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Keep it solid!
Question:
Why can't I control my backhand volleys?
Answer:
You may be using too much wrist. It's quite common for players to make contact with
the ball too late and flick the wrist in an attempt to generate pace.
Step in and meet the ball in front of your body, ensuring that your wrist, arm and shoulder
move as one firm unit. Keep the racket head slightly above the height of your wrist as you
prepare for the shot. Turn your shoulders and step in. Use a punching/blocking action of the
racket head, keeping a firm wrist. Avoid chopping down too much on the ball - hit out and
through it.
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Ahzah! I've got a black belt in volleying!
Question:
How can I stop swinging on my volley?
Answer:
Players who possess a powerful swing on their groundstrokes often find it difficult
to avoid swinging on the volley. Try using the concept of a karate jab as part of a transition
stage towards being a more efficient volleyer. Holding the racket out in front of your body, step
towards the ball and give it a firm, crisp, karate jab with the face of the racket.
Avoid flipping the racket head at the ball - just jab it forward with a firm grip and a firm
wrist, trying to stop the racket immediately after striking the ball.
If the karate idea doesn't work for you, have a look at this animation. Maybe you had one of
these when you were a kid?
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Cross-legged volleys?
Question:
I don't seem to reach wide volleys. Why?
Answer:
Be sure you use a crossover step to reach a wide volley. In other words, if you're
right-handed, step forwards and across with your left foot for a forehand volley. And step
forwards and across with your right foot for a backhand volley.
It might seem strange, but this gives you a much greater reach!
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Follow this recipe for a more powerful overhead!
Question:
How can I really put the ball away with my smash?
Answer:
If you feel you're not punishing your opponents enough when they send up lob after
lob, you'll need to beef up your overhead by mixing in plenty of wrist and hand. Add quick footwork,
a pinch of forward weight transfer and a dash of arm and shoulder action and you'll be really cooking!
Those are the basic ingredients. You need to prepare them by getting sideways straight away and
by pointing your non-racket hand at the ball, keeping it just in front of you.
The recipe works if you get this part of your technique right - flip the racket head up
and over at the ball (rather than just swinging through it or pulling it down). Imagine
there's a face on the ball glancing down at you and hit it on the forehead, flipping the racket
head so that the back of your hand faces the sky immediately after impact and your racket
starts to point to the ground.
Keep your body straight and your head steady. Technique is the answer - not brute force. Follow
the recipe for some really tasty overheads!
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Anyone for hopscotch?
Question:
I volley well in practice. Why do I lose control in matches?
Answer:
If it's not a mental thing, then it's probably a footwork thing! Standing at the net and
hitting volleys in practice is one thing; hitting a serve or a return and moving in behind
it in a competitive situation is quite another. If your shot mechanics are basically ok, focus on
your positioning and your balance.
Sometimes we can get carried away with being aggressive and getting right up to the net and
we can forget a most important feature of successful volleying - balance. Balance is achieved
by hopping into a ready position as your opponent is about to hit the ball. It's similar to
the little hop children use when they're playing hopscotch (feet apart, knees slightly bent,
holding the racket out in front of you). Exaggerate it when you're learning the technique. As
you improve, you'll modify it so that it becomes a barely perceptible pause before you move
forwards again to make the volley. It's sometimes referred to as a "split step".
If you've not been using it before, you will find that you sacrifice a bit of distance, i.e. you
won't get quite as close to the net as you did before, but having good balance is much more
important than being close to the net.
Well, I think that's enough now - hop it!
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May the force be with you!
Question:
Why is my racket always in the wrong place when I'm at the net?
Answer:
Do you remember Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader duelling with light sabres in the Star Wars films?
Well, that's pretty much how you hold your racket at the net. Racket head up and out in front
of you. Use both hands to hold it - although your non-racket hand need only support the throat of
the racket.
Volleying involves a short blocking or punching action with your contact point just to the side
and out in front of you, so you don't have to recover the racket from a follow-through.
If you can keep your volley action short, sharp and compact, the racket head should not have to
travel more than a couple of feet from ready position to contact and back to ready again.
The shot is executed with a cross-step towards the ball. So again, just one simple step is
enough to recover to a balanced ready position.
Some players are worried about being hit by the ball when they're at the net. If you fall into
that category, here's some special advice for you. When a ball is coming straight at you and
you've got no time to sway to one side, the correct shot is a backhand volley (you have to be a
bit of a contortionist to execute a forehand volley!). Until you build up your confidence,
always expect to play a backhand volley when you're at the net. That way, you'll be better
prepared to defend yourself on the odd occasion when somebody aims a ball straight at your
midriff.
In general terms, you have less reaction time when you're at the net. So the less you do, the
better! Just make sure that the little bit you do is done very positively! Good luck with your
light sabres, er, volleys! If you try and breathe kind of asthmatically as well, you'll be even
more formidable - only kidding!
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Cliche time!
Question:
Why do I always put low volleys in the net?
Answer:
Once the ball is below net height, you're in defensive mode with the volley. Don't try to be
aggressive with this shot. Just get it back - deep if possible.
If you play club tennis, you'll know that the most common piece of advice you get is to
"bend your knees". It doesn't matter what shot you're trying - if it goes wrong, someone will
tell you to bend your knees! Well, executing a low volley does require bending at the
knees.
Keeping your back fairly straight, your head still and your feet apart for balance, bending at
the knees enables you to lower your centre of gravity and one other really important thing -
which is to keep the racket head level with your hand. Never drop the racket head to kind of
flick at the ball - it simply doesn't work! Open the racket face to get under the ball and
impart a bit of underspin.
Yep, it's cliche time - BEND THOSE KNEES!
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Eyes down and look in!
