Volley experts! Help!

[gofederer]

I try to imitate the way Federer plays despite my lowly standard (4.0+?), but make far too many errors trying volleys (mainly on the fore side). My question is do you experts really use exactly the same neutral grip for both wings against shoulder-high drives?

[Eric Matuszewski]

Guys who crush high forehand volleys rarely do it with a contenental grip this is a myth perpetuated by old school teaching pros who aren't watching slow motion video and who are just going by what someone told them 40 years ago. (No offense to being old school, there is some good old school advice but this is not it).

You will undoubtedly have trouble with high easy forehand volleys if you use a contenental grip to hit them. This is mainly because the wrist joint is at a heavy mechanical disadvantage with this grip and the ball impacts your racket harder on a volley than on any other shot. (Your closest to your opponent who just hit the ball at you and the ball has not lost any speed from hitting the court.

In defense of "Old School" advice. This technique may have worked at lower ball speeds (less force comming at you and driving back the hand) and with heavier rackets (more stability for the volleyer). But in the modern game your just gonna pop it up and get the next one rammed down your throught. Not a good way of gaining confidence at the net. It's funny pros say volley contenental and then scold Juniors for volleying less and less...

Forehand volleys are more efficiently hit with a more eastern grip. Even club Fed hits em this way. Make sure your pushing your racket thru the contact zone parrallel to the court (don't stop your hand or try to chop down, like a slice).
Tell me how it goes and spred the word.

[gofederer]

thanks eric, that's what i suspected... i'll follow your advice this afternoon and, well, spread the word if successful

[vin]

Well if you're a lowly 4.0, I'm an even more lowly 3.5, and certainly not an expert at the net, but I think I have some advice that may help. This comes from a pro that I've been working with.

I volley with the continental grip on both sides. I hit all volleys with slice and the pro had me change my high forehand volley to be flat. I was originally hitting it with underspin as you would a lower volley. I was told to have my wrist flexed back slightly with the racquet and the arm almost making an L. While maintaining this position, move your arm forward and hit through the ball without any wrist movement. While doing this, you should be moving your body forward as well. I was hitting very hard volleys this way and found it easier and more reliable than my previous method of slicing the high volley.

For myself, I think it is easier to volley this way than with a eastern forehand grip. Besides, it must be tough changing grips at the net when you don't have much time to react.

Vin

[WW Volley]

Originally Posted by vin

I was told to have my wrist flexed back slightly with the racquet and the arm almost making an L. While maintaining this position, move your arm forward and hit through the ball without any wrist movement. While doing this, you should be moving your body forward as well. I was hitting very hard volleys this way and found it easier and more reliable than my previous method of slicing the high volley.

I completely agree with this advice. L with the arm. Move through the shot. SO important!

A volley comes more from proper rotation and moving the weight of the body through the ball. The idea with most volleys is to not add extra juice to the shot, but merely use the existing energy created by the other player and deflect it back. Often when players try to ramp up the juice, you see frame shots, mishits, etc.

Now certainly swing away at high floaters.

However, the majority of the time a continential grip will get the job done with great results. If you can, watch some videos of top volleyers from the pro game. Sampras, Rafter, McEnroe, etc. Each of these players demonstrates the "old school" qualities that allow for consistant and effective volleying.

[grothman]

On forehand vollies, I've always been told to swing through like you're wiping dust off a flat dresser top

[WW Volley]

Originally Posted by grothman

On forehand vollies, I've always been told to swing through like you're wiping dust off a flat dresser top

Ha! That makese sense with moving through the ball while keeping a firm wrist and arm. I'll have to use that one.

[gofederer]

All are very good tips

I played this afternoon bearing in mind eric's "more eastern grip" tip but unfortunately had not many opportunities to play that particular sort of forehand volleys

With my previous thought and today's small experiment, though, I could verify to myself a slight turn from the pure continental grip, say a quarter eastern forehand grip, was definitely more comfortable to deal with fairly quick chest-shoulder high drives, in the sense that it makes your wrist firmer and doesn't require your arm and wrist flexed back too much. And yet it affected my confidence when facing backhand side drives and proved more confusing overall. So I decided to stick to the one-grip policy even though I would continue to make poorer forehand volleys

[jun]

More ofthen than not, it's better not to try to immitate pros...
You can watch learn certain elements of their stroke, but it's better not to immitate their swing. Instead, find a good pro and work on fundamentals, and develop your swing.

I would say Continental is way to go on volleys. It allows you to hit hgh-medium-low volleys. Some people say you should change grips on your volleys. But I am not a big fan of that. As you play higher and higher level of tennis, everything happens so fast. I don't know how you can turn your grip and stuff.

The only way to improve volley is just practice and practice and practice. It's the simplest shot in tennis, but you really need a good footwork and hand-eye coordination.

