Fh volley on various shots. Advice

[halalula1234]

HI there. what seems to be the weakest part of my game is i would say my fh volley. Its fine most of the time but recently it breaks down i havent been playing for a while due to the weather .

I was wondering how to deal with these shots when at the net.

- they hit a low paceless ball which is hard to volley a winner without making it go into the net

- When they hit a fast dipping low ball or

- just a normal dipping ball



thanks.

 

[Jonny S&V]

HI there. what seems to be the weakest part of my game is i would say my fh volley. Its fine most of the time but recently it breaks down i havent been playing for a while due to the weather .

I was wondering how to deal with these shots when at the net.

- they hit a low paceless ball which is hard to volley a winner without making it go into the net

- When they hit a fast dipping low ball or

- just a normal dipping ball



thanks.

The forehand volley is really the most un-natural stroke in tennis (at least the kick serve resembles a throwing motion to a point).

If you get the low ball, you have three options: the drop-volley, the "shove" and get it as deep as possible (not worrying about keeping it low), or the classic back up and hit a groundstroke/half-volley. If you're opponent is out of court, I would personally be most comfortable with the drop volley (or angle volley). If it's a sitter and letting it bounce is an option, you might as well take it. On the other hand, if you opponent hits you the no-pace dipper from the middle of the court, I would go for the drop-volley or the deep shove.

I'm a very confident in my drop-volleys, however, and would probably go with that shot in all three instances. This is one of those situations that would require you to experiment.

 

[paulfreda]

I will assume you use a continental grip for volleys.

Most people have trouble with FH volleys if they try to hit it out front, especially on a high ball.
The wrist simply does not want to be in that position. To see this, put the racquet out front and a bit to the side for hitting a high ball.
Then grip the handle and you can see how hard it is to hold a continental grip if the strings are facing the net.
The solution is to let the ball come back to your body and hit it later.
Then the wrist can be in proper and strong position.

But your post says you have trouble with low volleys.
So my guess is you feel you get no power on these to hit winners.
And the answer to this is not trying to get a winner with power, but rather with good placement.
Especially in singles, the opponent can not cover the whole court and there will always be one or two spots that are difficult to get to.
Practice putting low volleys to ANY spot on the court and this problem will disappear.

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

I will assume you use a continental grip for volleys.

Most people have trouble with FH volleys if they try to hit it out front, especially on a high ball.
The wrist simply does not want to be in that position. To see this, put the racquet out front and a bit to the side for hitting a high ball.
Then grip the handle and you can see how hard it is to hold a continental grip if the strings are facing the net.
The solution is to let the ball come back to your body and hit it later.
Then the wrist can be in proper and strong position.

But your post says you have trouble with low volleys.
So my guess is you feel you get no power on these to hit winners.
And the answer to this is not trying to get a winner with power, but rather with good placement.
Especially in singles, the opponent can not cover the whole court and there will always be one or two spots that are difficult to get to.
Practice putting low volleys to ANY spot on the court and this problem will disappear.

Yeah, the higher balls are tough for me. My coach actually had me move a bit towards the eastern FH grip and my volleys were much cleaner with enough backspin to get the job done. I only shift it subtly on the higher balls though, not a total FH grip.

 

[ManuGinobili]

Well in practice let's focus on placing all balls deep first.... If you get that volley right, you have a dependable move to fall back on. Pete Sampras said if he didn't see the chance for a winner, he would volley it straight down the middle at the opponent and put pressure on the guy. So you don't always have to do somethin amazing u know

 

[LeeD]

I'm with #4 on this.
A conti grip with a slight twist towards EFH gives you plenty of power for forehand volleys and you can just swing longer for the backhand volleys with shoulder turn.
You need to hit thru the ball on slow moving incomers. Longer contact point, you moving forwards.
On fast balls, you need to block it back using the fast pace.
On low dippers, you have to use your legs and whole body to get the long contact point. Since the point is half lost already, go for a deep, forcing volley rather than a defensive get. You got nothing to lose.

 

[charliefedererer]

You need to hit a lot more forehand volleys.

Just hitting them in match conditions or the ten volleys you get in a warm up will not ingrain you with the "muscle memory" or touch you need to be a good volleyer.

You need a hitting partner, coach or ball machine (ball machines are great for this) to hit you thousands of balls you can volley, practicing all three of the situations you provide above, until you own this shot. (Even hitting volleys against a wall can develop some feel and touch, but are obviously are no help for placement.)

And of course it always feels different under match conditions, and you will often be more rushed, but even following the excellent above advice will only yeild results with a lot of practice.

 

[fuzz nation]

When a smart opponent sees you moving in on the net, one of the safe shots they can make is something that's pretty much underneath your strike zone. Those low dippers you're describing essentially put the net in your way, so you're forced to hit a touch shot instead of popping a sharp volley that penetrates the court.

To retain more control over those touch volleys down low, it's crucial to get yourself low so that your volleying mechanics don't break down. If you stay too upright and let the racquet dangle below your hand, you'll easily lose control over the racquet face.

If you can keep the racquet head above your hand and more or less retain the "L" that's formed between your forearm and the throat of your racquet, you can maintain a more consistent angle on the racquet face. Even with a ball that's barely off the surface of the court, you can't get your hand below the ball, but the move to get down to the ball can still keep that vital "L" together for better control.

Since you probably can't volley too many winners off those dippers aside from an occasional drop shot, look to place your volley so that your opponent will be pulled out of position. Use it as a set up so that your next ball can be toward an open court.

