Situational Volleying

[tennisdad65]

Here is the situation:
1) Both you and your opponent are righties.
2) You are halfway between net and service line.
3) You have a 2 ft low forehand volley near the sideline.
4) Your opponent has just hit a down the line backhand passing shot.
5) Opponent is standing 3 ft inside the baseline, about 6 ft from the sideline (backhand side)
6) Opponent has a great forehand, blazing speed and a relatively weak backhand, and is NOT comfortable at the net.

Do You:
1) TRY a drop volley cross court. Keep in mind, this a 2 ft low volley.
2) TRY a volley sharply cross court so that it crosses about the service line
3) TRY a volley cross court to the baseline to his forehand.
4) TRY a volley to the center baseline
5) TRY a volley back to the baseline to his backhand. Keep in mind, he could run around this and hit a forehand.

Keep in mind that he has blazing speed and can reach 3) very easily, 2) very likely, and probably 1).

What is the high percentage play?

 

[5263]

you are in trouble so make the one you can make with the best quality and make sure he has to hit another ball.

tough call without seeing the play even though you described it pretty well.

 

[baek57]

sharp cross court... dont care how fast he is, not going to get it.

 

[spiritdragon]

i would usually go for the drop shot cross court.

 

[5263]

bae,
are you going to make that shot high %?

good on you!

 

[fer]

Where s the drop volley down the line? When I get a low volley I just slice the ball directing it just in front of me.

 

[tennisdad65]

Where s the drop volley down the line? When I get a low volley I just slice the ball directing it just in front of me.

The guy is standing 3 ft inside the baseline on the same side of the court, so I figured most folks would not want to drop volley down the line. .

 

[baek57]

bae,
are you going to make that shot high %?

good on you!

under the assumption the passing shot by the opponent was reachable by you, crosscourt is the high % play. you have a sea of open court to work with and you are hitting over the lower part of the net. what more do you want?

 

[Drona]

The guy is standing 3 ft inside the baseline on the same side of the court, so I figured most folks would not want to drop volley down the line. .

Try getting some feeds and see how often you can hit a "good" drop volley that an opponent would not reach especially if he's 3 feet inside the baseline.
I'm guessing 1 out of 10.

You're under the net and have to hit up, the best play is to volley it deep down the line to his backhand. If he runs around it and hits a winner, then good on him. But if he doesn't hit a winner, he's really left a lot of court open by running around hasn't he?
The second best option is to hit a drop volley dtl. This would not be hit for a winner but to bring him up to the net where he's uncomfortable.

This may not be flashy, but it's about being effective.

 

[fer]

The guy is standing 3 ft inside the baseline on the same side of the court, so I figured most folks would not want to drop volley down the line. .

That would be the safest option for me, if I tried to hit the corner I d probably send him a short ball leaving the whole court for him to pass me.
Trying a sharp angle would probably send the ball to the net.

Even if he s a fast player and is three feet inside the baseline he d have to run a lot to hit the ball with his forehand, also his backhand and net play are weak.

 

[stormholloway]

Guys, this is a low forehand volley. A drop shot down the line is over the high part of the net. There's a good chance to pop up a sitter if you try to hit a drop volley like that. The percentage play is to attempt the cross court drop volley in my opinion. If it clears the net, and it should clear the low part of the net, then about the worst that can happen is that drop volley turns into a sharp cross court volley, like option #2.

 

[Babb]

sharp cross court... dont care how fast he is, not going to get it.

Right.................. don't put a speed limit on players...

 

[mucat]

1) TRY a drop volley cross court. Keep in mind, this a 2 ft low volley.
It is doable, but your opponent is already 3 ft inside the baseline. Anything less perfect will result in giving your opponent DTL open court.

2) TRY a volley sharply cross court so that it crosses about the service line
It is a 2ft low volley, you might not be able to volley it as aggressive as you like. If your opponent get to it (he is already 3ft inside), DTL open court for him/she.

4) TRY a volley to the center baseline
This might be a good choice. Volley deep and see what your opponent can do.

5) TRY a volley back to the baseline to his backhand. Keep in mind, he could run around this and hit a forehand.
This might be good if you can wrong foot your opponent or jam him, especially his backhand is very weak.

3) TRY a volley cross court to the baseline to his forehand.
I pick this one. This is the general logical way to go. Deep volley to the open side and hope for a popup on the next shot. Your opponent will have to run for this one, chances are, he will hit a weak shot if he can hit it at all.

 

[Pusher]

Take the ball out of your pocket, drop it and call a let.

