Best stop volley?

[BringBackWood]

Have watched a few matches with Leconte now, & I have to say his volleys are amazing but particulary his stop volleys, the way he put them on a sixpence off a hard pass. Mcenroe is 2nd I think but I don't think he would go for them off some the shots Henri does.

 

[pc1]

I've seen some players with volleys with so much backspin it bounced back on the same side. I would say the best drop volley I've seen was McEnroe however I was constantly amazed by some drop volleys Rosewall used to hit when it seemed the ball was almost passed him. Rosewall's back was literally facing the net and somehow he would angle a backhand volley sharp angled over the net for a winner. Laver was great also on the drop volley.

Nastase was great also but I always got the feeling he drop volleyed because he didn't have the penetration on the volley of players like Leconte, Laver, McEnroe, Edberg or Rosewall

And yes Leconte was fantastic also. He's my wife's favorite player and one of mine also.

 

[KG1965]

I've seen some players with volleys with so much backspin it bounced back on the same side. I would say the best drop volley I've seen was McEnroe however I was constantly amazed by some drop volleys Rosewall used to hit when it seemed the ball was almost passed him. Rosewall's back was literally facing the net and somehow he would angle a backhand volley sharp angled over the net for a winner. Laver was great also on the drop volley.

Nastase was great also but I always got the feeling he drop volleyed because he didn't have the penetration on the volley of players like Leconte, Laver, McEnroe, Edberg or Rosewall

And yes Leconte was fantastic also. He's my wife's favorite player and one of mine also.

Agree... Rosewall, Supermac and Leconte.

 

[BringBackWood]

I've seen some players with volleys with so much backspin it bounced back on the same side. I would say the best drop volley I've seen was McEnroe however I was constantly amazed by some drop volleys Rosewall used to hit when it seemed the ball was almost passed him. Rosewall's back was literally facing the net and somehow he would angle a backhand volley sharp angled over the net for a winner. Laver was great also on the drop volley.

Nastase was great also but I always got the feeling he drop volleyed because he didn't have the penetration on the volley of players like Leconte, Laver, McEnroe, Edberg or Rosewall

And yes Leconte was fantastic also. He's my wife's favorite player and one of mine also.

Mine aswell. Those moments of magic & the way he gets the crowd going at the French. He deserved 1 RG at least.

Are you old enough to have watched Rosewall on T.V? Sorry that sounds rude haha

 

[pc1]

Mine aswell. Those moments of magic & the way he gets the crowd going at the French. He deserved 1 RG at least.

Are you old enough to have watched Rosewall on T.V? Sorry that sounds rude haha

Hate to say, I'm old enough to see Rosewall in person. By the way, that's not rude at all.

A friend of mine works at the US Open every year and he thinks Leconte is the nicest guy around.

 

[BTURNER]

Hate to say, I'm old enough to see Rosewall in person. By the way, that's not rude at all.

A friend of mine works at the US Open every year and he thinks Leconte is the nicest guy around.

Hate to say, I'm old enough to see Rosewall in person. By the way, that's not rude at all.

A friend of mine works at the US Open every year and he thinks Leconte is the nicest guy around.

Remember those Renshaw -Lawford wars of attrition at Wimbledon, especially in '87 when Lawford finally came through over Ernest with a forehand volley 6-4 in the fifth? That was great stuff, wasn't it? At least that was what I was TOLD.

 

[Benben245]

Rafter honorable mention

 

[pc1]

Remember those Renshaw -Lawford wars of attrition at Wimbledon, especially in '87 when Lawford finally came through over Ernest with a forehand volley 6-4 in the fifth? That was great stuff, wasn't it? At least that was what I was TOLD.

Unfortunately it's what I saw with Rosewall.

 

[jaggy]

Frew McMillan was very good at this

 

[sredna42]

There can be only one.
Marcelo Rios.

 

[Waspsting]

Personally, I make a distinction between 'stop' volleys and 'drop' volleys

To me, a drop volley is a short angled shot - the emphasis is on the angle

A stop volley is a short, straight shot - the emphasis is on killing the pace on the ball

Match point, Federer-Wawrinka WTF SF 2014 is an example of what I understand to be a stop volley

It's pretty rare, compared to drop volleys.... too rare to name a best practitioner for me

Borg hit a lot on grass from the few matches i've seen

On the drop volley, Rafter stands out amongst the players I've followed in real time

 

[KG1965]

Personally, I make a distinction between 'stop' volleys and 'drop' volleys

To me, a drop volley is a short angled shot - the emphasis is on the angle

A stop volley is a short, straight shot - the emphasis is on killing the pace on the ball

Match point, Federer-Wawrinka WTF SF 2014 is an example of what I understand to be a stop volley

It's pretty rare, compared to drop volleys.... too rare to name a best practitioner for me

Borg hit a lot on grass from the few matches i've seen

On the drop volley, Rafter stands out amongst the players I've followed in real time

I had never thought about this distinction, but in fact it exists: they are two different types.

 

[jrepac]

Leconte, yes. Mac for sure. Edberg. Fed. Chris Evert from the ladies

 

[Limpinhitter]

Given his reputation as a great touch player I would think Pancho Gonzalez has to be in the conversation. Otherwise, I’m going with McEnroe.

