I finally got video that demonstrates what I mean by a shot that requires a classic drive volley and is not really suitable for hitting a swinging volley because the player is on the move too much to be consistent with a swinging volley.
Here's the shot in actual match play. This is a player I've been working with and he volleys really well, but he needs a great classic drive volley to take advantage of his opportunities to transition to the net off forcing shots.
I would argue that he is in total control hitting this shot and there is no need to hit it any bigger. This shot has a big backswing for a regular volley, but his right hand goes back only a few inches more than on a regular volley to just past the right shoulder while the racket head goes back about 2 feet more than a regular volley. For me, a true swinging volley would be at least twice as long a stroke path and prone to too many errors in this situation. And I'd rather see this ball hit with just a little bit of underspin to stay lower after the bounce.
It's my contention that this shot is not part of the repertoire of 90% or more of the current players, even at the highest levels. Of course, if you do play this shot, it will not always be a winner as in this situation and you have to be prepared to play a legitimate volley off the following passing attempt; unfortunately, that skill is largely absent for most of today's players as well. It's also important to be able to hit it with great accuracy and move behind it in a hurry to be positioned to intercept that attempted pass. Both of those things are much tougher to do with a swinging volley.
I'm interested in your comments.
don
Here's the shot in actual match play. This is a player I've been working with and he volleys really well, but he needs a great classic drive volley to take advantage of his opportunities to transition to the net off forcing shots.
I would argue that he is in total control hitting this shot and there is no need to hit it any bigger. This shot has a big backswing for a regular volley, but his right hand goes back only a few inches more than on a regular volley to just past the right shoulder while the racket head goes back about 2 feet more than a regular volley. For me, a true swinging volley would be at least twice as long a stroke path and prone to too many errors in this situation. And I'd rather see this ball hit with just a little bit of underspin to stay lower after the bounce.
It's my contention that this shot is not part of the repertoire of 90% or more of the current players, even at the highest levels. Of course, if you do play this shot, it will not always be a winner as in this situation and you have to be prepared to play a legitimate volley off the following passing attempt; unfortunately, that skill is largely absent for most of today's players as well. It's also important to be able to hit it with great accuracy and move behind it in a hurry to be positioned to intercept that attempted pass. Both of those things are much tougher to do with a swinging volley.
I'm interested in your comments.
don
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