The Forehand Volley:
Variations

John Yandell

In the last article we looked at the core elements on the forehand volley. We did this through a close examination of high speed footage of pro volleys developed by Advanced Tennis Research, filmed at 250 frames a second. (Click Here.) This footage allowed us to examine the lightening volley fast swing patterns in a detailed way not impossible with the human eye, or even with conventional 30 frame per second video.

In this analysis, we saw the role of the feet and the shoulders in the unit turn and preparation. We also saw the critical role of the hitting arm shape, what we called the Open U. This shape can be described as follows. The forearm forms the base of the U. The upper arm and the racket form the legs. The legs are open to the base at an angle of about 45 degrees.

We saw that this hitting arm position is what allows the player to drive the motion forward with the shoulder. To see how this worked, we looked at examples of players hitting basic shoulder high volleys. (Click Here.) If you've felt this effect you now how satisfying and clean it can be.

But if you go to the net a lot, you are well aware that only a small percentage of forehand volleys are this simple. If you could count on a steady stream of shoulder high balls, you'd see a lot more players at all levels go up to the net a lot more often.

The fact is the ball frequently comes wider and/or higher and/or lower and/or harder and/or softer. Or some combination of those factors. As we noted, the height of the contact point can vary from the ankles to well above the top of the head. This is far and away the greatest diversity of any of the basic strokes, and one of the factors that makes the volley so difficult to master.

The Variations

So what happens to the basic elements we identified in the first article--and especially the U shape--when we look at the shot variations? Let's work through a range of different volleys and see what stays the same and what does not. I think you'll be surprised at what we see.

Quite a few people wrote in after the first article with comments about the U shape. In general, everyone recognized it in the footage presented with the article. But many people made the point that the shape didn't hold on other balls. And I agree.

The hitting shape often changes just before the critical moment of the contact. In fact you can find the hitting arm in many different configurations depending on the ball and how the player is positioned. The arm can straighten out partially or all the way, and the angle between the racket and the forearm--one leg of the U--can change in either direction.

It's important to understand that we can also find clear examples of more difficult balls where the players hold the shape of the Open U throughout the motion. Look at the animation of John McEnroe hitting a gorgeous low volley, followed by Tim Henman hitting a high one. Both players are able to position the U shape behind the ball and drive the motion from the shoulder.

Interestingly, even when the hitting arm shape changes significantly at contact, it frequently regains the U Shape after contact. This is one reason I think it is so important for players to learn it from the beginning and to feel its central role in the execution of the stroke.

Swing Shapes

You also see variations in the length of the swing, the shape of the swing, and in the muscle groups the players use to move the racket through the contact. Players may swing the hitting arm forward and across the body. Or they may swing the hitting arm sharply downward from the shoulder. Players also rotate the hitting arm and racket backwards and forwards in the shoulder joint, the same kind of "supination" and "pronation" movements we see in the serve.

What is fascinating however is that these adaptations almost always occur after the players establish the basic U shape. And despite the changes in the U and the additional movements, the shoulder rotation remains a central force driving the motion forward.

So on virtually every ball, the players begin with some degree of unit turn and also establish the U shape. The shoulder rotation starts the forward motion. Then, from this point, they alter the shape of the hitting arm and the shape of the swing to adapt to the ball.

This is why players who try to learn the more difficult adaptive shapes first have so many problems. They don't have the feel of the simple, solid motion forward motion to the contact that comes with the setting up the basic sape. So let's look at what happens on a wide range of different balls and how the hitting arm changes as well as what other factors come into play in executing the motion.

Stretch Volleys

For starters, watch the animation of Max Mirnyi hitting a stretch forehand volley. Watch the perfect unit turn, the set up on the outside foot, and the creation of the hitting arm position. Now watch what happens next.

As the racket moves forward to contact the ball, Max extends his hitting arm from the elbow until it is virtually straight. This probably extends his reach an additional 6 inches. The shape of the hitting arm has changed substantially, going from a U to more of an L shape.

But, as Max extends and changes the shape of the hitting arm, watch how the rotation of the shoulder still drives the arm forward. This torso rotation is the same element we saw in the more basic volley. The rear shoulders rotates probably around 30 degrees until it is parallel with the net at contact.

Now watch and see how an additional element no comes in completing the motion. Watch the hitting arm and racket move forward and across the body.The torso stops rotating. The hitting arm stays virtually straight. The L shape is perfectly preserved. To continue the swing, Max is using his front shoulder muscles to move the arm and racket as a unit without any internal play or movement in this altered hitting arm structure. It's like a gate swinging on a hinge.

But watch how in another split second the elbow has flexed again, partially regaining the U shape. No wonder the motions on the volleys are misunderstood. The arm moved from the U shape to the L shape and then back again to the U shape, driven by two different shoulder motions--all in a few tenths of a second. This is why we need the high speed video to study the dynamics of the swing pattern.

Low Volleys

Now let's look the changes in the shape of the hitting arm and in the motion on a tough low volley, hit by Taylor Dent.

Taylor is virtually scrapping this ball off the court. Most players and coaches would agree it's one of the most difficult shots in the game. Unfortunately, if you come to the net in pro tennis, you need to be ready to hit a lot of these, and do that successfully. And that's probably one reason why players don't come in that much.

