Warm up problem

M

Mazilla2219

Rookie
Here's my problem. During the last 2-3 matches I've played, I've sucked at warming up the opponent when they are at the net volleying. Rallying goes great and we can get in a groove, but my shots go all over the place once they get close to the net to volley. At that point I can’t hit a decent rally ball for them to volley if my life depended on it. I feel guilty that I’m not giving them an equal chance to warm-up their volleys. Has anyone else run into this?
 
Cindysphinx

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
Yes. I totally stink at that part of the warm-up.

I am getting better, though. What I try to remember is that it is not necessary to hit a passing shot. Some people -- especially weak volleyers -- stand very close to the net. This rattles me, as I would not normally take a medium-paced ball straight at someone at net if they are standing really close.

So I ignore them and just hit medium-paced groundies. I make sure I split-step as soon as I've hit so I am on my toes for when the ball comes back. And if I can't reach it or it bounces three times before it comes to me, I catch and feed.

Hope that helps!!!
 
Falloutjr

Falloutjr

Banned
Mazilla2219 said:
Here's my problem. During the last 2-3 matches I've played, I've sucked at warming up the opponent when they are at the net volleying. Rallying goes great and we can get in a groove, but my shots go all over the place once they get close to the net to volley. At that point I can’t hit a decent rally ball for them to volley if my life depended on it. I feel guilty that I’m not giving them an equal chance to warm-up their volleys. Has anyone else run into this?
Click to expand...

Just chip all the balls back over the net, that's really the easiest way to get them the ball back. No need for regular groundstrokes as you're not trying to win anything or pass them, plus it helps you with defensive shots you normally don't practice in neutral rallies. This is your golden opportunity to work on retrieving in a warm-up rally.
 
jc4.0

jc4.0

Professional
At least you're trying to warm up "professionally". So many people try to intimidate by hitting warm-up winners. That's just a worthless waste of time, and I call them on it every time. (Yay! You won the point! Oh wait - we're not playing the match yet...)

I say get with a friend, and practice hitting soft volleys back and forth from the service line, and from a couple feet nearer to the net. This part of the warm up is all about hand-eye coordination, that's what you need to work on and it just takes a lot of practice.
 
B

blakesq

Hall of Fame
warming up is not practice. just do the best you can, nothing to feel guilty about. One thing that helped me, is just watch the ball, do not worry about where the opponent is, and just try to hit the ball back over the middle of the net (or if doubles, the middle of your half the court).

Mazilla2219 said:
Here's my problem. During the last 2-3 matches I've played, I've sucked at warming up the opponent when they are at the net volleying. Rallying goes great and we can get in a groove, but my shots go all over the place once they get close to the net to volley. At that point I can’t hit a decent rally ball for them to volley if my life depended on it. I feel guilty that I’m not giving them an equal chance to warm-up their volleys. Has anyone else run into this?
Click to expand...
 
G

GPB

Professional
I have to block them out in my mind, and just hit my normal shot that would land between the service line and the end of the court. If I try to hit it "to them" I can guarantee it'll go in the net.
 
M

Mike2228

Rookie
GPB said:
I have to block them out in my mind, and just hit my normal shot that would land between the service line and the end of the court. If I try to hit it "to them" I can guarantee it'll go in the net.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a problem I just resolved. I had a habbit of trying to watch both the ball and my opponents at the same time. It led to alot of mishits and shanks. Now a days I just watch the ball and try to make a good shot and it usually works.
 
tennismonkey

tennismonkey

Semi-Pro
forehand and backhand chip shots to the net guy. practice your squash shot. or catch the ball with your racquet. pick it up with your hand. and throw it at the netguy. repeat.
 
nethawkwenatchee

nethawkwenatchee

Professional
I suppose that the quality of player you are rallying with influences the quality of you're shots to a large extent. If the guy at the net is stabbing drop volleys or hitting them in the doubles alley, it's very hard to groove you're strokes back to them. It's nice to decide to alternate between the net players forehand/backhand sides and take medium/flat strokes. Try not to hit at the body much (save that for the match) and don't be afraid to take the ball early, find you're comfort zone! Once you find it you should be able to feed the net player all day long and hopefully he is able to find the same consistency with his return volleys :)
 
T

thejackal

Hall of Fame
I have the same problem sometimes. my coach got me to focus on preparing as early as possible, which helps a great deal. makes sense, as you have less time to react to the ball when the opponent's at net
 
Kyle7286

Kyle7286

Rookie
Don't feel alone. This is the hardest part of tennis!!! The Volley feeding!!! Do not fret. We all share your pain :(
 
Larrysümmers

Larrysümmers

Hall of Fame
i hate when people stand so close to net. like right at the net. then i feel like i have to feed it perfectly so that it goes over the net and not passed them;because i feel like an idiot if it goes in the net or over their head
 
J

jatmallet

New User
its so refreshing to read these threads- since I started playing again two years ago, its like I have a mental block against warming up. I've even had an opponent get rather upset about it, because I would shank or just miss every other ball during the warm up, then blast it in the match. My biggest pet peeve about the warm-ups is when people think the service warm up is a time to practice return winners.