Question:
How do you hit a successful half volley?
Answer:
The half volley is a shot that's forced on you - you're close to the bounce of the ball but
not close enough to play a volley. Your leading leg should bend deeply (try to get your eyes
as close as possible to the contact) and your backswing should be shortish. Aim to hit the
ball level with your leading foot with your wrist locked. Keep your centre of gravity low and
your weight forwards. Try to get a firm contact, but not too aggressive - you're usually
looking to go low over the net but with some depth. Follow through forwards and upwards.
Practice with a partner with both of you positioned around the service line.
In matchplay, only play half volleys when you're forced to!
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Drop it!
Question:
Can you suggest how I could practice playing drop volleys?
Answer:
Your partner feeds a ball (from the baseline) to you at the net. You play a drop volley, your
partner moves in and you play the point out.
Work at keeping the ball low over the net and, using a fairly open racket face and letting
your forearm and wrist relax on contact, make it land as close as possible to the net.
Your partner should feed alternately to your forehand and then to your backhand for six
points and then feed randomly for a further six points. After twelve points, change roles.
Make sure you're both well warmed up before starting this drill! Playing the point out is
important, because it allows you to assess the quality of your shot and allows the feeder the
valuable opportunity to practice how to deal with drop shots.
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Time to split!
Question:
What is a split-step and when should I use it?
Answer:
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What |
The split-step is a balancing step giving you a base from which you can move
quickly for your next shot. Coaches sometimes refer to it as "unweighting".
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How |
Take a small two-footed hop, setting your feet a comfortable shoulder width
apart. Lean forwards slightly so your weight is on the balls of your feet. Keeping
your racket out in front of you, quickly bend your knees to balance, allowing for
rapid movement in any direction.
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When |
It allows your leg muscles to store elastic energy, enabling explosive movement
after landing. So timing is crucial. At first, you should try to split-step as
your opponent starts his or her forward swing. Performance players may time it
a bit later - try to find what works for you!
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Why |
You can improve your balance and movement significantly with proper use of the
split-step. It's important for all shots in tennis, but particularly when you're
at the net and reaction time is reduced.
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TURN and SWAY!
Question:
How do you volley a ball aimed straight at your body?
Answer:
If you get jammed and you haven't got enough time to step into a volley with your normal
technique, you need to adapt.
My apologies to left-handers - you must do the necessary conversions when reading this!
Fancy footwork is out of the question - you've got no time! But you've got to get your body
out of the way somehow, so let's work out how you can do it, starting with the forehand side.
Simply TURN your right shoulder backwards and SWAY to your left. To play a backhand, TURN the
left shoulder backwards and SWAY to the right.
Practise this technique by having someone stand on the service line and throw balls straight
at you.
If you haven't even got time to turn and sway, it's self-defence and it's got to be a backhand
volley! It just isn't possible to play a forehand volley if the ball's heading straight for
your midriff. Try it - you'll see what I mean!
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Set up for the kill!
Question:
I normally volley ok. Why do I make so many errors when I follow my serve in?
Answer:
Players often come to grief when they try to do too much with their first volley. You often
see serve-and-volleyers hitting aggressive volleys while they're still running in towards
the net.
There are occasions when you get a really weak return and you can move in and win the point
outright with the first volley, but usually you need to adopt a two-shot mentality: a "set up"
volley followed by an angled "put away" shot.
In order to execute a solid "set-up" volley, you need to move in, balance and go for depth
and accuracy. Make a ready-hop (a kind of two-footed split-step) just as your opponent winds
up to make the return. Obviously you want to get as close to the net as you can, but it's
much more important to be on balance, so don't worry if you're still in 'no-man's land'. If
your serve is pretty fast, you may only have time for two or three steps in before you have to
make your ready-hop. A slower serve may allow you time for four or five steps. The main thing
is to ready-hop in time and then aim deep.
Once you've played your first volley, DON'T STAY THERE! Move forward again to a strong
position at the net.
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Run like a crab, swoop like a hawk!
Question:
Why do I struggle to get behind the ball for my smash?
Answer:
The overhead is one of the most satisfying shots in tennis. Watching someone like Pete Sampras
rising up imperiously to despatch a powerful overhead for a winner is a great sight.
But when you think about the technique that goes into it, it's like the swan gliding
effortlessly on the surface of the water - underneath, out of sight, there's a whole lot of
furious paddling going on!
As you start to track the lob, make a big shoulder turn and put one foot behind the other.
The mistake a lot of people make is to move backwards while facing the net - the footwork
is hopelessly inefficient and the shot has no juice on it whatsoever. So when the lob goes up,
get sideways - think CRAB! Use your non-racket hand as an antenna to track the ball.
If you want to swoop like a hawk on your overheads, be prepared to run like a crab!
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Put on the handcuffs for an arresting volley!
Question:
How can I put a bit more bite into my forehand volleys?
Answer:
If you've got a firm grip and reasonably quick reflexes, all you need is the confidence to
attack. The forecourt is no place for the timid. Aim to play your volleys close to the net -
the closer you are to the net, the more you can punch down on the ball.
You don't need to take the racket back, but turning your shoulders sideways-on to the net will
help produce the extra bite you need. Imagine you're wearing handcuffs when you prepare for a
forehand volley. The position of your non-racket hand will ensure your shoulders have turned.
Transfer your weight into the shot, stepping across and landing your foot just after the
contact which should be out in front of your body. Attack the ball with a short, slightly
high-to-low block, keeping the racket face slightly open.
Positive volleying requires a positive attitude. Don't be nervous when you're at the net.
Go looking for your volleys! It's no good wearing handcuffs unless you're some sort of threat,
so be prepared to live dangerously!
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