John Yandell: Forehand Volley

Why are the volleys difficult to understand and to master?

The volley motions may be the most compact in terms of the size of the swings, but understanding them is every bit as challenging as the other strokes. Maybe more so.

In my opinion, most teaching information about how to hit the volley is inaccurate and counterproductive. This may help partially explain why so few players volley confidently and well.

Let’s see if we can do something to improve all that. In this article we’ll start with the forehand volley. We’ll isolate the illusive core elements in the forehand volleys of the best players of the world.

Specifically in this first article, we’ll look at the critical and misunderstood role of the hitting arm. Then we’ll go on to look at some of the variations and complexities of the forehand volley.

Then we’ll take a look at the patterns of the footwork, including the role of the split step, as well as the other critical step patterns before and after leading to the execution of the shot. From there we’ll progress to the backhand volley and do the same.

The extreme range of contact heights makes the volleys unique.

The…