[Bungalo Bill]

All the pros alter their grips (knowingly and not knowingly) from the base standard which is the Continental.

The myth to switching or altering grips in todays game comes from the belief that there is not enough time to do it. There is. If you can switch grips quickly on a bomb for a serve you can switch or adjust your grip quickly on a volley.

The key is where do you go. The Eastern grips place the wrist is a natural position but sometimes that is a bit extreme for most players. You will be able to hit very firm volleys but have to be careful on the low ones.

So the solution is to practice with the Eastern grips and as you get comfortable with hwo it works, move yoru hand more towards the continental to find the place YOU like to have it at. I emphasize you, because each hand and grips are different.

The key to allowing your grip to change quickly is by not having a firm grip before the change. Most players that complain they cant switch quick enough are usually holding the grip too tight.

[Eric Matuszewski]

Kudos to all, lots of good critical thinking going on here. Bill, good point about grip switching. Another key here is learning to use your non playing hand constantly. This is an evolution of the game Laver and Emerson problably didn't have to consider (heavy stable rackets +lower ball speeds allowed for all purpose grips). Todays and tommorrows top juniors and pros are constantly changing grips by using the other hand (on the throught whenever they aren't swinging at a ball). So keep that other hand there and get a little left handed if your a righty.

[sinoslav]

I'm a bit skeptical too that focusing on change of grip is going to get you very far in improving your volley if your grip is already continental.

Seems to me that Jun hit the nail on the head, practice practice practice. I too am a lowly 4.0 but in the past six months I've improved my volley a great deal, to the point that it is a real weapon rather than a joke. How to practice? First, volley is a great shot for practicing off the wall -- hit it over and over again without letting the ball bounce. It'll do wonders for your sense of feel for the volley. Second, when you're warming up with an opponent, spend a few minutes practicing the charge to the net by taking volleys starting from the service line and trying to get close to the net while volleying back. Allen Fox wrote about this technique in "Think to Win."

[Bungalo Bill]

A pure continental grip is not a good grip for todays game. However, it does not mean you cant grip it like that and hit good volleys. It really depends on your hand and the grip your using.

With that said, top players alter their continental grip towards and eastern grip for their volleys, so there is a slight grip change. the reason for this is it is easier to hit down-the-line volleys vs. having a pure continental grip which favors a cross-court volley because of the wrist position.

This is something we teach at the Vic Braden college. But it certainly doesnt mean it is written in stone.

[vin]

I think a lot of people naturally vary there forehand and backhand volley grip a bit, but only slightly enough so that both grips are still considered a variation of the continental. I think a lot of people do this without even realizing it. You naturally adapt to a grip variation that is easier for you. For example, you might shift the heel of your hand a bit to the right for a forehand volley and a bit to the left for a backhand volley. Your forehand volley grip is then a continental leaning towards an eastern forehand and your backhand volley grip is then a full continental maybe even leaning towards eastern backhand.

Man, you guys are killing me with these 'lowly' 4.0 comments.

[@wright]

I've been having trouble with forehand volleys(my weakest stroke) and as suggested, today I hit a few with an eastern grip and it helped a lot, so much more solid and easy to punch it deep for a winner intead of popping up. The grip change won't cost me nearly as much as still hitting with a continental on FH volleys. THANKS

Hey Bungalo... didn't your name have a 'W' at the end of Bungalo'w'?

[topspin]

It's really nice to see talk of this here. I once got rated by a coach and she drilled me for trying to volley with an eastern grip. I have now adjusted and try to use the continental, but it's very hard to get the same punch when going for a winner. The key is whethre or not you have time to switch grips correctly when you're at the net and under pressure.

[tennis_hand]

by watching Federer's video, I found Federer is using eastern grip for forehand volleys. and you can see his forehand volley punch is very deep.

his backhand volley is more like continental grip. Some instructors actually say no time switching grip is BS. You will hit more balls by switching than not switching. I agree with this point. Using a continental grip, your forehand will have no punch at all, and very weird unless you are used to forehand slice.

[Amone]

Originally Posted by gza

Hey Bungalo... didn't your name have a 'W' at the end of Bungalo'w'?

I thought so too for a while, but no, he didn't.

On the note of continental volleys-- If you're hitting a winner in the conventional sense off a volley, you're out of that realm now, and into the realm of 'swinging volleys.' A standard volley would be a winner of placement, and an eastern gripped volley would facilitate winners of power; all rules are out the window on swinging volleys, and you're just going for 'whatever works,' though you could easily hit both with a continental if you wanted to. So that's my feeling.

[looseswing]

My coach a while back told me about the eastern fh volley grip. A good drill he did with me to practice volleys was to have me concentrate on each step individually. I would stand at the service line, split, turn my upper body while holding my raquet, move foreward hit the volley, and stop my upper body while still moving foreward. Hope this drill helps.