 

[BringBackWood]

Personally, I make a distinction between 'stop' volleys and 'drop' volleys

To me, a drop volley is a short angled shot - the emphasis is on the angle

A stop volley is a short, straight shot - the emphasis is on killing the pace on the ball

Match point, Federer-Wawrinka WTF SF 2014 is an example of what I understand to be a stop volley

It's pretty rare, compared to drop volleys.... too rare to name a best practitioner for me

Borg hit a lot on grass from the few matches i've seen

On the drop volley, Rafter stands out amongst the players I've followed in real time

I agree with you, I was thinking of the latter - killing the pace

 

[BringBackWood]

After watching some Edberg matches, I'm not seeing many (any) stop volleys. I think Edberg was very disciplined and went with the percentage volleys, going deep in the corners. Of course he did that exceptionally well.

 

[jaggy]

Bahrami

 

[flanker2000fr]

Mac + Leconte

 

[BTURNER]

Navratilova. She managed to reach so many impossible passes, and had such a strong wrist that she could still control it enough to drop it over.

 

[pc1]

McEnroe, Laver, Rosewall, Nastase

 

[WestboroChe]

Leconte, yes. Mac for sure. Edberg. Fed. Chris Evert from the ladies

Chris Evert? Wasn’t the joke that she approached the net once a match to shake hands?

Surely there are better candidates from the women than Evert. Martina? King? Court?

IMHO there isn’t really a difference between the stop volley and the drop volley. They both involve taking the pace out of the ball and hitting short.

 

[pc1]

Chris Evert? Wasn’t the joke that she approached the net once a match to shake hands?

Surely there are better candidates from the women than Evert. Martina? King? Court?

IMHO there isn’t really a difference between the stop volley and the drop volley. They both involve taking the pace out of the ball and hitting short.

Never thought of Evert hitting a drop volley, a drop shot yes but not a drop volley. Maybe I didn't notice.

 

[WestboroChe]

Never thought of Evert hitting a drop volley, a drop shot yes but not a drop volley. Maybe I didn't notice.

Yes she had one of the best drop shots ever. But not a volley.

 

[MLRoy]

Watch some video on YT, any match on hard/carpet/grass. Evert was an excellent volleyer. Watch one of her doubles matches. She had an especially great forehand angled volley. Great touch. As good as the other three, even with 2 hands.

 

[WestboroChe]

I’m sure she was a fine at net on the rare chances that she played there. She did play most of her career with wooden racquets.

 

[10sDog]

Actually the difference between the stop volley and drop volley is not the angle. Stop volleys are played off faster, usually higher balls with a more square racquet face. The arc is not as pronounced and the ball dies quickly due to unusual soft touch. Drop volleys are played often off slower balls but with an open racquet face. The arc is higher and spin rate can be greater. Watch the following video. At 0:27 Paire plays a exquisite drop volley, at 7:38 Lopez also plays a terrific drop volley. At 7:06 Zverev plays an angle volley (but it's not a drop or stop volley since it lacks the spin rate and is actually farther in distance). At 1:07, Djokovic plays a stop volley. You can see the racquet face not as open. It's more difficult than the drop volley. https://www.atptour.com/en/video/vi...dible-hot-shots-which-drop-volley-is-the-best

 

[Rabbit]

The best stop volley I've ever seen was Borg on grass. He used it almost exclusively when playing. I think John Barrett referred to it as a "dump" volley because it wasn't a drop volley, it was just a no pace response that died almost instantly when it hit the court. It was, in my parlance, a gorilla volley...ugly but mean.

 

[jrepac]

Never thought of Evert hitting a drop volley, a drop shot yes but not a drop volley. Maybe I didn't notice.

oh contraire....she could hit both drop and stop volleys....she had more skill than most realized in that regard

 

[PDJ]

Have watched a few matches with Leconte now, & I have to say his volleys are amazing but particulary his stop volleys, the way he put them on a sixpence off a hard pass. Mcenroe is 2nd I think but I don't think he would go for them off some the shots Henri does.

Bueno and Navratilova weren't too shabby.

 

[bluetrain4]

After watching some Edberg matches, I'm not seeing many (any) stop volleys. I think Edberg was very disciplined and went with the percentage volleys, going deep in the corners. Of course he did that exceptionally well.

Yeah, as great as he is at the net, I don't think of Edberg when I think of drop or stop volleys. Not that he never hit them, but it wasn't this thing. He had great penetration with his volley so he seemed to just focus on hitting deep and firm or short at an angle and firm.

 

[andreh]

Yeah, as great as he is at the net, I don't think of Edberg when I think of drop or stop volleys. Not that he never hit them, but it wasn't this thing. He had great penetration with his volley so he seemed to just focus on hitting deep and firm or short at an angle and firm.

Agree. Edberg was the master at deep to one corner, then short angeled in the other. Touch was secondary in his game. Not that he was bad at it, or anything, it just wasn't his primary strategry.

 

[BTURNER]

Never thought of Evert hitting a drop volley, a drop shot yes but not a drop volley. Maybe I didn't notice.

Evert had a fine drop volley but I doubt it was better than the great volleyers of her era. It was her set up that made it work so consistently. She picked her time, her opponent and surface well. Remember so much of her net game was ultimately as much about the quality and choice of her approach shot, as it was the execution of the volley. Her favorite approach was off her forehand, usually deep to the 'weak' wing, and her approaches were infrequent enough that her opponent was never super grooved on that pass and hadn't enough opportunities to 'read' a pattern in her drop volley. She certainly was very comfortable hitting drop volleys especially on clay when it was a little harder for her opponent to get great traction on that first couple of steps foreward.

 

[skaj]

Nalbandian was also excellent at executing stop volleys.