Help Me On This Shot

[lisaburton]

I'm playing doubles..in the deuce court.. My partner makes a great serve...the returner sends back a floater about one foot to the left of my head. My body is parallel to the net.. I raise my racket head high move it to the left across my face and push the ball into the open court and then the ball comes back since there was nothing on it.

What should I have done to close this point... The ball was a soft floater slight to my left.. I didn't have to move my feet.. I was about 5 feet from the net.

should I have turned my shoulder and snapped my wrist or should I have turned my shoulder and kept it hinged and swung from the joint and kept my wrist and elbow locked.

thanks, Ken

[Trinity TC]

What should I have done to close this point... The ball was a soft floater slight to my left.. I didn't have to move my feet.. I was about 5 feet from the net.
You have to move your feet. Move forward until you are practically reaching over the net...and angle the ball crosscourt either in front or just behind the opposing net player.

[paulfreda]

I do not think technique is critical here.
Placement is.
An experienced net man on defense [you are on serve] will be back at the service line.
So you need to close to the net and put the ball either ...
1/ at his feet or at his right hip
2/ right down the center if he is in the middle of the service line
3/ to his right if he is standing near the T

[ps60]

i've got similar problem :D

[Cindysphinx]

. I didn't have to move my feet.. I was about 5 feet from the net.



I'm no teaching pro, but . . .

You *always* have to move your feet on a volley. You should have split-stepped before the ball was struck, and then stepped over with your right foot, thereby transfering body weight to the shot/ball, playing it as a backhand, taking the ball in front. If you're 5 feet from the net, you have plenty of room to do this.

Sound right, everyone?