How is your swinging volley?

S&V-not_dead_yet

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
I've never attempted the 2HBH SV in a match.

My emphasis is on the FH: I rarely hit it well; it usually goes too middle, whether I'm hitting CC or IO. I guess I don't have enough faith that the TS will bring the ball back down.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
I've never attempted the 2HBH SV in a match.

My emphasis is on the FH: I rarely hit it well; it usually goes too middle, whether I'm hitting CC or IO. I guess I don't have enough faith that the TS will bring the ball back down.
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I don't know what situations to use backhand swing volley.
 
johnmccabe said:
I don't know what situations to use backhand swing volley.
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When you want to be more aggressive than a regular volley, you don't have time to run around it and hit an OH, nor are you ambidextrous enough to hit an off-hand OH.

Watch the pros [my perception is that it's used a lot more on the WTA vs ATP].
 
I do the one handed SV from time to time. Most of the time dtl because it gives less time for the opponent. The secret for safety is to load with TS.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
When you want to be more aggressive than a regular volley, you don't have time to run around it and hit an OH, nor are you ambidextrous enough to hit an off-hand OH.

Watch the pros [my perception is that it's used a lot more on the WTA vs ATP].
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If it's high enough, I prefer a backhand overhead. If not, then a volley. I practiced bh sv a couple of times with coach, but never find a good time to use it in matches.
 
johnmccabe said:
If it's high enough, I prefer a backhand overhead. If not, then a volley. I practiced bh sv a couple of times with coach, but never find a good time to use it in matches.
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My HS coach [and many others] said that the BH OH was the most difficult shot in tennis. Even at 4.5, it's rare to see someone do it well. And I would [try to] use it when I'm already at net and someone lobbed over my BH side.

But a SV I'd use on my way to the net, typically the shot after the serve or approach. My other choice is a high BH volley, which is conservative but not nearly as thrilling.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
My HS coach [and many others] said that the BH OH was the most difficult shot in tennis. Even at 4.5, it's rare to see someone do it well. And I would [try to] use it when I'm already at net and someone lobbed over my BH side.

But a SV I'd use on my way to the net, typically the shot after the serve or approach. My other choice is a high BH volley, which is conservative but not nearly as thrilling.
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Good point. I'll try sv next time moving forward to attack a mid height ball.
 
johnmccabe said:
I don't know what situations to use backhand swing volley.
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I have a 1HBH for groundies and volleys too, of course, but have developed a swinging 2HBH for putaways on sitters close to the net, whether volleys or not. I call it my Tracy Austin shot and I do a little squeal when I hit it.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
I've never attempted the 2HBH SV in a match.

My emphasis is on the FH: I rarely hit it well; it usually goes too middle, whether I'm hitting CC or IO. I guess I don't have enough faith that the TS will bring the ball back down.
Click to expand...
If volleys were options like in Terminator, Swinging Volley would never ever ever ever appear for me. Its not a thing...
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
I've never attempted the 2HBH SV in a match.

My emphasis is on the FH: I rarely hit it well; it usually goes too middle, whether I'm hitting CC or IO. I guess I don't have enough faith that the TS will bring the ball back down.
Click to expand...
I hit only FH swinging volleys and avoid it on the 1HBH where I’ll just hit a high BH volley. Most of the time, I hit swinging volleys when opponents are hitting a lot of slow moonballs and so, I have to generate my own pace to make it a forcing approach or winner.

I noticed that the key on the FH SV to get some pop is to have forward momentum and swing through the shot while continuing to move forward. Whenever I pause my momentum, stop and swing with body weight or torso leaning backwards, I either dump it into the net or don’t hit it hard enough. I also try to put some topspin on the swinging volley, but not heavy topspin as otherwise I end up not hitting it deep enough or hard enough.
 
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LuckyR said:
I have a 1HBH for groundies and volleys too, of course, but have developed a swinging 2HBH for putaways on sitters close to the net, whether volleys or not. I call it my Tracy Austin shot and I do a little squeal when I hit it.
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That's so weird. I'm the total opposite.

I use 2H for (most) rally balls and service returns, but on the sitters close to the net I'm using a high 1H topspin swinging volley
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
I've never attempted the 2HBH SV in a match.

My emphasis is on the FH: I rarely hit it well; it usually goes too middle, whether I'm hitting CC or IO. I guess I don't have enough faith that the TS will bring the ball back down.
Click to expand...
You really just have to practice it over and over until you hit it with confidence. And keep in mind that, while a normal groundstroke is not low to high, that doesn't work on a swinging volley; you need to go from high to higher. You should be making contact chest to shoulder height, swinging fast, and making sure to still brush up on the ball. Some people are actually more comfortable with swinging volleys on the backhand side for the stability with the second hand; it's almost unheard of with a one-handed backhand though (not completely extinct, just extremely rare).

