The Volley in
My Teaching System

Welby Van Horn

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.

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 groundstrokes, moving slightly down to impart modest underspin, and then slightly upward on the followthrough.

So how do we go from these descriptions of the volley stroke to the execution? In my system I have developed a way to master all the strokes and their technical elements through a series of simple checkpoints. It's the same for the volleys.

The Checkpoint System

Using the checkpoints, players first learn to execute the volley motion without striking the ball. The best way to accomplish this is to learn to swing in slow motion, and also to do the swings in front of a mirror. This allows you to see how well you are executing the checkpoints.

In this article, I will discuss all the technical elements involved in mastering world class volleys. Then at the end, we'll present the key positions in both the forehand and backhand with the checkpoints you can refer to in creating your own stroke patterns.

Over the years I have taught thousands of players to volley using this approach and some of them have gone on to become national champions.

As soon as the player has mastered the basic motion, switch to the composite grip.

Forehand Volley Grip

There are no hard or fast rules about volley grips and how to teach them. Several variations will work both in learning the basic strokes and in more advanced play.

My own opinion is that, as with the serve, the grips for the volley are best learned as a progression. This means starting the forehand volley with an Eastern forehand grip.

Why? Because most players cannot master the motion otherwise. My experience of many years shows that most players will master the checkpoints and the feel for the basic stroke more easily using the same grip as on their forehand groundstroke.

As soon as the player is comfortable with the motion, however, he or she should progress to what I call the Composite grip, shown in the pictures at left.

This means the heel pad is resting mainly on the top bevel, or bevel 1 and partially on bevel 2. The index knuckle is on the edge between bevel 2 and bevel 3. Although the grip names are confusing and slightly different from coach to coach, this grip is the forehand volley grip of choice among almost all great net players. (For more on the grips and what the bevels mean Click Here.)

If you have a one-handed backhand, learn the volley with the Continental Grip first.

Backhand Volley Grip

Players with a one-handed backhand using a Continental grip should use that grip when learning the backhand volley. Again the terminology varies from coach to coach but is less important than the actual position of the hand on the racket. By Continental grip I mean the heel pad is mainly on bevel 1, or the top bevel, but partially on bevel 8. The index knuckle is in the middle of bevel 2.

You should eventually experiment with using the Composite grip on the backhand volley, as this gives the advantage of no grip change between the forehand and backhand volley. Most great volleyers use this grip on both volleys. But a few use the slightly stronger Continental grip on the backhand and the Composite grip on the forehand. This entails a subtle shifting of the hand counter-clockwise when going from the forehand to the backhand volley.

Players with two-handed backhands will probably be most comfortable using two-hands when first learning the backhand volley. To do this they must hit the two-hander with a Continental or Composite grip with the bottom hand. As soon as possible, they should transition to a one-handed backhand volley using the Composite or Continental grip. All of the truly great volleyers in the history of the game have used one-hand on the backhand volley.

Preparation

As we saw in my previous article (Click Here), it is hard to overestimate the importance of balance in tennis. This is true on the volley just as much as the groundstrokes.

As with the groundstrokes the body turn starts the racket take back. Often however you do not have time to move the feet to a fully sideways position. In this case the turn is mostly with the hips and the shoulders.

The shoulders and hips rotate back only about 45 degrees on the backswing, half or less than the groundstrokes. The racket should never go much further back than the rear shoulder.

As you advance, you will start to vary the length of the backswing depending upon the speed of the oncoming ball. The faster the incoming shot, the shorter the backswing. This is because you have less time, but also because the faster incoming ball supplies more power.

Footwork and Stance

Like the groundstrokes, the front or anchor foot steps forward after the backswing. Although the step begins prior to the hit, the contact will often occur before the foot touches the court in match play.

The direction and size of the step will vary depending upon the ball you are receiving. At times the top players will take large cross steps. But I feel it is important to learn the volley with a square stance, or in the case of the forehand it can also be slightly open.

Since there is also less forward rotation on the hips and shoulders on the volley than the groundstrokes, the movement of the back or adjustment foot is also less. However it is still very important to lift the heel of the back foot off the ground, while keeping the toes on the court. Why? This assures that your weight is moving forward.