Btw- I can second the suggestion to hit chips to warm up at the net. Its the only way I can give the guy a chance to get loose.
 
furyballs

furyballs

Rookie
Just hit it like you were rallying baseline to baseline. If you chip it back too easy, the net person may get frustrated because they are not getting any pace to warm up to. Of course they should be volleying the ball back to you in a way you can keep the rally going.

There is an art to the warm up. Watch good players do it, copy them and practice it every time you play.

I hate it when an opponent won't give me a decent warm up.

cheers
 
N

nickarnold2000

Hall of Fame
Mazilla2219 said:
Here's my problem. During the last 2-3 matches I've played, I've sucked at warming up the opponent when they are at the net volleying. Rallying goes great and we can get in a groove, but my shots go all over the place once they get close to the net to volley. At that point I can’t hit a decent rally ball for them to volley if my life depended on it. I feel guilty that I’m not giving them an equal chance to warm-up their volleys. Has anyone else run into this?
Click to expand...
Practice hitting volleys returns when you're not in tournaments and you should get better at it over time. It's actually a great drill because you have half the time to prepare to hit the stroke.
The thing is, is that everyone's nervous at the start of a match so don't try to do too much. You should be hitting at about 70%(in the warmup) and then slowly upping the power 3-4 games into the match(the goal is to be very consistent in the 1st few games). I also wouldn't just hit slice returns to the volleyer because you really do need to also practice hitting the dipping topspin balls that will give you a chance to win the point when the match actually starts - slicing, generally, won't get the job done in this situation.
I always try to think of myself as "Gumby" with light feet. Very relaxed strokes, nice follow through with light, dancing feet! :)
 
Last edited:
W

whomad15

Semi-Pro
hit your regular shot as if they werent at the net, or chip it back.
I also run into this problem a lot since my normal shot is rather loopy and if they aren't 6ft or taller it'll probably be out of their reach
 
S

spacediver

Hall of Fame
I have this problem too. I simply don't have the accuracy necessary to feed good balls to the volleyer. I make it a point to clearly state this to them, because I sometimes get comments like "please give me easier balls" or "please don't hit winners".

I tell them not to take it personally - I am trying my best.

But I like the idea of doing volley to volley - solves that problem and u both get to warm up the volleys at the same time, and I find I do well in the volley to volley warmup.
 
N

North

Professional
Is it just the last few matches only or have you generally not been so good at warming up volleys? If you have never really been that good at it, then I would ask what level you play at. I have found that, as a rule, most players are not capable of warming up volleys really well until they get to about 4.0, or very strong 3.5 with better than average ball control (no flames please - I'm sure there are exceptions - I'm just speaking of my experiences). I figure if someone cannot warm up my volleys well, they probably are not that consistent with passing shots either - I have also found that to be the case, for the most part.
 
D

dizzlmcwizzl

Hall of Fame
This is the worst part of my game, every time. What is particularly troubling is that during a match I like it when the opponent is up there giving me a target to shoot for. But when I am trying to warm him up ... it is in the net or long almost every time. I too am embarassed not to give him a better shot here.

What has helped recently is that during this time I focus on trunk turn and hitting flat balls to his chest. They do not have much pace but I can give him more balls to hit consistently and I am actually working on a part of my game at the same time.
 
T

tennis tom

Legend
When I'm feeding balls for a warm-up, I'm hitting the same shot over and over. It doesn't matter where my opponent is standing. I'm calibrating my aim to a four foot box in front of the hash-mark on the baseline. I'm just using the speed of gravity for pace; not trying to over or under swing, little if any bicep or tricep involvement, as flat as possible.

It doesn't matter if my opponent is at the net, at the baseline, in the parking lot or at the bar. The only variation would be when my opponent at the net, points his finger up, meaning he wants overheads. And then of-course taking serves.