Watch the sequence. Taylor does a great job of getting down in his legs. But that alone isn't enough to reach this ball. He also bends somewhat at the waist. But the racket still won't be low enough. The final factor is the change in the hitting arm position. Notice how he changes from the U shape to the L shape, again by straightening the arm at the elbow. This is similar to the adaptation Max Mirnyi made on the stretch volley above.

This shift accomplishes two things. First, by dropping the angle of the forearm, he is able to lower the racket head sufficiently to hit slightly upward on the ball and get the trajectory of the shot up and over the net.

Second, with the arm straightened out into the L shape, he is able to reach a few inches further forward to contact the ball before it bounces on the court. It keeps him from having to hit an even more difficult half volley. Because his last step with the front foot is so large, it's also the only way he can still keep the contact in front.

Notice though that the shoulder rotation still initiates the forward movement of the racket. But like Max, Taylor also uses the front shoulder muscles to push the hitting arm structure forward independent of the torso rotation.

Another interesting point is what happens to the wrist. Watch what happens to the racket after contact, and especially the angle between the wrist and the forearm. The wrist is laid back in the L shape around 45 degrees just before contact. After the hit the racket head actually moves backward slightly increasing this angle to about 90 degrees. We can see it in Taylor and also another low volley hit by Max Mirnyi in the animation.

From this action we can surmise that the players are holding the racket only tight enough to keep the hitting arm shape, and no tighter. The grip pressure is probably softer than you might imagine, especially if you have been trained to keep the wrist "firm." Again the problem with keeping the volley "firm" is that it tends to make the average player even more tense and rigid.

Downward Angle

One of the most interesting aspects of all the forehand volley motions we've been looking at is how level the forward swing patterns really is. This is why so players trained to hit sharply downward for underspin usually hit volleys that float rather than stick.

The shape of the swings is consistent with the spin data we have on the forehand volley, which had the least spin of any of the shots we studied in our heavy ball analysis. (Click Here.) On average the pro forehand volley has less than 1000rpm of spin, actually about 800rpm. A backhand volley usually has more than twice as much spin,at about 2000rpm. We'll see that makes sense when we look at the swing patterns in an upcoming article.

On most forehand volleys, there is only a slight downward angle to the swing plane. The racket is moving much more forward than downward. This is whyI stress the rotational element in the forward swing so much.

Occasionally though you will see a radically downward swing pattern, as in the example of the high Federer forehand volley in the animation. This extreme example helps us see how that downward component of the swing is generated.

The downward motion is another unitary movement of the arm and racket, again driven by the front shoulder muscles. It's similar to the movement across the body we saw above, just in a different direction.

This downward component starts at the same time as the forward rotational movement coming from the rear shoulder. But it typically continues after the forward rotation is complete. Look in the Federer animation and watch the arm and racket continue to move downward after the back shoulder is stationary.

Opening the Face

One of the most perplexing elements in the forehand volley motion is the additional opening or tilting back of the racket face that occurs around contact. This is sometimes called "cupping" the volley.

Is it an intentional movement? Is it the key to underspin? Or is something else happening here that isn't well understood? If you look at the high speed video you'll see that this change in the angle of the racket face is an effect. It seems to happens almost exclusively as a result of the contact with the ball.

This makes sense in the context of what we've described above. The racket face is slightly open. It's moving forward and slightly downward. The swing is also flattening out coming into the contact. To do this you can see that the player is usually rotating his forearm slightly backwards.

Now, when the ball hits the strings, the forearm rotation increases and the racket face turns back significantly further. But it's not a universal phenenomenon. Some balls it happens, and others it doesn't. Yes you can see it many of the video examples, but should you worry about trying to make it happen? The answer is no, in my opinion. Let it occur, naturally, or not, as a result of executing the motion and the confluence of factors described above.

Upper Arm Rotation

There is one additional, more radical component to the arm action we've identified. This is on super high forehand volleys. It involves the backward rotation of the upper arm in the shoulder joint, and then the forward rotation taking the racket through the hit.

Watch the incredible animation of Pete Sampras hitting a tough high volley from the side view. Watch what happens to the hand, hitting arm and racket. First, the hand goes back the edge of the rear shoulder, and at this point the racket is pretty much straight up and down. So that looks like a traditional volley.

But watch what happens next. Now the upper arm rotates further backwards in the shoulder socket. You can also see the wrist become more laid back. This is again an indication of the relatively lack of tension in the hitting arm.

When we look at the forward swing we see the familiar forward rotation of the rear shoulder. So again, look that this basic motion we identified as a core part of the shot comes into play even in the most extreme variations.

We also see Pete raise the arm and racket upward using the shoulder muscles. But watch how the hitting arm and racket structure rotates forward in the shoulder joint. Look at the elbow. You'll see it rotate forward around 45 degrees to the contact. At this point look that the angle of the racket face is pointing just slightly down. After the contact the rotation continues probably an equivalent amount, another 45 degrees or so.

It appears that this ball is being hit virtually or completely flat. As we'll see in an upcoming article, this is the exact opposite of the way spin works on super high backhand volleys. Pretty incredible and one more example that there is a lot of complexity in the volley motions that has to be analyzed and sequenced in terms of importance in building the shot for yourself.

So there we have it for the variations on the forehand volley. What we see is that the additional elements in the swing pattern are seamlessly integrated with the core motion we identified in the first article.

This is why it's so important and valuable for players at all levels to learn the underlying structure of the motion. Now as players learn to deal with more and more difficult balls, they can adjust and add the additional elements we've identified in this article.

Next: On to the backhand volley!