We're going to tell you the story behind the scenes before we explain about the technique
of how to hit the volley.
Remember, how to get to the net is 99% of it.
Hitting the volley is the other percent.
So we're going to start telling you about the story, the transition of building the
point in order to come in.
Then we'll close it out by the techniques of the volley.
Okay?
Let's get started.
Welcome to Nick Bolatari's Tenacious Net Play.
Tenacious Net Play offers a complete exploration of the attacking game, leaving you with powerful
insight, clear strategic objectives, and techniques for making your skills tenacious.
You will learn how to master the art of applying pressure and closing points.
We'll show you how to set the stage for the points end so that the odds of winning are
always in your favor.
The tenacious net player wins by progressively breaking down the opponent over the course
of a match, applying constant pressure, forcing the opponent to either come up with the goods
or go down trying.
For you to become tenacious, you must overcome any fears you might have and build positive
experiences through practice and match play.
If you apply what you learn and stick to it, eventually you will love the feeling of being
tenacious at net.
When you get a defensive ball, there should be one thing on your mind, I'm going to attack
the net.
The future is going to have all around players.
More players are going to spend more time at the net than before.
Without the complete game in the 2000s, I believe a student will be void in their game
to stay up with the competition to reach their ability level or the ability level of where
the game is going to.
So we're spending a lot more time on the volleys.
We begin our study of Tenacious Net Play looking at the objectives behind the attacking style
of play.
It is important for you to understand the thought process and decision making involved
in setting the stage to end points.
Once we've established our objectives and know what we are trying to accomplish on each
point, we can put into better perspective how the various strokes and skills must function.
In order to really become competitive and quite good at the net, you have to make up
your mind that you are going to close in.
Many times you're so thrilled with the shot or quite frightened that you're caught around
the tee or a little bit in front of the tee that you don't know what to do.
That's when they get you.
Be positive, make the commitment and follow through with it.
Your success or failure as an attacking player rests heavily on the quality of your game
plan and your ability to execute.
What is a game plan?
A game plan establishes an objective for every shot, organizing your skills into shot patterns
and combinations so that you can build points towards a desired outcome.
It is your plan of attack which highlights your strengths, protects your weaknesses and
is able to adjust to court surfaces, playing conditions and opponents.
The attacking player's game plan sends the message loud and clear to the opponent.
I will capitalize on every opportunity to attack the net.
You must do this in practice.
Every single shot you do, every thought process you do in practice should be geared towards
I'm going to take advantage of the first opportunity, I'm going to pick up the ball earlier, I'm
going to be in position earlier, but I'm not going to let you off to her.
It goes back to practicing with a purpose.
Why do you need a game plan?
Well, if you were so good that you could hit winners on every shot, you wouldn't need a
game plan.
The only strategy would be to keep hitting winners, though we never intend to.
Unfortunately, it's all too common that in match play we make errors.
If you don't learn to manage your errors, you'll end up beating yourself.
Built on the understanding of percentage shot patterns and a focus on the right objectives
for ending points, a game plan is the structure of shot combinations used to end points.
Rather than always relying on using one unbelievable shot to win points, you must put your trust
in combining two or three good shots together to finish your points.
Your game plan must be something you can do, a workable plan that is effective even when
you're not playing your best.
If you are disciplined to your game plan and trust the effectiveness of the patterns and
combinations, you'll find yourself under a lot less pressure not having to make split
second decisions for every shot.
When I go to tournaments or I watch a lot of amateurs play, I sort of look at the attitude
and the intensity of the approach shots.
Some of them get up there and say, I'm just going to knock the beans out of the ball and
that kind of punch it back there, Andrea, because you're just saying, hey, the harder
you hit the ball to me, the quicker it's going to reach me, and I'm going to flat out right,
catch you right at your feet.
So slow down a second.
It has to be a variation of spin, overspin, a little underspin, sometimes driving, sometimes
even slowing down the approach shot, enabling you to get in a little closer to the net.
So don't think that tenacious net play comes from a thundering approach shot.
It comes from a combination of shots that keep the counterpuncher thinking and confused.
Point structure shows us the four stages of how points are built from start to finish.
Your stroke inventory consists of the tools you have to carry out your plan.
You can see that the objectives behind your serve and return are to get the points started.
Stage two is the setting up of the point through the ground stroke rally where you're looking
to create opportunities to attack.
You progress to stage three when opportunity has been created and you begin a closing combination
of shots, setting the stage for the points end.
Stage four is the back end of your shot combinations that finish the point.
Obviously, not all points will progress through all four stages.
For example, to serve in volley, your serve is being used as an approach shot, so essentially
you go from stage one to stages three and four, eliminating the rally.
Your competitive mentality should have you positioned and prepared to attack the net
the first opportunity you see, but you must be willing to build your opportunities as
many shots as it takes.
You have to be disciplined enough to avoid the temptations that can sidetrack your game
plan.
If you let yourself slip into the pressured mentality of trying to end the point with
every swing of the racket, you'll quickly find yourself swimming in unforced errors.
Power is only one of the ingredients of the formula.
You want to attack with intelligence, power, placement, variations of spin.
That's what it's all about, is learning how to attack and mixing it up, because if you
mix it up, the opponent doesn't know what you're going to do.
We continue our pursuit of the tenacious mentality, looking at point outcomes and the story behind
statistics.
If you were to chart match statistics, the end of the point would fall into one of three
categories, winners, forced errors, and unforced errors.
A winner occurs when you successfully execute a shot that goes untouched by the opponent
to end the point.
A forced error occurs when your shot forces the opponent to execute without having time
to set up mentally or physically, and they make an error.
An unforced error occurs when your opponent has time to set up mentally and physically
for the shot, and they make an error.