Opposite Arm

As with the groundstrokes, the opposite arm and hand play an important counter balancing role on the volley. On the forehand volley, the non-racket arm and hand are held out to the left side of the body, roughly in line with the left hip.

On the backhand volley, the non-racket arm and used to help take the racket back cradling the throat with the left elbow separated from the side of the body.

On the forward swing, the non-racket arm and hand move backwards as the racket arm swings forward. This is particularly true on the backhand, with the position of the arms extended like a tightrope walker at the end of the volley.

As much as possible you should try to get your eyes close to the level of the ball. But to do this, you should try to bend from the knees and not the waist. The best volleyers, like John McEnroe and Pat Rafter, keep their body upright on most volleys.

Chair Drill

To develop the feeling of getting down for low volleys and transferring the weight forward, I like to use the Chair Drill.

The player sits in the chair to get the feeling for bending the knees. Then as they move the racket forward to hit the volley, the weight shift raises the back leg of the chair off the court. Since the player must shift the weight noticeably to raise the leg of the chair, this provides a great feeling for how the body should move on the low volleys. Try it and see for yourself.

Contact Points

The contact point on the volley varies much more than on the groundstrokes. This is a mainly function of the ball height. But many players get themselves tangled up by trying to hit all volleys at the same distance in front of them.

Basically the lower the ball, the further in front the contact. The higher the ball, the more the contact moves back, closer to the edge of the body.

On a shoulder high ball the contact point is at about the edge of the front foot or a little further in front. The contact point moves further out on a waist high ball and then even further forward on a ball at knee height or lower.

The contact point in general is further in front on the backhand compared to the forehand.

Followthrough

On the forehand volley followthrough, the tip of the racket should point at the net at about a 45 degree angle. This means the butt of the racket finishes pointing roughly toward the left hip. The racket arm should also be slightly bent.

When you first learn the backhand volley, you should try to finish with the racket parallel to the net. A good way to practice this is to freeze the racket finish after you hit the backhand volley, and then walk up to the net and check the angle.

As you advance, the finish on the backhand volley changes. Now the racket tip finishes a little closer to the net than the butt of the racket, though still less than the 45 degree angle on the forehand volley. On the backhand volley with either finish, the racket arm should be straight. This is compared to the slight bend in the racket arm on the forehand.

Developing Your Mental Image

As is true with all the strokes, you should practice in front of a mirror to accelerate your learning. This is far and a way the best method for mastering the checkpoints. This allows you to build up a strong mental image of what you look like performing the stroke properly. If you are doing anything wrong you will also be able to see this and correct it. To maximize the benefit, move through all the checkpoints and practice doing this both is slow motion and at regular speed.

Forehand Volley Check Points

Backswing Checkpoints: Body Turn Brings Racket Back Turn Is Half That Of Groundstroke Racket Back No Further than Right Shoulder Knees Comfortable Bent Non Racket Arm Used for Balance Eyes Focused on Ball

Contact Point Checkpoints: Shoulder and Hip Rotation Bring Racket Forward Front, Anchor Foot Steps Forward Stance Varies with Ball Swing Path Slightly Downward Racket Head Slightly Open Heel or Rear Foot Starts to Lift Off Court

Finish Checkpoints: Racket Butt Points at Left Hip Racket Arm Comfortably Bent Hips and Shoulder Complete Rotation Knees Still Comfortably Bent Heel of Rear Foot Lifts Further Off Court Non Racket Arm to Left for Balance

Backhand Volley Check Points

Backswing Checkpoints: Body Turn Brings Racket Back Turn Is About Half that of Groundstroke Non Racket Hand Craddles Racket Racket Hand No Further Back than Left Shoulder Racket Arm Comfortably Bent Knees Comfortably Bent

Contact Point Checkpoints: Shoulders and Hips Bring Racket Forward Front Anchor Foot Steps Forward Swing Path Forward and Slightly Down Racket Arm Fairly Straight at Contact Heel of Rear Foot Coming Off Court Non Racket Arm Moves Backwards

Finish Checkpoints: Butt of Racket Points Past Left Hip Swing Pattern Finishes Slightly Upward Shoulders and Hips Complete Rotation Non Racket Arm Continues Backward Heel of Rear Foot Comes Further Off Court Knees Remain Comfortably Bent