesting that at NCAA div 1 conference matches throughout the season, the format is such that there are both doubles and singles matches.
- 3 doubles matches are played first, with the school that wins at least 2 matches winning a point
- Followed by 6 singles matches, each worth a point.
Since players can compete in both doubles and singles, it makes sense to field your top players in both doubles and singles, despite the usual specialisation of singles OR doubles later on, when players turn pro after college.
In Rayyan’s case, they dont intend to ever play doubles again after college, but being the perfectionist they are, they still dont want to lose.
On the discussion re: Rayyan and their reaction above, I think we are overplaying their lack of skill at being a doubles player slighyly - they were fine with AJ, and are committed to working with their partner to win, once push comes to shove. Being paired with MC just threw them for a loop and they are not good at hiding their emotions at first blush. (Their attitude will soften once they cool down and think about it a bit. Hence the “hot-headed” in their character description. Of course, taking offense at their inability to chill and moderate the way they say certain things is… extremely valid, and meant to be! Different MCs are totally intended to respond to Rayyan’s blow up differently!)
Further, it is arguable that Rayyan’s reaction is a little more objective than it may seem at first, as it is also partially rooted in the fact that the choice to partner a no. 1 seed with a no. 4 seed is somewhat unorthodox, but taken by coaches mainly because they would prefer to keep the 2 and 3 together thanks to Tobin and Deepal’s chemistry. So it could be reasonable, to some extent, for Rayyan to have said that coaches are setting the team up for failure by “throwing” the first doubles pairing (instead of going with a 1-2 pairing, as they did last season with Rayyan-AJ).
However, it is also fair to note that during a doubles match, surprising situations (that dont always go their way) will occur, and Rayyan needs to be better at working together with, and communicating with, their partner, instead of simply losing it.
Just wanted to clarify some things but I’m very much enjoying the debate so far, and everyone’s interpretations have been immensely entertaining (and gratifying) to read!!
Yup!! Totally. But I think the interesting part is juxtaposing this with Rayyan’s growing friendship, respect, and trust in the MC as the story progresses - that should give some interesting counterbalance to Rayyan’s anxieties/frustrations at potentially being eclipsed by the new kid on the block.