The Volleys in My Teaching System

A volley is a stroke hit with a stringed instrument. The volley is a stroke. That may come as a surprise since the volley is often described as more like a punch or a block than a stroke. But the results are better if you develop your volley as a stroke. A stroke implies feeling and touch. The tennis racket is a stringed instrument. An accomplished violinist caresses the strings of his instrument. The accomplished volleyer knows how to caress the ball on the racket strings. He feels the ball through his fingertips. A player with touch and feel is on his way to improving his deep, angle, drop and lob volleys. The volley is a stroke, but it is vital to understand the length of the volley stroke is less than a groundstroke in each dimension. Roger Federer demonstrates the reduced dimensions of the volley strokes. Changed Dimensions There is less movement in the preparation. Most of the racket backswing is created by the turn of the the hips and shoulders. The forward swing is equally abbreviated. Much of it comes from the forward rotation of the body. The forward swing also follows a different path compared to the...