i cant volley....what are the top tips?

[vandyer]

hi guys, by far the weakest shop is my volleying....ive been playing some some older, experienced and serve and volley players during the past few months, they've all given me various advice on how to improve my volleying.

Is there and tops tips?

if it helps, i, and other people notice that i far too often arnt looking at the ball when volleying....how can i improve?

 

[FedExpress 333]

Continental Grip
Keep a firm wrist
Slight downward motion, a bit more on the BH volley
Cross step whenever you have time
Keep head and eyes on contact point
Bend your knees, not your waist.

 

[gpt]

....and try to and keep racquet head above wrist

 

[vandyer]

should i be bending wrist or bending arm?

 

[USERNAME]

Conti grip always
FEET, FEET, FEET
Bend those knees to line up for your shot
Keep the motion short and sweet
Make contact out in front
Follow through the ball (dont just stop)
And the one that 90% of rec players and many "advanced" players forget, EYES ON THE DANG BALL

 

[USERNAME]

should i be bending wrist or bending arm?

To get your racquet on the ball? Neither, bend the knees. Also you have to force yourself to track the ball with your eyes and head, thats just something you have to grind into yourself.

 

[tennis_balla]

Best advice I ever read was given by Patrick Rafter during his prime. "Volley with your feet, not your hands"

 

[vandyer]

thank you all for the advice....will try it out tomorrow....

 

[dozu]

learn how to slice from both wings, then you automatically have good volleys.

 

[BounceHitBounceHit]

Best advice I ever read was given by Patrick Rafter during his prime. "Volley with your feet, not your hands"

Yep. By attacking the ball w/ aggressive footwork at net you get excellent 'stick' by virtue of weight transfer, NOT movement of the racquet head. This is THE KEY, IMO. BHBH

 

[KillSwitch Engage]

learn how to slice from both wings, then you automatically have good volleys.

That's all good but you also need good anticipation up at the net. Staying back to slice not so much. Like someone said above me, footwork is the main thing.

 

[dozu]

That's all good but you also need good anticipation up at the net. Staying back to slice not so much. Like someone said above me, footwork is the main thing.

no doubt anticipation is big.

but in terms of 'footwork being the key'... that is correct also, but still this key falls in the stroke production category, not the 'anticipation' category.

good slices teach 2 things - racket face control (wiping the windshield), and weight transfer (pushing the windshield forward).... once player has these 2 elements, footwork becomes automatic (in order to push the windshield forward).

Rafter did say volley with the feet, but for him the upper body is already automatic.... you tell a weekend hack to volley with the feet, he is still gonna spray all of them... I believe in teaching/learning from the contact point, backwards to the feet..... such should apply to the volleys also...

the anticipation part, I think is mostly a matter of practice.... playing a ton at the net, the brain will start to pick up some patterns.... just get passed enough times, coverage will automatically get better.

 

[KillSwitch Engage]

no doubt anticipation is big.

but in terms of 'footwork being the key'... that is correct also, but still this key falls in the stroke production category, not the 'anticipation' category.

good slices teach 2 things - racket face control (wiping the windshield), and weight transfer (pushing the windshield forward).... once player has these 2 elements, footwork becomes automatic (in order to push the windshield forward).

Rafter did say volley with the feet, but for him the upper body is already automatic.... you tell a weekend hack to volley with the feet, he is still gonna spray all of them... I believe in teaching/learning from the contact point, backwards to the feet..... such should apply to the volleys also...

the anticipation part, I think is mostly a matter of practice.... playing a ton at the net, the brain will start to pick up some patterns.

I see. You mean in terms of mechanics (because anticipation is more instinctive/mental), if you become better at slicing you can put it into practise at the net because the two things are similar? I try to avoid the net because I don't read the play very well. I should start by hitting reflex volleys against a wall (end of ramble lol ). But I understand your post.



I wonder why guys like Roddick have good slices, very good slices yet aren't as good up as the net even when they come in on great appraoches which are more important than the volley itself?

 

[dozu]

baseline slices, approach slices, half volleys, volleys..... they are all the same type of motion, the only difference is how much time player has, hence different length of swing.

once the stroke production is good, then player needs to change the mentality, into aggressive charging mode, go to the net on every ball that bounces near the service line... for a first few weeks he will get passed a lot, then gradually confidence will grow, he will pick up coverage patterns.