 

[LeeD]

Read #4 again....
JohnMcEnroe would argue your point about keeping the L and not dipping the racket.
Personally, I don't consider John a good example of volleying technique. Great results, yes.

 

[Nellie]

It seems like you are struggling with the low forehand volleys-

(1) are you using a continental grip?

(2) are you bending your knees, keeping the handle of the racquet below the racquet head? Ideally, you have the best control when the racquet face is pretty much around your shoulder.

3) are you angling back the face of the racquet and hitting the volley by turning sideways and stepping through with your feet (with minimal arm movement) or are you chopping down at the shot?

4) with the lower balls, you need to hit over the net so you need to either move aggressively forward to get the ball when high or to hit the ball with enough arch to get over the net.

 

[LeeD]

It's IMPOSSIBLE to keep your hand lower than your rackethead on low volleys! If you can, the volley is shin high or higher, and not a real low volley.
Some instructional tapes even say that! I say it, because I hit shoetop volleys all the time. You HAVE to dip the rackethead below your hands on volleys lower than mid shin. Whatcha dink of doing? Scraping your knuckles?

 

[fuzz nation]

Read #8 again...

Yeah, J-Mac isn't the prime example for sound volleying in my opinion, but MAN did he pull off some shots.

 

[Slazenger07]

If the ball is coming in slowly I try to knife it down into the court. If high enough I just spike it with a smash. If the ball is dipping slowly I will usually play a drop volley as I feel this is a great shot to play off of these slow, spinny, tricky balls. If its dipping fast Ill either use feathery touch and drop volley it or stay firm and hit a nice penetrating low volley (bending the knees, not the waist, keeping the racquet head up and wrist firm) that should hopefully win the point or set me up to win it on the next shot.

 

[paulfreda]

How can people say or imply that JMac's volley is not sound ??
His results make it not only sound, but possibly a viable and equally fundamental alternative on low balls.

And why is keeping the strings above the hand sacred advice ?
The purpose of hand below strings is to maintain a solid locked wrist to provide power. But to say it has to be there on ALL volleys is folly IMO. Mindless adherence to a rule.

 

[Nellie]

It's IMPOSSIBLE to keep your hand lower than your rackethead on low volleys! If you can, the volley is shin high or higher, and not a real low volley.
Some instructional tapes even say that! I say it, because I hit shoetop volleys all the time. You HAVE to dip the rackethead below your hands on volleys lower than mid shin. Whatcha dink of doing? Scraping your knuckles?

Obviously, if the ball is right on the ground, you need to scoop it up, but you can get the handle under the ball until it is less than 8 inches

Furthermore, the visual concept of bending the knees and getting the racket under the ball (without lurching over with the back to lose balance) is fundamental to hitting good low volleys.

 

[fuzz nation]

When you let your wrist straighten out and allow the racquet to dangle below your hand for a volley, any move in your arm or wrist will change the angle of your racquet face. Controlling volleys like that is nearly miraculous - that's half the reason why John McEnroe's volleys were so mesmerizing. His touch and control with that unconventional technique was almost supernatural.

When maintaining that "L" that's formed between the forearm and the racquet throughout a volley, the angle of the racquet face is typically much more steady and predictable. Try holding the racquet both ways while keeping the racquet, wrist, and arm as a single unit. If you move that entire unit from the shoulder, you'll see the racquet's angle alter more quickly with the straight arm/racquet combo than when maintaining the angle or the "L".

 

[LeeD]

JohnMcEnroe has one of the greatest volleys ever.
OTOH, if you tried his technique, it won't work at all. Maybe it works for one out of 50,000 tennis players, but only ONE.
He does tend to lock out his wrist on all shots. It works for him and only him.
You may try to copy his style, but it will be a couple wasted weeks of tennis practice for anyone not named JohnMcEnroe.

 

[Jonny S&V]

JohnMcEnroe has one of the greatest volleys ever.
OTOH, if you tried his technique, it won't work at all. Maybe it works for one out of 50,000 tennis players, but only ONE.
He does tend to lock out his wrist on all shots. It works for him and only him.
You may try to copy his style, but it will be a couple wasted weeks of tennis practice for anyone not named JohnMcEnroe.

I think I may actually be one of that 50,000, but still bend my knees more than he did. You HAVE to drop the wrist, and it doesn't mean you're lazy...

 

[kiteboard]

Obviously, if the ball is right on the ground, you need to scoop it up, but you can get the handle under the ball until it is less than 8 inches

Furthermore, the visual concept of bending the knees and getting the racket under the ball (without lurching over with the back to lose balance) is fundamental to hitting good low volleys.

NOt really. Pat cash and mac would differ. The ankle volley is why the pusher can beat a volleyer. The low slice shots they perfect are hard to deal with. It's a touch shot, which is often dropped. If you reach out for it, or try to bend your knees down to it too much, you will miss. It's like catching an egg. Take your hand back a little, just as you would when catching an egg thrown at you so as not to break it, and drop dtl, and take away all options but a lob, unless they are out of court, and then cc drop.

 

[halalula1234]

OK. yes i am using a conti grip sometimes a little towards the eastern but never fully eastern.

I have improved a lot after my last match i figured out why it has improve so much and no longer such a weakness, the thing is i was using to much wrist or flicky wrist thing, so i tryied to keep my wrist straight most of the time not flicking it too much maybe i did slip when trying for a drop volley. But it works. so i just need to remember to be confident and keep the wrist straight not wristy. Thanks for the help