Volley follow through

[EddieBrock]

A few of my volleys sailed long, including some high volleys and my doubles partner said it's from opening up my racket face and having too long a follow through.

With my volleys I've just been thinking about timing my step into them and the racket angle before contact. How should you follow trough after contact? Anything different on a high volley you're trying to put away?

 

[Dragy]

There’re 2 (3) ways to put volleys away:
- Hit with better angle;
- Hit with more power;
- (Drop volley)

For the first, you may focus more on (surprise!) angling it based on stringbed orientation rather than the swing direction. Here you need minimal follow-through, actually

For the second, on high balls, you want to focus on preparing racquet head higher than the ball, ensuring flattish contact (not getting under the ball) and using distinct follow-through towards the target. Works good if you kind of fix follow-through, but well past the ball, and forward, not around.

You usually use longer opening follow-through when you hit a low ball and want to place it deep. First volley when SnV, for example.

You can combine those on some shots.

 

[ichaseballs]

A few of my volleys sailed long, including some high volleys and my doubles partner said it's from opening up my racket face and having too long a follow through.

With my volleys I've just been thinking about timing my step into them and the racket angle before contact. How should you follow trough after contact? Anything different on a high volley you're trying to put away?

firstly, you should try to keep your thoughts simple when playing.
for me... 2 things come to mind, move FEET and stay LOW. (as they say "volley with your feet" and good practice to keep your head low)

there is not much of a follow thru on volley. this is a problem and until you master the volley, there should be very little backswing involved.
old school thing is to "catch the ball"

"high volleys to put away?" sounds like you should let them go if not confident on the volley/overhead.
positioning yourself and reading your opponent will make you look like a volley king.

 

[EddieBrock]

There’re 2 (3) ways to put volleys away:
- Hit with better angle;
- Hit with more power;
- (Drop volley)

For the first, you may focus more on (surprise!) angling it based on stringbed orientation rather than the swing direction. Here you need minimal follow-through, actually

For the second, on high balls, you want to focus on preparing racquet head higher than the ball, ensuring flattish contact (not getting under the ball) and using distinct follow-through towards the target. Works good if you kind of fix follow-through, but well past the ball, and forward, not around.

You usually use longer opening follow-through when you hit a low ball and want to place it deep. First volley when SnV, for example.

You can combine those on some shots.

What I'm having trouble with is the second situation. I've been pretty good at handling low volleys. The situation I have trouble with sometimes is a volley above shoulder height and I'm trying to hit it hard and deep between the opposing net man and returner. You're saying to follow through more flat towards the target without opening the racket face?

 

[Dragy]

What I'm having trouble with is the second situation. I've been pretty good at handling low volleys. The situation I have trouble with sometimes is a volley above shoulder height and I'm trying to hit it hard and deep between the opposing net man and returner. You're saying to follow through more flat towards the target without opening the racket face?

Over shoulder height becomes tougher until you have time to produce an OH - particularly because there’s not much room to set racquet head higher than the ball, and because your arm isn’t in powerful position when raised up high.
But generally the rule applies. Make clean contact, use inclined swingpath, flattish contact (vertical/closed racquet face) and carry it forward towards your target.

But if the ball goes faster and farther away, just stick your racquet catching the ball, and focus on RF orientation.

 

[socallefty]

Do you practice high volleys? Do it with a ball machine and you can tweak your technique by practicing volleying to different targets. Keeping my elbow below the racquet head at contact, contacting the ball early in front of me, being sideways and having a firm wrist (no rollover) all seem to help me with high volleys. I slightly open my racquet face and impart some under spin for control - a big backswing usually results in loss of control on high volleys and it is better to keep the stroke compact - if you keep the take back compact, your follow through will not be too long.

Maybe you are hitting more of a swinging volley than a traditional volley on these high balls. If that is the case, it is better to mimic a somewhat flat groundstroke than the usual volley technique.

 

[LuckyR]

What I'm having trouble with is the second situation. I've been pretty good at handling low volleys. The situation I have trouble with sometimes is a volley above shoulder height and I'm trying to hit it hard and deep between the opposing net man and returner. You're saying to follow through more flat towards the target without opening the racket face?

First of all, most volley errors are hit into the net, thus if you are hitting them long, you are coming late to the ball. You gave away the reason when you mentioned you are trying to hit with more power (to put the shots away). You are taking too much of a backswing to generate the power and are hitting the ball late, and thus long. Instead develop the ability to hit with more pace with the same backswing. You'll be on time to the ball and it will land where you are aiming.

 

[Dartagnan64]

thus if you are hitting them long, you are coming late to the ball.

This is a common problem. The high volley that sails long is usually hit late often by taking a big back swing.

Focusing on keeping the racket in front and not taking a big swing at it. I've watched our pros hit untouchable drive volleys with virtually no back swing. They generate power with the legs and shoulder and have a short controlled arm swing. Think the one inch punch in martial arts.

Lots of rec players like to swat at these volleys but that makes them error prone. Generate the power from elsewhere and keep the racket moving only a short distance.

 

[LeeD]

In doubles, your initial target is service line depth between your opponents. This gives you a chance to put the ball away on the NEXT shot.