Roddick, his slices are as good as his volleys - slightly below average among the top pros... his slices has improved a lot thru the years, but not on par with the best like Fed.

But OP sounds like in the beginning stage, so learning all these shots together is 1 stone for multiple birds.

 

[kiteboard]

If your frame and strings aren't set up for it, you won't volley well. I hit three of the best fh volleys of all time yesterday, with a pt57a, vs team/nrg2 at 360g 60/58lbs. I started whooping and hollering it was so fun, and it let me forgive myself for all the errors I made for the three hr. hit. An aggressive burst towards the ball with your feet helps, as it comes into you, don't let it come to you, go to it, and punch holy hell out of it. It's like a fight. You want to get your wt. behind your shot by moving into the punch and stomping down on it with your front hitting foot. Pretend your Marciano going for the knock out shot.

 

[TheOneHander]

If your frame and strings aren't set up for it, you won't volley well. I hit three of the best fh volleys of all time yesterday, with a pt57a, vs team/nrg2 at 360g 60/58lbs. I started whooping and hollering it was so fun, and it let me forgive myself for all the errors I made for the three hr. hit. An aggressive burst towards the ball with your feet helps, as it comes into you, don't let it come to you, go to it, and punch holy hell out of it. It's like a fight. You want to get your wt. behind your shot by moving into the punch and stomping down on it with your front hitting foot. Pretend your Marciano going for the knock out shot.

No.

Just no.





You can only volley well with a H19 strung with Pro Blend at 65/67 (kilos).

Obviously :roll:

 

[Nellie]

try practice while keeping your elbow touching your side, forcing you to not swing from the shoulder, but instead you to use your feet to get spacing and to block the ball

 

[KillSwitch Engage]

Dozu: Agree with the points you made. But I'd say Roddick's slices are better than slightly below average. he just becomes too predictable. But yeah he's no Federer when it comes to the slice. Federer is no Rosewall .

 

[user92626]

Nellie and others,

do you know what the problem is if I can't hit the ball at the sweetspot?

I keep my eyes on the ball, it reaches my contact zone, I try to do littlest swing as possible, per you guys advice, then find the ball hitting the frame or very off the sweetspot and drop to the bottom of the net. hmm...

 

[KillSwitch Engage]

Nellie and others,

do you know what the problem is if I can't hit the ball at the sweetspot?

I keep my eyes on the ball, it reaches my contact zone, I try to do littlest swing as possible, per you guys advice, then find the ball hitting the frame or very off the sweetspot and drop to the bottom of the net. hmm...

How long have you been trying to volley for? I've already mentioned I rarely come to the net but I imagine the more you practice to better you will get. I don't have that problem; My problem is pretty much reading the pass. Don't tense up when you go to hit the volley.

 

[dozu]

Nellie and others,

do you know what the problem is if I can't hit the ball at the sweetspot?

I keep my eyes on the ball, it reaches my contact zone, I try to do littlest swing as possible, per you guys advice, then find the ball hitting the frame or very off the sweetspot and drop to the bottom of the net. hmm...

your Central Nervous System will tell you how big a swing to take.... trying to shorten the swing, when the swing path itself is faulty, usually will just screw up the stroke all together.

many ways to learn/hit the volleys, but I like the idea of learning slices and volleys at the same time.... fix your slices, you automatically fix the volleys...

and you get a bonus shot - the FH slice, which most rec players have no idea how to do.

 

[user92626]

dozu,

Believe it or not, I don't have any problem doing a bh slice. My bh slice is not penetrating but makes it up with lots of spin. I don't think it feels the same as bh volley which has more "punchy effect".

I think timing and anticipation is my problem.

ps. sorry to OP if I appear to hijack the thread. We're on the same topic though

 

[Off The Wall]

Put your strings in front of the ball's path using no backswing (in front). Usually that means you have to move your feet or one foot, but not always. You don't have to punch it either. A slight movement of the racquet through contact will do it. The slighter the movement the shorter the volley.

 

[dozu]

should i be bending wrist or bending arm?

on the BH side, the structure that gets swung (by the legs) into the ball is this U shape formed by the racket, firm wrist, forearm, firm elbow and upper arm.... the elbow, although firm, is not fixed, it can straighten due to momentum from the 'windshield wiping' motion. The wrist however, should be firm thru out.

