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

[jk816]

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've used something similar to help out my wife & daughter; handcuffs, velcro strap, etc to keep the hands close. It really reinforces the notion of the slight upper body turn (vice staying square to the net), that must become part of the muscle memory for consistent volleying. Too much arm freedom often leads to "fencing" the volleys, which will often result in mishits and loose wrists.

The other most common problem (that I myself suffer from) is tracking the ball all the way, particularly on high or low volleys. I don't follow it until contact, but instead lose it in the last milliseconds. No good trick I've found for that other than discipline and practice. I lack enough of both!

 

[Limpinhitter]

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.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

[Crazy man]

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

To be honest, the only thing I disagree with is the ping-pong part, even then, it CAN improve your anticipation which he states (Due to it being faster paced). I mostly disagree because you don't volley in ping-pong. That's all really.

 

[Fedexpress94]

The main thing I try to focus on when volleying are keep the racket head above the wrist and punching out with the shoulder. If I'm doing these two things, then my volleys are very consistent.

 

[user92626]

The mechanic of volleying isn't a problem. If I confidently know a shot coming at me to be volleyed, I volley it fine, with the winning percent on my side.

It's the problem with "sneaking" to go after a ball or not. I have a feeling that good volleyers know very well which ball is appropriate to intercept and which one to let go. I completely don't have this sense.

Do you guys judge the distance? Watch and read the ball's direction as soon as it's hit?

 

[5263]

To be honest, the only thing I disagree with is the ping-pong part, even then, it CAN improve your anticipation which he states (Due to it being faster paced). I mostly disagree because you don't volley in ping-pong. That's all really.

To the one who said Noooo; he either doesn't know how to volley or
doesn't know how to slice, or either one; that's all if he was responding
to that part. It would be interesting to see how the volley form he listed above
differs from the middle portion of his slice form. Seems like it is quite similar
to what that portion of his slice sounded like, but not sure.
I would not describe the contact like he does though, even though I don't
see it as actually wrong per se.

Truth be told, very few really know how to volley. I was good at volleys for
a long while before I really understood them, and then got much better.
Since it had been one of the stronger parts of my game before, I was very
surprised how much I could still learn on the volley and with the improvement
that was still possible. The differences were subtle but quite important.

You can volley in ping pong. We use it tune up the hands quite a bit and it
works and works well!
Remember, we are not playing ping pong to be better at ping pong, but as
a tool for our tennis. All the excellent tennis plays I've met, almost to a man,
play lots of ping pong and speak of how it helps their hands. Vahaley, Genepri,
a bunch of college players, Fish, and Roddick just to name a very few.
I think that it may even account for Roddicks drop off over the last few years,
as I expect as a young married man he is not hitting the table tennis near like
he did back in the day, hanging with his roomies. Yes, his volley and slice have
improved greatly, but his overall feel and touch have not imo.

 

[5263]

Do you guys judge the distance? Watch and read the ball's direction as soon as it's hit?

Sounds like you stand and consider, instead of

moving and deciding en-route.
As you move on the ball, you get a good or bad
feeling about how it will go. If it feels bad and
my partner has a chance, I defer.

 

[Crazy man]

To the one who said Noooo; he either doesn't know how to volley or
doesn't know how to slice, or either one; that's all if he was responding
to that part. It would be interesting to see how the volley form he listed above
differs from the middle portion of his slice form. Seems like it is quite similar
to what that portion of his slice sounded like, but not sure.
I would not describe the contact like he does though, even though I don't
see it as actually wrong per se..

I wasn't actually disagreeing with your premise that the slice and some forms of volleys (especially touch, or lower volleys) have similarities in terms of mechanics. I actually agree with you.

Truth be told, very few really know how to volley. I was good at volleys for
a long while before I really understood them, and then got much better.
Since it had been one of the stronger parts of my game before, I was very
surprised how much I could still learn on the volley and with the improvement
that was still possible. The differences were subtle but quite important..

The thing with volleys, which unlike most other strokes in tennis, requires a mix of anticipation, movement, instincts, touch and the ability to make a split decision in less than a second all in one shot. It was the actual technique I've improved over the last 4 months (still need improving though), my movement and my reactions at the net were pretty good. I'm going to try to buy a tripod and a video cam and post some vids soon, don't know how long it will be though.