My swinging volleys are just okay these days. My forehand one used to be pretty solid, backhand was never really used in matches (I have a one-have) unless I was winning somewhat easily so it didn't have to be great.
Curious said:
Does swinging volley have to have top spin? Why not slice?
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Yes, a swinging volley is a topspin shot. If you're hitting a slice, it's not a proper swinging volley.
 
LeeD said:
A good regular side/underpin volley puts the ball away just fine.
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If you are close enough to the net or your opponent has left a huge enough space on one side of the court where you can hit a winner with a traditional volley, go for it.

You hit a swinging volley usually from further back in the court off high balls where taking it in the air takes time away from your opponent more effectively than the alternative of going back and hitting a groundstroke. It is a needed strategy against moonballers in particular who want to push you back with high, slow balls and the swinging volley allows you to hit a harder volley than a conventional deep volley.
 
Isn't a swinging volley a situational shot? As in, shouldn't it only be used when you have a relatively slow sitter, and can make contact above your belly button and up to about the top of your head? To me, it's such a situational shot, I say why bother. A conventional underpin volley works fine and you can hit it firmly too. If you want to learn a swinging volley, shouldn't you learn a conventional volley first because you can use it on any ball as it works for fast balls, slow balls, high ball, low balls, etc... Most of the best volleyers in history didn't hit a swinging volley or they hit it rarely on the right ball.
 
TennisCJC said:
Isn't a swinging volley a situational shot? As in, shouldn't it only be used when you have a relatively slow sitter, and can make contact above your belly button and up to about the top of your head? To me, it's such a situational shot, I say why bother. A conventional underpin volley works fine and you can hit it firmly too. If you want to learn a swinging volley, shouldn't you learn a conventional volley first because you can use it on any ball as it works for fast balls, slow balls, high ball, low balls, etc... Most of the best volleyers in history didn't hit a swinging volley or they hit it rarely on the right ball.
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You're right, it's definitely more important to learn a regular volley, and a swinging volley is a much more situational shot. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to hit it. It's a shot that you definitely can do without, but it's also a shot that can be very helpful and effective in the right situation. It's not a shot I would teach to anyone that wasn't very serious and competitive though (unless someone specifically asks to learn it) because it is very situational and difficult.
 
Pushers are supposed to be gatekeepers to higher levels. If they are moonballing pushers, swinging volleys can help to deal with them. Once you are decent at regular volleys and overheads, it might be good to maybe practice this situational shot also maybe as often as your practice lobs, drop shots etc.
 
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LeeD said:
A good regular side/underpin volley puts the ball away just fine.
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Most of the time, I hit SVs around NML. A regular volley might work but the SV advantage is it moves much more quickly through the court, halfway between volley speed and OH speed.
 
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LeeD said:
Placement with depth control puts it away every time
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There's a tradeoff: if the putaway requires more placement and depth control than I reliably can execute, I'm going to miss on some of these and my opponent will be able to run down others.

The SV takes time away and relies more on power than precision. The downside is that it also requires a certain amount of execution and that's what I'm lacking.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
There's a tradeoff: if the putaway requires more placement and depth control than I reliably can execute, I'm going to miss on some of these and my opponent will be able to run down others.

The SV takes time away and relies more on power than precision. The downside is that it also requires a certain amount of execution and that's what I'm lacking.
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For some reason the FH SV has always worked well for me, but no coach ever told me when to use it so I hadn't really incorporated it into matches for a while. Maybe because my TS forehand has always been my best shot. When I hit it feels like I'm hitting a heavy TS approach but I'm taking the ball out of the air instead of letting it bounce first. I go for big, general targets. Usually deep into the BH corner and come in behind it.

I use it on high balls that are dropping in a way that would be a bit awkward to time for a conventical volley and when I'm trying to take time away from my opponent. I just used it a few times vs. a dinker/pusher opponent and it definitely surprised him.
 
PRS said:
You're right, it's definitely more important to learn a regular volley, and a swinging volley is a much more situational shot. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to hit it. It's a shot that you definitely can do without, but it's also a shot that can be very helpful and effective in the right situation. It's not a shot I would teach to anyone that wasn't very serious and competitive though (unless someone specifically asks to learn it) because it is very situational and difficult.
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Agreed. I think if you are coaching people that can realistic can play at a high level, it makes sense to learn a swinging volley. But, I see a lot of rec players that overuse the swinging volley and use it in bad situations such as when your opponent has hit a good passing shot.
 