On the FH side, the best way I can describe it, is imagine you are a waiter holding this huge food tray.... and with that forearm/wrist/tray relationship, if you lower the tray to hit a volley, that should feel about right... so the wrist is laid back, but in the racket head UP position... elbow is bent and close to the chest.

The BH windshield wiping, or FH pushing the food tray (or windshield wiping), are visuals that involve much bigger objects (car windshield, or big food tray) than the racket head.... this is to encourage the player, to have complete control of the racket face... i.e. the angle at which the windshield or the food tray is tilted, should always be kept constant from the start to the end of the forward swing.... legs are automatically engaged to push such huge objects, instead of the small racket head.

the angles, at which the windshield is tilted back, varies from shot to shot, depending on the height of the ball.... but for each individual shot, the angle is kept constant... that's what gives you total control of depth and direction.

 

[dozu]

dozu,

Believe it or not, I don't have any problem doing a bh slice. My bh slice is not penetrating but makes it up with lots of spin. I don't think it feels the same as bh volley which has more "punchy effect".

I think timing and anticipation is my problem.

ps. sorry to OP if I appear to hijack the thread. We're on the same topic though

I used to hit both bh slices and volleys the 'punchy' way, but have gradually migrated towards Federer style cut-like motions and I like this style better.. you can check my signature video and see the penetration I get for both the slices and the volleys....

hitting style is an individual thing... for me the cut-like motion feels better... it may or may not work for you... but without seeing you play it's hard to say.... "not penetrating but with a lot of spin" sounds like the slice has a problem though..... put 75% of your focus on 'pushing the windshield forward', and leave only 25% on 'wiping the windshield from high to low' and see if it makes a difference in your slice.... once you fix that, apply the same to the volleys, you may like it!

 

[Mick]

for me, the secret was to play a lot of doubles (with you guarding the net)

 

[LeeD]

I'd think, in this age of vids, you can find a video of the impact hit on a volley and copy that position, working your way back to the prep position from there.
Picture the impact, elbow's comfy bent, wrist locked, underspin stroke, conti gripped, LOOKING AT THE BALL, controlled bent body.
Whether you go closed stanced, open, closed shoulders, open, doesn't matter as long as you hit the ball slightly in front of yourself, and followthru forward and across the ball with underspin and a touch of sidespin.

 

[Djlpenguin]

should i be bending wrist or bending arm?

slight elbow bend, dont want to be too stiff. No swing, after you make contact freeze for a second.

 

[dozu]

I'd think, in this age of vids, you can find a video of the impact hit on a volley and copy that position, working your way back to the prep position from there.
Picture the impact, elbow's comfy bent, wrist locked, underspin stroke, conti gripped, LOOKING AT THE BALL, controlled bent body.
Whether you go closed stanced, open, closed shoulders, open, doesn't matter as long as you hit the ball slightly in front of yourself, and followthru forward and across the ball with underspin and a touch of sidespin.

lol Lee, good thinking... but prolly won't work too well.

this stuff is going out of control in golf teaching... instructor takes student swing video, pull up side by side with a Tiger swing, and draw a dozen lines to compare body part positions....

method is valid, as a secondary tool AFTER student has understanding of what a golf swing should feel like.... but as a tool to teach beginners, it doesn't work well.... you just can't manipulate body parts into certain positions and expect to get good results out of it.

different body types determine that everybody cannot copy the exact same positions... and once there are deviations, student has no clue if they are within the acceptable parameters.

Not to mention, golfers swing thru a stationary ball, and tennis player has to deal with a moving object.

 

[Nellie]

Nellie and others,

do you know what the problem is if I can't hit the ball at the sweetspot?

I keep my eyes on the ball, it reaches my contact zone, I try to do littlest swing as possible, per you guys advice, then find the ball hitting the frame or very off the sweetspot and drop to the bottom of the net. hmm...

Are you trying to chop down at the ball (very common error as people try to slice)? Instead hit straight through with a open faced racquet from the racquet head being tilted back relative to the handle. You could even practice this by yourself by tossing a ball in the air and hitting the volley (keep elbow lock at your side and have a short/ straight stroke (maybe a couple of inches)).

 

[SeriousSummer]

With a Continental grip it's easy for the face of the racket to be too open (like a slice) on the backhand side and too closed (racket face angled downward) on the forehand side.

