Why does the racket pull back after contact on this Federer volley?

[Raul_SJ]

Why is the racket pulling back after contact instead of following through forwards?

 

[TnsGuru]

He is actually absorbing the pace of the oncoming ball. If you notice the ball after contact, the ball "dies" or slows down and is landing short on the service line. His opponent probably thought he was going to volley deep and into the opposite corner. It's nice to have options/disguise when volleying so your opponent has to guess where the ball is going.

 

[Noveson]

Because he's slowing the ball down. He was trying to hit it short so he absorbed some of the pace

 

[movdqa]

Pro racquets are usually very powerful as well. If the incoming ball has a lot of pace, and isn't high above the net, then the pro may have to take pace off the ball. For an extreme example, watch Sampras hit drop volleys off of rockets hit at him.

 

[TnsGuru]

McEnroe used similar technique to hit his famous drop volleys. Federer is the closest I have seen in the modern game to having solid and touch volleys that emulate the classic game. Note* Federer used to S/V early in his career as he copied the game of Becker, Edberg and Sampras his heroes. He changed his game to more baseline during his prime and he is now getting his volley skills back but his age and diminished mobility has prevented him from using the volley more effectively against the top players. In his prime Federer didn't need to volley to win and he lost his volley skills.

 

[scotus]

See if you can track down Brett Hobden's volley video from USPTA.

He basically describes it as the racquet's losing the battle against the ball on impact. It is done purposefully to take the pace off the incoming ball and hit a touch shot.

Then there are two other types of shots where the racquet beats the ball on impact and where it comes to a draw.