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S&V-not_dead_yet said:
I've never attempted the 2HBH SV in a match.

My emphasis is on the FH: I rarely hit it well; it usually goes too middle, whether I'm hitting CC or IO. I guess I don't have enough faith that the TS will bring the ball back down.
Click to expand...
i always tell my daughter to swing at any ball that is long past the baseline (fh or 2hbh)... specifically so she can get practice hitting swinging volleys :)
 
The swinging volley taking away the moonball in singles is my holy grail shot. If the ball is high enough I'd rather hit an overhead. But I have started to practice these in doubles clinics. If I ever hit one in a match it's bc the ball is lofty and slow but not high enough for an overhead - and I'm feeling supremely confident. I see a lot of women at 4.0 and 4.5 who like a bh swinging volley. Key for me is elbow up.
 
@S&V-not_dead_yet
Based on your personal experience what would be the breakdown of your volleys say you look at the stats of your 100 volleys played in serve and volley points?
Low, high, swinging, half, 'normal' volley percentages?
 
TennisCJC said:
Isn't a swinging volley a situational shot? As in, shouldn't it only be used when you have a relatively slow sitter, and can make contact above your belly button and up to about the top of your head? To me, it's such a situational shot, I say why bother. A conventional underpin volley works fine and you can hit it firmly too. If you want to learn a swinging volley, shouldn't you learn a conventional volley first because you can use it on any ball as it works for fast balls, slow balls, high ball, low balls, etc... Most of the best volleyers in history didn't hit a swinging volley or they hit it rarely on the right ball.
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Agree. I'm waiting for the cameras to catch the first time that a coach's head explodes on live TV when that coach's player sprays yet another swinging volley into oblivion at yet another critical point of a match. Too much of a low-percentage hero shot in my book. Conventional volley skills are just as relevant now as they've been through recent history.
 
Mine are either straight winners that feel incredible or framed. The slow floaters hit from mid-court, I back myself to make more than 50%. A decent return, hit at head height is another story. I think I'm too focused on hitting a volley after the serve, and the adjustment to a swinging volley throws me off. I might make 1/10, and that's generous.
 
Probably one of my weakest shots. It’s not something I ever was taught or even encouraged to try. I typically end up hitting it weak down the middle or one special occasion on the line. I should work on it as it’s sometimes hard to hit a normal volley on a ball you should hit a swing volley on. But it can be overused but it’s a great shot to have along with good volleys.
 
AlexSV said:
Mine are either straight winners that feel incredible or framed. The slow floaters hit from mid-court, I back myself to make more than 50%. A decent return, hit at head height is another story. I think I'm too focused on hitting a volley after the serve, and the adjustment to a swinging volley throws me off. I might make 1/10, and that's generous.
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It could be because you're in a Continental grip as you're approaching the net and have to switch FH grips [I only have to move to Eastern but some might be going to SW].
 
fuzz nation said:
Agree. I'm waiting for the cameras to catch the first time that a coach's head explodes on live TV when that coach's player sprays yet another swinging volley into oblivion at yet another critical point of a match. Too much of a low-percentage hero shot in my book. Conventional volley skills are just as relevant now as they've been through recent history.
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If I'm close to the net and can angle the volley off gently, sure, no need for a SV.

if I'm behind the BL and get a high, floater to my FH, I will definitely consider it.

My decision is also driven by how well I've been hitting that shot that match.
 
Mine are pretty good. I'm hitting more of them now because my arm issues have made OHs less comfortable.

One of my talents is being able to hit OHs from almost anywhere on the court since I'm so little. I do the Kerber knee bend and just hit an OH. But with a torn cuff, that's a lot more painful. So I've been practicing the FH and 1HBH swingers lately.
 
Rosstour said:
Mine are pretty good. I'm hitting more of them now because my arm issues have made OHs less comfortable.

One of my talents is being able to hit OHs from almost anywhere on the court since I'm so little. I do the Kerber knee bend and just hit an OH. But with a torn cuff, that's a lot more painful. So I've been practicing the FH and 1HBH swingers lately.
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Rare [and beautiful] to see a well-executed 1HBH SV.
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Rare [and beautiful] to see a well-executed 1HBH SV.
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Thanks! But, let's be real, I'm not saying I do this all the time.

But I never hit them with 2H. If I'm doing it at all, it's 1H. Two hands are just too awkward in a situation where reach is already an issue.

I've been working on my 1HBH generally a lot in the past year or so, and this is part of it.
 
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