You have to supinate on the backhand to get the racket face square and pronate on the forehand side.

That will help avoid framing the ball.

 

[In D Zone]

After all the fine tip bits you get from all the experts here - the rest is all practice, drills, determination and lots of gametime experince.

Just like learning any other tactics in tennis, volley itself is a skill that you have to learn and earn. It does not happen overnight.

Get a good volleyer to mentor you, play against player who can give you good drills. Understand that footwork, court sense (where you place yourself)and ball anticipation are also key in making you a good volleyer.

Playing doubles (3.5 and above) will definitely help sharpen your volleying skills - keep in mine that you have to be an active participant at the net; and not a passive net playa!

 

[martini1]

Equipment is the last thing you should worry about. The prime reason for a bad volley is you are not keeping the ball with eye contact. The form is also important. Left foot is front on the fh and vice versa on the bh for the right handed.

Of course, those lunging volleys are more advance.

 

[BooneTennisNic]

when you hit to the left, stand slightly to the left as the opposing player usually hits down the line rather than cross court

 

[dozu]

With a Continental grip it's easy for the face of the racket to be too open (like a slice) on the backhand side and too closed (racket face angled downward) on the forehand side.

You have to supinate on the backhand to get the racket face square and pronate on the forehand side.

That will help avoid framing the ball.

sounds like you are advocating a BH grip for the volleys, if I am reading correctly.

this may or may not work for a certain player. the grip is quite a personal thing.

 

[tennisdad65]

To be a good volleyer, you gotta reach the 100,000 volley mark or much more

No one is gonna feed you 100,000+ volleys to hit. So:
1) volley/half volley against the wall
2) ball machine

 

[WildVolley]

Coaching Mastery has a good progression in his book. The main thing is to become comfortable with the continental grip and correct form. He suggests volleying back to someone tossing the ball to you. It is definitely a quick way for a beginning volleyer to get a lot of practice. If you can't find someone to practice with, the wall can be a good tool, but it is definitely a step up in difficulty.

 

[LeeD]

Biggest problem with the wall is that a volley is hit with an underspin stroke, but hit pretty hard if higher than knee high, so....
Against a wall, you automatically get a steep low bounce, and probably need to bounce it twice to get your racket prepped for the next volley.
I know you'll point out vids of players hitting on a fly, over and over again, but that is a controlled, soft hit at exactly the same spot, setting up the next hit....not really practicing the volley stroke, but practicing reactions and ball control.
Best way to learn is to do it all the time, hit a few thousand, stroke thru more (harder underspin) on volleys lower than thigh high, really move forwards with body and racket on half volleys, and short controlled stroke on anything waist to overhead, which should be put away...able.

 

[magnut]

Run to the net as fast as you can waving your arms like your trying to scare off a grizzley bear. Once the attempt at a pass is hit .....run to the ball and use a karate chop motion while yelling keeeeyaaaa!

Thats the best tip I can give. It works!


Good luck!

 

[gahaha]

Developing a good slice helps a lot, but reflex volleys are learned through experience lol.

 

[downdaline]

Run to the net as fast as you can waving your arms like your trying to scare off a grizzley bear. Once the attempt at a pass is hit .....run to the ball and use a karate chop motion while yelling keeeeyaaaa!

Thats the best tip I can give. It works!


Good luck!

LOL... this might actually work...

 

[NLBwell]

Get a large rubber band or string and attach your wrists about 6 inches apart.
Then go practice volleys.


A lot of people open up, moving the non-hitting arm/head/body away from the ball.

Run to the net as fast as you can waving your arms like your trying to scare off a grizzley bear. Once the attempt at a pass is hit .....run to the ball and use a karate chop motion while yelling keeeeyaaaa!

Thats the best tip I can give. It works!


Good luck!

A guy used to do that in mixed doubles. It would work because people would be nice and try to avoid him and end up missing their shots. It is blatantly illegal behavior and unsportsmanlike, but I didn't say anything about it. I just focused on the ball and completely ignored him. After I happened to peg him a couple of times with overheads as he was running up to the net waving his racket and making noise while the lob was in the air, he quit doing it.

 

[Nellie]

Get a large rubber band or string and attach your wrists about 6 inches apart.
Then go practice volleys.