A tip to keep the balls from going into the net or short, is to aim for the center of the opponents back fence net-screen. Usually there's a horizontal line in the middle, where two screens seam together. If you aim for this area as a horizon, the ball will stay high enough to clear the net and gravity will keep it inside the baseline. This will also smooth out your swing, holding the finish until the ball bounces on the other side.

I've only lost one warm-up.
 
furyballs

furyballs

Rookie
Larrysümmers said:
i hate when people stand so close to net. like right at the net. then i feel like i have to feed it perfectly so that it goes over the net and not passed them;because i feel like an idiot if it goes in the net or over their head
Click to expand...

If they're standing right up close to the net, that means they can't volley very well anyway. So I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Angle Queen

Angle Queen

Professional
nethawkwenatchee said:
I suppose that the quality of player you are rallying with influences the quality of you're shots to a large extent.
Click to expand...
Poor volleyers...or the ones who try to hit "winners" are the worst to warm-up with. When I'm the net person, I really focus on trying to get the ball back to their preferred shot (usually FH). I find I get better feeds and we can both get into a little groove. I've had more than a few opponents comment on "wow...look how long we kept that ball/rally going." Yeah, until it's game time and I'm hitting angle winners. ;)

But seriously, just try to do the best you can with your feeds. Perhaps apologize when it doesn't go well...but don't feel guilty. Remember, tennis is one of the only games (I can't rightly think of another, though) where the opponents "warm-up" each other. The pros merely go through the motions (their real warm-up happened hours earlier with their own coach/hitting partner). And that's something else for you to consider. If you can talk a teammate into joining you before your opponents arrive...you'll get a real warm-up yourself...and might have better feeds for your opponents. :)


Larrysümmers said:
i hate when people stand so close to net. like right at the net. then i feel like i have to feed it perfectly so that it goes over the net and not passed them;because i feel like an idiot if it goes in the net or over their head
Click to expand...
This. X3.

tennis tom said:
I've only lost one warm-up.
Click to expand...
ROTFLMAO

Yeah! I've reached enough posts...to EDIT.
 
Angle Queen

Angle Queen

Professional
/*tread hijack*/

tennis tom said:
Congratulations on that milepost!

You know your tennis. How did you get so smart, did you have a good coach or through osmosis?
Click to expand...
:oops:

Thanks, but I don't always feel that way (knowing my tennis) after reading (and posting) here.

Had a great coach in high school, 25 years ago. She taught me three important things: serve mechanics, how to lose...gracefully, and that tennis is FUN.

Don't have money or time to have regular lessons/coaching now....but I do have a benevolent mentor who has spent countless hours working with me. He's a fantastic doubles player, an admitted 4.5 has-been...but now a strong 4.0...and he says his mission is to make me his equal. Gotta love it.

I also have several solid and regular doubles partners...that have made it easy to "work" on my game. They are so patient with my miscues and continue to encourage me to improve myself and our partnerships.

But I also consider myself a student of The Game. While I have my favorite pros to watch, I'll watch just about any tennis match....social, USTA or pro...just to see what I can learn. Sometimes, it's as much on what not to do...as it is...on what to emulate.

/* end hijack */

Sorry folks, couldn't resist the opportunity to applaud my helpers...even if anonymously and on the 'net. :wink:
 
P

ProgressoR

Hall of Fame
the 'net is not anonymous, its Real Life and our so called real lives are the ones that are fake and anonymous.

And that is the truth.
 
S

struggle

Legend
i hate people who try to hit winners during warmup. i've usually already warmed up with my own teammates, so if they start doing that i just tell them i'm good (warmed up) and go grab a drink of water. i don't feel obligated to warm up their winners if they don't want to help me warm up too. tit for tat.

people who don't feed volleys well, but are at least trying....i don't sweat it one bit.
 
G

gjr

New User
ok usually in most usta amateur tournaments they give you a five minute warm up ( because other matches have to be played on that same court in that day
ok your strokes are inconstant for ground strokes fh and bh , lobs go all over
the place, one deep , one short , one doesn`t reach the net volley also the same over heads the same too, an than it could be nerves, butterflies too
well some people go warm up for 15 minutes at another court practice some serves lobs drop some balls hit some ground strokes . ok

and your opponent is watching what you can handle and what you can`t in warm ups , ok

than if it is friendly singles or doubles and noone waiting for courts by all means
go for 10 - 15 minute warm ups before matches . some people want to show
their winning shots in warm up but where are they in the match ?
that`s why you you want to be constant and practice this stuff
hope i helped you gjr
 
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