High BH Volley/OverHead Tips

[WisconsinPlayer]

Does anyone have any tips or videos on how to improve my high backhand volleys, and my overheads? For my backhand volley I will usually get too much air under the ball and I dont put it away, giving a chance for my opponent to hit a passing shot. During my overheads I will mishit them either near the throat or at the top of my racquet or I hit them long.

I feel like my form for both is alright, but some tips and reminders of how to properly hit these shots would be great.

 

[jm1980]

Does anyone have any tips or videos on how to improve my high backhand volleys, and my overheads? For my backhand volley I will usually get too much air under the ball and I dont put it away, giving a chance for my opponent to hit a passing shot. During my overheads I will mishit them either near the throat or at the top of my racquet or I hit them long.

I feel like my form for both is alright, but some tips and reminders of how to properly hit these shots would be great.

High BH volley:

• Close the racquet face if you think there's too much air under the ball.
• You can try snapping the wrist back (extension) for some extra pop, but it's a tough shot either way.
• 90% of the time players will hit this shot CC, so your opponent is probably anticipating this

Overheads:

• Focus on getting the contact point out in front and at a comfortable height.
• Move your feet to position yourself properly.
• Add some slice for more margin, depending on how comfortable you are with overheads
• Be prepared to possibly hit another overhead or a putaway volley
• It's not the end of the world if the smash doesn't clear the fence. Sometimes angling it off is a smarter play than blasting it as hard as you can

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Just to be clear: you're not talking about a BH overhead, right?

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

Just to be clear: you're not talking about a BH overhead, right?

Correct, high backhand volleys, and normal overhead tips. Although backhand overhead tips would be nice too I guess, although they're rare

 

[mntlblok]

Correct, high backhand volleys, and normal overhead tips. Although backhand overhead tips would be nice too I guess, although they're rare

Got a video to post?

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Correct, high backhand volleys, and normal overhead tips. Although backhand overhead tips would be nice too I guess, although they're rare

@jm1980 already posted some great tips.

The BH OH is tough and it's never-practiced [or, maybe I should write "because it's never practiced"]. I watch Federer hit this shot and several have commented on the similarity with badminton. I've actually yet to watch a video dedicated to this shot.

I can't get any snap without completely compromising my consistency so I settle for placement. More often than not, I will go DTL because I think my opponent is anticipating CC. I win a surprising # of points by wrong-footing my opponent even though the shot itself didn't have much power.

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

Got a video to post?

Nope, sadly its impossible to set up a camera in the indoor court we have (the curtains are like 30 feet high) And I dont have a tripod so

@jm1980 already posted some great tips.

The BH OH is tough and it's never-practiced [or, maybe I should write "because it's never practiced"]. I watch Federer hit this shot and several have commented on the similarity with badminton. I've actually yet to watch a video dedicated to this shot.

I can't get any snap without completely compromising my consistency so I settle for placement. More often than not, I will go DTL because I think my opponent is anticipating CC. I win a surprising # of points by wrong-footing my opponent even though the shot itself didn't have much power.

Ah, he updated his post, earlier he just said to take the overhead in front and to have good positioning

 

[kiteboard]

Yank your non dom arm down, which pulls the dom shoulder up and into the shot. Bh overhead, get hips parallel to doubles line, let the frame hang back all the way down, loosely, and snap it up and forward: contact point is a full shoulder width in front than the fh overhead. Ie, to practice, snap it down on top of the net, or use the wall.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Ah, he updated his post, earlier he just said to take the overhead in front and to have good positioning

I'd continue along his lines by noting that many people panic when faced with a lob because they think there is an unwritten rule that says you have to put away the OH. So they try for too much and blow it.

When I go to drills, one of the differences I notice with the 5.0+ group is their competence in OHs. Lower than that and the defending team more often wins due to errors by the offense.

When I get a lob, I'm trying to figure out how well positioned both I and my opponent are. The better the former and the worse the latter, the more likely I'll try for the putaway [doesn't mean I have to hit it hard, though; angles are your friend]. But if it's the reverse, I will try to hit a high % OH and make him come up with a better lob [it's tough to hit a GS off of an OH; the likely response will be another lob if you can hit the OH relatively deeply]. Sometimes, they don't and I get an easier lob.

I may have a lower "winner" % but it more than balances out by making less UEs. Maybe view the first OH as a setup shot under certain circumstances [your position is poor]: the goal is to get it in and challenge your opponent. You might find this approach relieves much of the pressure of that first OH.

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

Yank your non dom arm down, which pulls the dom shoulder up and into the shot. Bh overhead, get hips parallel to doubles line, let the frame hang back all the way down, loosely, and snap it up and forward: contact point is a full shoulder width in front than the fh overhead. Ie, to practice, snap it down on top of the net, or use the wall.

Hmm so contact point should be about 2 feet in front on the BH overhead, is this about the same for high-ish floating shots to the bh volley?

I'd continue along his lines by noting that many people panic when faced with a lob because they think there is an unwritten rule that says you have to put away the OH. So they try for too much and blow it.

When I go to drills, one of the differences I notice with the 5.0+ group is their competence in OHs. Lower than that and the defending team more often wins due to errors by the offense.

