My biggest struggle moving from 4.5 to 5.0...

aminadream said:
Update:

I did about 2 hours of serve and volleying today. Well, that and returning a S&V's game too.

It was a little sobering, I have to admit. I'll need to devote some time to really getting the hang of picking up those low-to-the-feet responses and making sure my racquet head is above my wrist and that my wrist is stiff. There were some technical flaws that had creeped in there without my noticing... I bet it's partially from taking so much time away from my game and maybe compensating for a couple injuries. Excuses excuses. Most of it got corrected by the end of the session but I'll still need to consciously work at it until it becomes second nature and I gain the confidence I need to use it mid-match.

I have a 4.5 match tomorrow and a 5.0 on Sunday. It's a tossup whether I'll S&V this weekend only because I feel at this point I'd be giving points away anytime I did... but the following week I think I'll be feeling better about it. But you never know. We'll see how it goes and how my opponents play.
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Check out this thread:

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...serve-and-volley-by-jeff-salzeinstein.607671/
 
Not sure how much a swinging volley really fits in with S&V game. IIRC, Sampras rarely swung.

Of course his first volley was usually low but even then I don't remember him swinging at high mid-court volleys.

 
Raul_SJ said:
Not sure how much a swinging volley really fits in with S&V game. IIRC, Sampras rarely swung.

Of course his first volley was usually low but even then I don't remember him swinging at high mid-court volleys.
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This is how [0:49; not the most conventional example!]:

 
I've read the thread and would like to offer this:
You have the strokes but seem to be searching for what sort of game to play (and it does not appear to be s/v), so my suggestion is that you not examine weaknesses too deeply; instead, just try to put yourself in position to hit your best, most confident/comfortable shot as often as possible. As the Wardlaw vid says, "Play the ball, not your opponent" (I'm an ardent devotee of the Wardlaw strategy). Let your game and confidence develop through playing the matches. Fight for every ball, then do it again (and again...)
 
aminadream said:
Update:

I did about 2 hours of serve and volleying today. Well, that and returning a S&V's game too.
.
Click to expand...
Sure, work to improve all areas of your game, including volleys that will help you to improve and like doubles more......BUT...

The BIG key to you taking that next big step is the issue most glossed over in the directionals.....and maybe often not covered or understood that well about the directionals.

Most players get their hands full trying to understand when it is an outside vs inside ball and when they can change directions.....then miss this BIG key! They big key is not only learning to master the rally thru properly handling outside shots (which seems to be your strength on the whole anyway), but to learn and understand when and how to go on the attack with what I call "level II tennis". Wardlaw helps to some extent with knowing when to attack, but to put it more simply, You can 'attack' whenever you receive a ball well with your feet inside the court.

As I suggested, you seem to be a darn good Level 1 rally player (other than going on the attack from the rally area at times I would venture to predict), so the issue for you is to clean up details of your rally, while learning different attack skills confidence for when you can get both feel inside the court. These attack skills (Level II tennis) include shots like power Fades (inside/in and inside/out), short skidding angled slices, droppers, and biting topspin angles. With these Level 2 skills, (and you don't have to have them all...just start with a few favs and go from there) you can consistently make the opponent pay for leaving anything weak and short. This pressure will change the whole complexion of the encounter as well! You have shared that currently you can't do this except against 4.5s at times, where I suspect despite you are more forcing errors from their relative weakness than it being about you picking the right ball with exceptional attacking execution.

So sure, keep improving all aspects of your game....But 'key in' on the Level 2 attacking phase of your game to hit that next level of competence. Once you can get more clear in your mind and recognition what is a rally reception vs what is an attack reception, you will actually greatly improve at each. The key is your FEET. Did you receive it on balance in the court or not?

*volleys and overheads are important shots of course, but they are more Level 3 finishing shots. It's actually easier to learn and train them as finishers, then improve to use them as level 2 attacks as well.
 
Last edited:
IowaGuy said:
If you have access to a ball machine, you can set it up to drill these types of low volleys which otherwise aren't practiced very much in normal tennis warm-ups or matches.
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I do and I will. Thanks for the suggestion. The gent that I practiced with is really good at such returns (he did that to me more than try to pass) so he's a good resource as well.

Raul_SJ said:
Not sure how much a swinging volley really fits in with S&V game. IIRC, Sampras rarely swung.
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Oh, I didn't mean for S&V specifically. More as a comment in response to someone asking about the variety of my game.

5263 said:
So sure, keep improving all aspects of your game....But 'key in' on the Level 2 attacking phase of your game to hit that next level of competence. Once you can get more clear in your mind and recognition what is a rally reception vs what is an attack reception, you will actually greatly improve at each.
Click to expand...
Yup, I think this is key here. Most of my life I've focused on technique and fitness. My dad took a lot of pride in my having really good technique, so I think that as a kid, I made that more of my focus just to make him happy (or rather, not upset). Looking back, I let the tactical aspect fall by the wayside. As an adult now, I see a hole that needs to be patched, so that will be my mission for this year.

Wish me luck in my matches this weekend! Leaving for my first one in 25 mins.
 
J011yroger said:
Thank god for our fantastic advice!
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Actually yeah. Because of this thread I did two things:

First, I worked on my S&V yesterday and had it as an extra tool for today.

Second, I was WAY more intentional about my shot selection and paid far more attention to my opponent's comfort zones and took her out of them.

I had a healthy level of aggression but only made... well, I think I could count the unforced errors on one hand.

So thank you, everyone.
 
2good4U said:
S&V died in the 20th century. Sorry you didn't get the memo.
[zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]
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Maybe you missed it, but Nadal got beat by 2 mediocre S&V in recent Wimbledons (2015 and 2017), and #1 Murray got beat by mediocre S&V in Australian Open 2017.

Imagine if those guys faced a truly expert S&V such as Sampras!!!

So, not dead, just no juniors trained that way anymore!
 
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