You can volley in ping pong. We use it tune up the hands quite a bit and it
works and works well!
Remember, we are not playing ping pong to be better at ping pong, but as
a tool for our tennis. All the excellent tennis plays I've met, almost to a man,
play lots of ping pong and speak of how it helps their hands. Vahaley, Genepri,
a bunch of college players, Fish, and Roddick just to name a very few.
I think that it may even account for Roddicks drop off over the last few years,
as I expect as a young married man he is not hitting the table tennis near like
he did back in the day, hanging with his roomies. Yes, his volley and slice have
improved greatly, but his overall feel and touch have not imo.

Ah I see, I'm into Ping pong (as well as tennis and badminton) and didn't think to use it to enhance my tennis game.



Also, I'm not sure if it has been mentioned, but a wall is an ok tool to use to improve reflex volleys, sure there are flaws and a ball machine and a practice parter are a lot better but it's a pretty good alternative.

 

[Limpinhitter]

To the one who said Noooo; he either doesn't know how to volley or
doesn't know how to slice, or either one; that's all if he was responding
to that part. It would be interesting to see how the volley form he listed above
differs from the middle portion of his slice form. Seems like it is quite similar
to what that portion of his slice sounded like, but not sure.
I would not describe the contact like he does though, even though I don't
see it as actually wrong per se.

Truth be told, very few really know how to volley. I was good at volleys for
a long while before I really understood them, and then got much better.
Since it had been one of the stronger parts of my game before, I was very
surprised how much I could still learn on the volley and with the improvement
that was still possible. The differences were subtle but quite important.

You can volley in ping pong. We use it tune up the hands quite a bit and it
works and works well!
Remember, we are not playing ping pong to be better at ping pong, but as
a tool for our tennis. All the excellent tennis plays I've met, almost to a man,
play lots of ping pong and speak of how it helps their hands. Vahaley, Genepri,
a bunch of college players, Fish, and Roddick just to name a very few.
I think that it may even account for Roddicks drop off over the last few years,
as I expect as a young married man he is not hitting the table tennis near like
he did back in the day, hanging with his roomies. Yes, his volley and slice have
improved greatly, but his overall feel and touch have not imo.

Hahaha! I've known how to slice, and how to volley, since before you were born. And, although a volley is generally hit with underspin, the swing on a primary volley is much too short to be characterized as a slice, or part of a slice. Ideally, a volley swing should be about 1 - 1.5 feet, fairly level and imparted with underspin by carving under the ball, not swinging, or worse chopping, down on the ball.

 

[5263]

Hahaha! I've known how to slice, and how to volley, since before you were born. And, although a volley is generally hit with underspin, the swing on a primary volley is much too short to be characterized as a slice, or part of a slice. Ideally, a volley swing should be about 1 - 1.5 feet, fairly level and imparted with underspin by carving under the ball, not swinging, or worse chopping, down on the ball.

I thought you didn't like chopping down on a slice either??

So what yr were you born?

No way you can set a volley length like that. Volley can be near the full swing of a slice for an easy sitter to virtually no movement at all for a reflex volley when somebody brings you a heat check.
I agree that the std volley length would be about a ft or 2, but there is little to no difference in that segment for exceptional volley form and surely not enough difference for a Noooooo.

 

[TennisCJC]

1. Conti grip
2. Slight shoulder turn; racket stays in front and to side
3. Think catch the ball with slightly open racket face; no punch; no follow-thru; stringbed points at intended direction before, during and after contact. In reality, there is a small movement forward with the hand of a few inches (6 inches)
4. If you have time, always move to the ball with your legs

Easy drill to learn to volley: think catch the ball on contact and try to stop the racket with your stringbed facing your intended shot location. Your strings will be facing DTL if you direct the volley DTL. Do this 500 times to learn how "small" a volley is. The hand motion on a volley should be tiny.

More advanced; catch the outside of the ball with a very slight outside to inside motion. Justin Gimelstaub teaches this on Tennis Channel as he talks about catching the outside of the ball.

In summary, volleying is like being a porn star - you want a 6 inch stroke that you can repeat all day and under pressure.

Controversial tip: on low balls, your racket should open much more so strings point about 12 inches above net at low contact point, and you can hit slightly downward on the ball again catching the outside of the ball. Hitting down actually lifts your shot up if you contact the lower outside quad of the ball face.

 

[bhupaes]

In summary, volleying is like being a porn star - you want a 6 inch stroke that you can repeat all day and under pressure.

Ooooh.... I get it now!

 

[Playnice]

hi guys, by far the weakest shop is my volleying....how can i improve?