Thats the percentage play.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Low forehand volley is a defensive shot, no? Gotta go with a touch volley to wherever opponent is not, or drop volley to that some location. Must go over center part of net, I'd say.

 

[Tennisman912]

I would say you only have two high percentage shots and one that is doable if you have the game. The best option will also have to take into account what level of play we are talking about here. The first and highest percentage play in my book is a deep volley to his backhand corner. He is six feet from the sideline so I have room to get it to the corner or at least make him hit an off balance backhand. Yes he is three feet inside the baseline, but few can hit a great half volley or a shot behind them as he will have to if my volley is where it should be (within a foot of the baseline or better).

My second good option is a deep volley cross court to his forehand corner. This is almost an easier volley since we are hitting over the lower part of the net. But more risky if your volley is suspect because he will make you pay if you hit a poor volley that is short. If I do my part and hit the volley deep and in his forehand corner (same criteria as before as far as depth and a foot is the minimum depending on your level), he will have to hit a shot running hard cross court and hitting a ball heading away and behind him. Few can hurt you even on the forehand side if they have to hit a shot behind them moving away from the net as is the case in this situation.

This third option is viable if you volley well. If you an hit a shot cross court at the service line/forehand side line then this is also viable but few can do this consistently as well from below the net 2 ft., again depending on your level. You must get enough on the volley to make sure it is out of your opponents reach as he is six feet inside the other sideline.

A drop volley is a pretty low percentage shot (and I like to use them a lot) unless your opponent is extremely slow and/or has horrendous reaction times. This option becomes even lower percentage as you drop the level of play. While the drop shot may be the most aesthetically pleasing shot, few will pull it off consistently in general, especially in the situation given here.

Some may disagree with this and that is ok. This is a good scenario to compare strategies on. I hope my reasoning makes sense to everyone.

Good tennis

TM

 

[LuckyR]

Everyone has different skillsets so the correct play will vary fom player to player. For me, I would not try to win the point outright, given the shot you are fielding. IMO the drop shot is too low percentage and given his speed, isn't going to give you the point even if you get it in. Similarly, I would not try to hit a deep, penetrating volley since that leaves this baseliner at the baseline with his bread and butter shot.

My choice would be a high percentage dink return with some slice to the center of the court. This is not a low percentage shot like a true drop, but will land short and bring this baseliner closer to the net then he is most comfortable with. He will have to hit up on the ball so he has a few choices: he can go for an outright pass, but since he is towards the center of the court, he has no angle and I should be able to get to his pass to either side (as I can be in second volley position). He can try to go to the body, but as he is hitting a lower than average ball from closer to the net than he is used to, I will be looking to let the ball through to land long (good eye from plenty of doubles-- S&V). He could hit a lob, but that will not be an easy shot for him as the ball is low and I have good wheels.

 

[dennis10is]

Tennisman,

Perfect answer, at least it matches what I would do, in the order of difficulty and my order of attempting it.

I would say you only have two high percentage shots and one that is doable if you have the game. The best option will also have to take into account what level of play we are talking about here. The first and highest percentage play in my book is a deep volley to his backhand corner. He is six feet from the sideline so I have room to get it to the corner or at least make him hit an off balance backhand. Yes he is three feet inside the baseline, but few can hit a great half volley or a shot behind them as he will have to if my volley is where it should be (within a foot of the baseline or better).

My second good option is a deep volley cross court to his forehand corner. This is almost an easier volley since we are hitting over the lower part of the net. But more risky if your volley is suspect because he will make you pay if you hit a poor volley that is short. If I do my part and hit the volley deep and in his forehand corner (same criteria as before as far as depth and a foot is the minimum depending on your level), he will have to hit a shot running hard cross court and hitting a ball heading away and behind him. Few can hurt you even on the forehand side if they have to hit a shot behind them moving away from the net as is the case in this situation.

This third option is viable if you volley well. If you an hit a shot cross court at the service line/forehand side line then this is also viable but few can do this consistently as well from below the net 2 ft., again depending on your level. You must get enough on the volley to make sure it is out of your opponents reach as he is six feet inside the other sideline.

A drop volley is a pretty low percentage shot (and I like to use them a lot) unless your opponent is extremely slow and/or has horrendous reaction times. This option becomes even lower percentage as you drop the level of play. While the drop shot may be the most aesthetically pleasing shot, few will pull it off consistently in general, especially in the situation given here.

Some may disagree with this and that is ok. This is a good scenario to compare strategies on. I hope my reasoning makes sense to everyone.

Good tennis

TM