Need help "punching" the volleys

[Mansewerz]

I seem to drop volley almost everytime I'm at net. Moreso on the forehand side, not as much backhand side. It feels like I frame it at times and I may be flicking my wrist too much and it feels like i'm putting bad angles on the racquet face. Any help to make myself punch the ball more and stop drop volleying it every time. I especially have this problem off the feed during drills.

[Rickson]

I seem to drop volley almost everytime I'm at net. Moreso on the forehand side, not as much backhand side. It feels like I frame it at times and I may be flicking my wrist too much and it feels like i'm putting bad angles on the racquet face. Any help to make myself punch the ball more and stop drop volleying it every time. I especially have this problem off the feed during drills.

You're dropping your wrist and slicing the volley instead of punching. You should keep your wrist firm and don't let that racquet head fall below your wrist.

[Mountain Ghost]

ANY “flicking” of the wrist is too much. There are three places where the arm has built-in “hinges” . . . at the shoulder, the elbow and the wrist. You need to learn to keep your wrist “fixed” as you allow your shoulder and your elbow to do any of the bending or extending required.

Also, even on a “punch” volley, some amount of slice is OK. Just be sure to prepare with the racquet face high enough above the level of the eventual contact point.

MG

[Djokovicfan4life]

Yea, it's not literally "punching" the ball, that would be stupid. It's more like a very short swing with very little follow through (except on swinging volleys of course).

What I don't get about volleys is when I watch the pros it looks like they open their racquet face quite a bit before contact, and yet the ball still goes down instead of floating. :confused:

[tennisaddict1]

Heres a neat tip. When you hold you raquet don't hold it like an umbrella. hold it so that your fingers cover more space on the raquet. so like when pull something.

not like this http://www.lifeinfozone.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/tennis-grip1.jpg

like this
http://www.tennisserver.com/turbo/images/turbo_97_10/fig1L.JPG
or this
http://z.about.com/d/tennis/1/0/M/D/bh-one-continental.jpg

this way you have more control over your raquet when you "punch"

[tennisaddict1]

this way your wrist is won't be moved as much and you won't slice.

[Mansewerz]

Thanks for all the tips so far. More are appreciated as always.

[rosewall4ever]

Don't focus on the wrist too much rather focus in the quick pronation of the frorearm to create the 'snap'. You can notice this by just quickly rotating you palm from face down to up.(opp for bh side)

As in reference to a 'fixed' wrist that every one talks about its just not letting you racquet drop below your hand. A good sign post is to monitor the tip of your racquet which should be relatively up right.

[Rickson]

Don't focus on the wrist too much rather focus in the quick pronation of the frorearm to create the 'snap'. You can notice this by just quickly rotating you palm from face down to up.(opp for bh side)


Pronating might be good for swinging volleys, but why would you pronate on standard volleys? Now if you pronate and your palm is perpendicular with the floor, you would have to be super flexible in order to get your palm facing the sky and I've never seen a volley done like that. My palm doesn't face up to the sky when I do standard forehands pronating. That's got to be one weird looking volley and I'm curious to see what it looks like. Do you have any video?

[Off The Wall]

My wife had your problem once upon a time. She thought she was supposed to defend the net like a hockey goalie. Finally, she got pissed off enough that she attacked a volley instead of blocking it. Voila.

Use the volley techniques described above and go out and hit the ball. Practice hitting down the line to avoid wrist flicking.

[paulfreda]

The heavier racquet you use, the easier it is to feel comfortable with a short stroke, which is the essence of a punch.
Sampras's volleys hardly move the racquet at all because his frame was/is ~ 15oz.

[rosewall4ever]

Pronating might be good for swinging volleys, but why would you pronate on standard volleys? Now if you pronate and your palm is perpendicular with the floor, you would have to be super flexible in order to get your palm facing the sky and I've never seen a volley done like that. My palm doesn't face up to the sky when I do standard forehands pronating. That's got to be one weird looking volley and I'm curious to see what it looks like. Do you have any video?

Perhaps i need to clarify... imagine signaling stop on your right side with your hand(anterior), hand is roughly ear height. Now pronate your forearm whilst rotaing your your shoulder and elbow towards your centerline. One should look as if your holding a mirror in your palm and looking back at it(posterior). Now the degree of this is 'relative'(as i described) on the elevation of the forearm, parrallel from the ground and degree of rotation of the shoulder/ elbow towards the centerline(median).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTCGWBIdQus

This a quick grab..with fed showing a a quick but slight pronation for fh. The fact that the racquet becomes perpendicular to the net shows there is pronation happening... Try it out. It works for me...

[paulfreda]

Don't focus on the wrist too much rather focus in the quick pronation of the frorearm to create the 'snap'. You can notice this by just quickly rotating you palm from face down to up.

Rotating from face down to up would be suppination.
Pronation is turning the inner wrist down.

Actually you can get that sweet "stick" on the ball with either pronation or suppiination depending on the grip you are using and the technique. I like to open the face to an incoming ball and close in to in thru the ball ... which is pronation on the FH side and Suppination on the BH side. But other times I use a different grip that reverses these moves.

[rosewall4ever]

Rotating from face down to up would be suppination.
Pronation is turning the inner wrist down.

Actually you can get that sweet "stick" on the ball with either pronation or suppiination depending on the grip you are using and the technique. I like to open the face to an incoming ball and close in to in thru the ball ... which is pronation on the FH side and Suppination on the BH side. But other times I use a different grip that reverses these moves.

your right...sorry mate, my bad:oops:..

[Rickson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTCGWBIdQus

This a quick grab..with fed showing a a quick but slight pronation for fh. The fact that the racquet becomes perpendicular to the net shows there is pronation happening... Try it out. It works for me...

Now I see. You meant supinate.

[Nellie]

Practice not moving your wrist/arm. For example, lock your wrist with your racquet head near your ear. put a towel under your arm pit, and hold it with your elbow. Now step forward to produce all of the energy - do not use the arm! Bend your knees to keep the racquet head near your ear, but lined up with the ball. Do a couple hundred times and switch, After a day, you will look like a pro.

[In D Zone]

Use your leg instead of stretching your arm out to volley the ball.

Forehand volley - move your right leg forward to the direction of the ball. Keep your racquet up front while maintaining your arm in a 'V' shape close your body. the forward motion will product the power you'll need to punch the ball.

Backhand volley - step out with the right leg to your backhand side (crossed and forward). the crossed over movement will automatically turn your shoulder and hip, keep racquet up front and maintain the arm in V shape close your body.

[Rickson]

D-zone, those guys in your avatar must be close friends.

[Djokovicfan4life]

D-zone, those guys in your avatar must be close friends.
One step ahead of "BFF's" if you ask me.

[Rickson]

One step ahead of "BFF's" if you ask me.

The guys in my avatar, one of which is Rickson, are definitely not close friends.

[rosewall4ever]

Now I see. You meant supinate.

Yeah sorry bout that!:oops:

[In D Zone]

D-zone, those guys in your avatar must be close friends.


YEAP! They are in d zone!!!

[Mansewerz]

Don't focus on the wrist too much rather focus in the quick pronation of the frorearm to create the 'snap'. You can notice this by just quickly rotating you palm from face down to up.(opp for bh side)

As in reference to a 'fixed' wrist that every one talks about its just not letting you racquet drop below your hand. A good sign post is to monitor the tip of your racquet which should be relatively up right.

When I do this, will the racquet face tilt back towards me a bit? (I understood that you meant supinate instead of pronate)