A lot of people open up, moving the non-hitting arm/head/body away from the ball.

I used to see a similar drill based volleying two-handed, keeping the elbows close the side of the body.

 

[user92626]

Hi all,

I still can't volley to save my ...games. Volleying is by far the weakest part of my game. My problem is not that I don't know how to make contact. My problem is I don't know how to anticipate and decide which ball to go for. As a result when I come to the net, it feels very out of synch and out of place for me. And then when a good ball comes, I'm likely late or not ready.

So, how do you anticpate and decide when you are at the net?

 

[athiker]

If you are talking about deciding where to hit the ball there are a couple of rules of thumb to make that decision easier...then once you get more comfortable you can start freelancing more.

If the ball is above the net go for an angle winner.

If the ball is below the net hit in front of you to limit opponent's ease of hitting into open court.

If you are fairly deep in your own court then volley deep.

If you are pretty close to the net then volley short.

Overall as a basic stroke beginning, its generally easier to hit across your body (this may conflict w/ some of the placement advice above). If you are right handed and the ball comes to your right side (above the net) forehand volley cross court. If the ball comes to your backhand side then backhand volley cross court the other direction. When you start making solid contact then start incorporating finer targeting placement. As with any shot...calm still head through the shot.

 

[athiker]

If you are deciding when you should come in to volley.

If you hit a forcing shot that will likely generate a weak reply...do you see the back shoulder of your opponent?...go in (I'm guessing you already knew this).

Another good time is when you on purpose or by mistake hit a very short almost drop shot like shot...come in. Opponent will likely be hitting up on the ball and you can close the angle.

After you volley once, follow the ball if you can/have time and close the angle even more, and get prepped to volley again...racquet in front.

 

[user92626]

thanks athiker,

My problem is when I'm at the net, I dont have a clue to which ball I should approach or hold my position. As a result, sometimes ball flies right next to me, perfect for poaching/volley but I am not doing anything, and other times I reach for balls that I'm not supposed to.

What clues do you use? What is your thought sequence leading up to deciding to go for volleying?

 

[Limpinhitter]

thanks athiker,

My problem is when I'm at the net, I dont have a clue to which ball I should approach or hold my position. As a result, sometimes ball flies right next to me, perfect for poaching/volley but I am not doing anything, and other times I reach for balls that I'm not supposed to.

What clues do you use? What is your thought sequence leading up to deciding to go for volleying?

It sounds like you are talking about doubles. IMO, if you are playing the net when your partner is serving, you should know in advance where your partner is going to serve. If you partner serves out wide, then you should hold your position because you are at risk for being passed down the ally if you try to poach. But, if your parnter serves down the middle it is virtually impossible to pass you down the ally, so you should go for it if you think you have any chance of getting your racquet on the ball. It's as simple as that.

Other than that, here's my breakdown of good volley technique:

- Turn your side with both hands on the racquet, no backswing with the arm.

- Keep arm slightly bent.

- Hold the racquet in the path of the oncoming ball.

- Meet the ball out front with a 1 foot, nearly level, swing. Carve under the ball by leading with the bottom edge of the racquet face. DO NOT SWING DOWNWARD, DO NOT CHOP THE BALL.

- Attack the ball with your footwork, by stepping through your shot.

- Watch the ball all the way in to the racquet.

 

[5263]

learn how to slice from both wings, then you automatically have good volleys.

I like this one pretty good, as I feel a good volley is inside of a good slice.
A good volley may even be a slice without a bounce if the ball is slow and
easy enough. The faster the balls comes, the shorter the slice motions becomes
till reflex volleys are just this single point contained in the middle of a slice.

I also highly recommend getting on the ping pong tables to develop your timing and reflexes. After taking some shots with fast ping pong, tennis shots seem sort of slower and more easy.

 

[Crazy man]

thanks athiker,

My problem is when I'm at the net, I dont have a clue to which ball I should approach or hold my position. As a result, sometimes ball flies right next to me, perfect for poaching/volley but I am not doing anything, and other times I reach for balls that I'm not supposed to.

What clues do you use? What is your thought sequence leading up to deciding to go for volleying?

When you've got your opponent on the move (on the baseline/behind baseline). Or you could try comming in from down the middle with a deep slice (which is what I 'try' to do as it's high % and it forces the other guy to come up with something). Always move your legs!