One of the biggest areas of misinformation in tennis instruction is on the volley. If you want to learn how to make your volley a formidable weapon and a favorite shot check out Oscar Wegner's Modern Serves and Volleys video. Nobody else teaches the volley in this way and it will help you hit volleys like the pros. This is not an "ad", it is just solid advice, which was asked for. If you want details I can offer some written descriptions, but it's just much easier to go to the source. You could also read Chapter 14 of his 1992 book Tennis In 2 Hours available free online at http://www.tennisteacher.com/ebook.htm, but he has added some new data in his Tennis Into The Future series which examines how today's top pros volley with some important additions to the book contents.

 

[Playnice]

1. Conti grip
2. Slight shoulder turn; racket stays in front and to side
3. Think catch the ball with slightly open racket face; no punch; no follow-thru; stringbed points at intended direction before, during and after contact. In reality, there is a small movement forward with the hand of a few inches (6 inches)
4. If you have time, always move to the ball with your legs

Easy drill to learn to volley: think catch the ball on contact and try to stop the racket with your stringbed facing your intended shot location. Your strings will be facing DTL if you direct the volley DTL. Do this 500 times to learn how "small" a volley is. The hand motion on a volley should be tiny.

More advanced; catch the outside of the ball with a very slight outside to inside motion. Justin Gimelstaub teaches this on Tennis Channel as he talks about catching the outside of the ball.

In summary, volleying is like being a porn star - you want a 6 inch stroke that you can repeat all day and under pressure.

Controversial tip: on low balls, your racket should open much more so strings point about 12 inches above net at low contact point, and you can hit slightly downward on the ball again catching the outside of the ball. Hitting down actually lifts your shot up if you contact the lower outside quad of the ball face.

In MTM the Continental grip is used on the FH volley. You don't need to turn your shoulder, and you don't step into the shot. The racket is behind the hand, not in front. We describe the volley as a one-inch punch. There is no follow-through, but what we call the "finish" is very abbreviated. The hand does not move forward, the racket comes across the body on both the fh and bh volleys. The feet per se are not important, getting to the ball IS important - you find the ball with your hand, fall (lose your balance) in the direction of the ball, then cross-step if the ball is very wide. Doing this rather than cross-stepping first doubles our reach, so that you can reach a volley from the centerline to the sideline rather easily. Showing the strings to the opponent throughout the stroke the racket face moves from open to slightly closed - not closed to open as in a scooping motion, which actually decelerates the ball and makes it float. The open to closed, abbreviated motion gives a much crisper, more powerful volley. On the bh the key is pointing the butt of the racket at the incoming ball and, again, coming across the body with a very short (one inch) motion. There are some other tips on how to handle high and low balls, which are also very effective.

 

[Playnice]

Also, I'm not sure if it has been mentioned, but a wall is an ok tool to use to improve reflex volleys, sure there are flaws and a ball machine and a practice parter are a lot better but it's a pretty good alternative.

Hitting volleys off the wall is an advanced practice drill. Much easier and more effective is to use a "volley board" ie: a piece of plywood (4x4' is an ideal size) propped up against a wall. The steeper the angle the more difficult the drill (the ultimate being using the wall itself). Prop the board against the wall and put 2x4, brick or rock in front of it so it doesn't slide. Now hit a ball from the air onto the board and start volleying (as I described above). FH's are easier for most people, so you might want to start on that side. Don't get sideways or step into the ball, just face the board. With proper form you will gradually be able to volley more and more shots without missing. Try the bh, being sure to point the butt of the racket and coming across, letting go of the racket with your non-dominant hand and squeezing your shoulder blades together as you come across in front of you and let your racket elbow move away from you as if you are shoving someone out of the way (on the fh the elbow moves inward in front of you toward your stomach). Once you can hit bh's comfortably, practice both sides; experiment with the slant of the board and distance from the board to find a comfortable angle and distance. Ideally you should be able to hit 50-100 shots without missing (it might take some time to work up to this). I guarantee this will help your volley tremendously. I can now hit fh and bh volleys on the wall with ease because I have used the volley board so much.

I like to use the ball machine for volleys by having it set on a moderate height and speed, start at the baseline then move gradually up to the volley position, alternating fhs and bhs, then move backwards again and repeat til the machine empties. This is especially good for practicing transition balls too.

 

[Cheetah]

the mtm volley method definitely works for me. i've been using it for a year now. i also show it to kids etc when i'm helping them improve their volley. my volleys were terrible before i started using this.

 

[user92626]

When you're at the net in doubles, do you mentally and physically get ready for a particular side, eg FH or BH volley? Or it doesn't matter. What goes through your mind? What/how's your preparation if any?