The two hand backhand swing volley: now commonplace on the tour.
Over the last decade or more, the swing volley has become essential and commonplace on the pro tour and smart players are starting to include this shot at all levels, including competitive juniors and also recreational players.
In the previous article in this series, I discussed the tactics and mechanics of the swing volley focusing on the forehand. Here I will breakdown the two-handed backhand swing volley, and next month the one-handed backhand swing volley.
Building The Backhand
Here's how I build this shot - my priorities and the reminders that I give to my students. The key point is that footwork and positioning are everything
Typically on a swing volley, the ball is floating and the player has a lot of time to adjust the feet into position. Players need to adjust well and position the body with a stable base of support in the legs. A strong, wide, stable base will create the balance to hit the swing volley well.
On the two-handed backhand, the stable base is usually in a closed to neutral stance. Players often are moving forward to attack the ball out of the air, so a step down into the shot with the front foot makes sense.
An open stance with a leaping front foot transfer is another option when moving to floating balls nearer the sideline. I try to teach these two footwork setups to my students so that they have all the tools that they need to handle floaters out of the air.
Chris Lewit, former #1 for Cornell and Pro Circuit player, has coached numerous top 10 nationally ranked juniors and is a leading coach, educator, and author. He has written two best-selling books, The Secrets of Spanish Tennis and The Tennis Technique Bible.
Chris runs a popular high performance summer tennis camp in the beautiful mountains of Vermont and coaches players world-wide through his virtual school, CLTA Online (CLTA.teachable.com).
Chris also produces a weekly high performance tennis video talk show and podcast, The Prodigy Maker Show, which is available on Apple Podcasts and all other podcasting directories. All shows can be accessed at ProdigyMaker.com.
Check out Chris's blog, also at ProdigyMaker.com for free articles on high performance junior development and Spanish training. Learn about his camp at ChrisLewit.com or visit the online academy at CLTA.teachable.com
The Secrets of Spanish Tennis
What makes Spanish tennis so unique and successful? What exactly are those Spanish coaches doing so differently to develop superstars like Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer that other systems are not doing? These and other questions are answered in The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, the culmination of five years of study on the Spanish way of training by USTA High Performance Coach Chris Lewit.
