Volley practise question

toth

Hall of Fame
Recently i practise my volleys more.
I stay at the net, my practise partner at the baseline.
I feel it works, i feel more confident at the net.
But i know ithis drill is more interessant for me than for my practise partner.

How scould i approach this practise drill if the incoming balls are difficoult?
Of cource i want to hit it to the opponent court, but schould i aim these difficoult balls to my opponents or rather away from him as in match situation?

Thank you for your answer
Toth
 

eah123

Hall of Fame
When I drill volley, we use a basket of balls. I feed from the service box T and partner can practice volleys from all parts of the court (ad box, deuce box, middle line and around the T), as well as practice hitting all of the targets (deep to each side, angled to each side, drop volleys). Feeds if you have good control can go to backhand, forehand, high and low.
 

chic

Hall of Fame
There are games and such you can do with a partner to practice volleys more co-op, and if you only have 3-4 balls then probably you should try to direct them at your partner.

But the better option would probably to just get a full hopper and each do some set time of volleys (or one hopper worth.)

Might be less fun than hitting back and forth for your partner, but it gets you a lot of reps quickly so you can move to rallying and it gets you more reps.
 

Humbi_HTX

Professional
I like to practice hitting at my partner, if you can aim and control your shot where you give back a volley that your partner can return consistently back to you, it really helps both ways. Accuracy + intent of the shot for the volley with quick response and for the basliner practice of a 2-shot passing shot to make your opponent volley instead of going for the winner passing shot.

It also makes it more intense physically, plus when you play in public courts that have no side fence or barrier, you can't be spraying a whole basket of balls right and left because you want to practice match-like winners (if the courts around you are being used) and contrary to what actually happens during a match where your 1st volley is not a straight winner (at least not a rec level)

I am also often one to invite my partner to stay at the net while I hit back to him and keep the ball in play.
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
First of all, you should never be stationary when you are the one hitting the volleys. You should take your first volley from around the service T, and then move forward with each volley. When you play singles, you will most often make your first volley from deeper in the court and so you need to practice that along with the footwork to close onto the net with each successive volley.

Second, as a general rule, the tougher the volley you're having to hit, the more often you should go DTL. The reason for that is that if you go crosscourt, your proper split step position is on the opposite side from where you just made your volley and that gives your opponent numerous ways to pass you. As an example, you have to stretch out to your forehand side to make a volley. If you are a righty, you're going to hit this volley somewhere in the middle of the deuce side service box. If you go crosscourt, your split step position should be in the ad side service box. That's a long way to have to get there if you have to regain balance after making a tough volley, and if your opponent catches you trying to rush over to cover DTL, he can just poke it back behind you. However, if you volley DTL, your ready position is basically about where you already are.
 
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