When I get a lob, I'm trying to figure out how well positioned both I and my opponent are. The better the former and the worse the latter, the more likely I'll try for the putaway [doesn't mean I have to hit it hard, though; angles are your friend]. But if it's the reverse, I will try to hit a high % OH and make him come up with a better lob [it's tough to hit a GS off of an OH; the likely response will be another lob if you can hit the OH relatively deeply]. Sometimes, they don't and I get an easier lob.

I may have a lower "winner" % but it more than balances out by making less UEs. Maybe view the first OH as a setup shot under certain circumstances [your position is poor]: the goal is to get it in and challenge your opponent. You might find this approach relieves much of the pressure of that first OH.

I think its a mental problem for most of my OH errors as this as been my weakest shot throughout the whole time I've played tennis. I'm just going to practice them more often than I have in the past so I'm more comfortable with them.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I think its a mental problem for most of my OH errors as this as been my weakest shot throughout the whole time I've played tennis. I'm just going to practice them more often than I have in the past so I'm more comfortable with them.

Then I recommend a progression where you start relatively close to the net [5' away] and simply work on getting comfortable with the swing. Don't try to hit winners, don't try to bounce the ball over the back fence, don't try to hit extreme angles. Just a consistent, steady, 60% power stroke. The feeds should be "OH friendly", meaning you don't have to move too much [yet].

Once you're grooved, move back to the service line. Get the groove again.

Then, have the feed increase in difficulty. Work hard on footwork and positioning because these are where most errors are made.

The advanced part is the scissor kick and hitting OHs even though you might be more than halfway between SL & BL and fading over to your BH side.

Note that you can do this against a wall: it will be awkward at first because it takes a certain type of stroke to keep the rally going. Hit the OH down on the ground but close to the wall [within a few feet: the further away the contact point is from the wall, the flatter the trajectory of the rebounding ball and this isn't going to simulate a lob]. You'll have to experiment. And hit very easy at first to gauge the rebound. The taller the wall, the easier the drill [you might find yourself bouncing your OH over the wall otherwise].

Once you get comfortable, you should be able to continue a rally for 10+ OHs.

Even better, find a practice partner who wants to work on their lobs. And make sure to eventually switch positions.

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

Then I recommend a progression where you start relatively close to the net [5' away] and simply work on getting comfortable with the swing. Don't try to hit winners, don't try to bounce the ball over the back fence, don't try to hit extreme angles. Just a consistent, steady, 60% power stroke. The feeds should be "OH friendly", meaning you don't have to move too much [yet].

Once you're grooved, move back to the service line. Get the groove again.

Then, have the feed increase in difficulty. Work hard on footwork and positioning because these are where most errors are made.

The advanced part is the scissor kick and hitting OHs even though you might be more than halfway between SL & BL and fading over to your BH side.

Note that you can do this against a wall: it will be awkward at first because it takes a certain type of stroke to keep the rally going. Hit the OH down on the ground but close to the wall [within a few feet: the further away the contact point is from the wall, the flatter the trajectory of the rebounding ball and this isn't going to simulate a lob]. You'll have to experiment. And hit very easy at first to gauge the rebound. The taller the wall, the easier the drill [you might find yourself bouncing your OH over the wall otherwise].

Once you get comfortable, you should be able to continue a rally for 10+ OHs.

Even better, find a practice partner who wants to work on their lobs. And make sure to eventually switch positions.

Thanks! Strangely enough in matches I hit better overheads while being forced to move backwards towards the service line. My reasoning for this is that I have to focus on moving back and therefore dont have time tovdoubt myself

 

[kiteboard]

Hmm so contact point should be about 2 feet in front on the BH overhead, is this about the same for high-ish floating shots to the bh volley?

I think its a mental problem for most of my OH errors as this as been my weakest shot throughout the whole time I've played tennis. I'm just going to practice them more often than I have in the past so I'm more comfortable with them.

Yes it is that far out front on a high bh volley.

 

[FiReFTW]

You need to use ur wrist on the backhand overhead, and snap the raquet backwards and back again, almost like you wanted to swat a fly behind you. Otherwise the shot will be crappy, but of course it takes some practice.
Check federer on youtube and slow the video down, he is a master of this shot.

Its one of the most fun shots to hit!

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

You need to use ur wrist on the backhand overhead, and snap the raquet backwards and back again, almost like you wanted to swat a fly behind you. Otherwise the shot will be crappy, but of course it takes some practice.
Check federer on youtube and slow the video down, he is a master of this shot.

Its one of the most fun shots to hit!

Interesting I never noticed that recoil before, Ill have to try it out

 

[movdqa]

Does anyone have any tips or videos on how to improve my high backhand volleys, and my overheads? For my backhand volley I will usually get too much air under the ball and I dont put it away, giving a chance for my opponent to hit a passing shot. During my overheads I will mishit them either near the throat or at the top of my racquet or I hit them long.

I feel like my form for both is alright, but some tips and reminders of how to properly hit these shots would be great.

I think that someone else addressed the issue of racquet face angle so some practice with different height shots might help. I find that playing serve-and-volley doubles gives you lots of practice on all kinds of volleys.

It may also be about where you are placing your volleys. You don't necessarily have to put away the first volley but a high one should give you a better chance at placing it in a more uncomfortable spot for your opponent.