To learn more of how your shot selection strategy relates to the point-ending outcomes, consider
the following scenario.
With a penetrating serve, you have created an opportunity ball in the midcourt.
Will you A, go for the outright winner on the next shot, B, get into a rally and wait
for the opponent to make an error?
Or C, approach with the intent of forcing the opponent as you position it net?
Let's examine option A, go for the outright winner.
Even an easy sitter can be easy to miss when you think to yourself, go for the winner and
the pressure's on.
To put it on the line under tough circumstances and come up with the big winner is certainly
a glorious moment for any player.
There's no greater feeling, except for winning the match itself.
But when you hit with the intent of creating an outright winner, you put added pressure
on yourself, and often you try to make the shot better than it needed to be, resulting
in an error.
In the final match statistics, if the same short ball opportunity were to occur 100 times,
would you be satisfied with 35 of those glorious winners?
Maybe so, but before you answer, you have to ask yourself the question, what happened
on the other 65 points?
Well, you made unforced errors on 55 of those points.
In the big picture, your short ball decision to go for it is now costing you far more points
than you're winning.
Closing winners can be just as rewarding and going home with the trophy will feel even
better when you focus on creating winners at net as the back end of a combination.
Take the pressure off yourself and build points.
When you get that defensive ball, do not go for a winner on that particular shot.
It's part of a series of shots which start with controlling the center of the court,
the approach shot, the first volley, move in further, the put away volley.
It's a combination of shots.
We continue our short ball scenario looking at option B. Get into a rally and wait for
the opponent to make an error.
If you repeatedly pass on blatant opportunities to attack, choosing to stay back and rally,
you're actually doing your opponent a favor.
In no time at all, your opponent will be rallying comfortably with no pressure of having to
keep the ball deep.
That's when consistent depth on the shots gets easiest to achieve.
Secondly, waiting for errors and playing it safe only works some of the time, and that's
when the opponent is willing to give you the match on errors.
Unless you learn to force the action, you'll lose to players who can.
Certainly, you want to build the points, but you have one thought in mind.
Don't stay back there too long.
Your opportunities to attack will diminish.
Attack right away, or even attack before you're supposed to come in.
The attacker must say, hey, if they have to hit up and they're off the court in that position,
I'm going to go in sometimes and volley to the open court.
So when you see that girl or boy hitting up on the volley and you're about in this position
and you say, heck with it, I'm going to go in because then they get the ball over the
net, they have to lift it, and then you're in position to put it away.
Stefan Edberg was fantastic in creating this, the same as Boris Becker.
And once you get to that net, there's no longer keeping the play.
A good forcing first volley from within the tee, and close in, baby.
Close in and end the point.
That takes us to our final option C, approach with the intent of forcing the opponent as
you position at net.
Rather than turning every short ball opportunity into an attempted winner, we choose to approach
with the intent to force.
Your intent to force means in your own mind, you're allowing for margin of error, not
requiring perfection on your shot.
This allows you to maintain a much higher percentage of approach shots in play, reducing
your unforced errors.
By selecting option C, you will have set the stage for the following possibilities.
You will force the opponent to A, come up with a big winner, B, break down with a forced
error, or C, give you a volley or overhead opportunity to end the point.
The odds tell us when you can effectively force on the approach, the frequency of winners
by the opponent will be far offset by the number of forced errors they commit.
In addition to the put away winners you will have at net, you can allow yourself to lose
your tenacious edge and get discouraged over the occasional errors you make in setting
up the point.
Just remember, if you stayed within your game plan, you were at least going for the right
shot.
And more importantly, respect the fact that if your opponent is at all worthy, they will
make their share of spectacular winners that you're challenging them to have to hit.
So when you see those passing shots go by just out of reach, remember you forced them
to have to make the shot.
And if you had a chance to do it all over again, you'd do it the same way.
Because the odds say you'll come out ahead in the final outcome.
No matter how good you are, there are some counterpunchers that are just licking their
chops.
I mean, you take Andre Agassi and he says, bring it on baby, I want you to come to the
net.
Please, don't become defeated because a counterpuncher is able to pass you time and time again.
You got to stick in there.
Remember, he may be having a field day or she may be having a field day.
That particular day, you may have driven right into a buzzsaw.
Maintain your plan.
I'm going to be coming in.
What you might do is perhaps change and don't come in as often or add a little variation
to the shot to throw off that great counterpuncher and get the counterpuncher to think a little
bit of what type of shot you're going to hit.
Now that you have a better understanding of game plans and the objectives behind the attacking
mentality, we need to explore the basic shot patterns used to maintain good court position.
When hitting to stay in the point, percentage shot patterns consist of the shot selections
that provide the shortest distance to full recovery or the shortest path to position
at net.
In a baseline rally, a ball traveling at average speed takes less than two seconds to reach
the opponent.
Within that one to two second time frame, you must be able to establish court position
that locates you halfway between your opponent's best possible shots.
If you're unable to fully recover in time, you will leave open court for the opponent.
Looking at this diagram, you'll see that the recovery positions are different with
each direction of shot.
When you're hitting from a position wide in the court, if you choose the cross court
target one, you must find recovery position number one.
This cross court pattern provides the best opportunity to recover and continue the point.
When you hit to the center target two, you have further to travel to reach recovery position
two.
And if you choose a driving shot to the down the line target three, your shot better be
an outright winner or there'll be a great opportunity for your opponent to beat you
cross court because it's very unlikely you'll be able to fully recover in time.
Beautiful preparation.
Two handed backhand and look, she knew she was going in before she hit the ball.
That's what makes this so good.
She's got that instinct that before she gets to the ball, hey, I'm going in.
And by doing that, she ends up inside the court an extra step or so.
You don't hit, look, and then go in.
You know as you build the point, you have certain objectives before she gets to the
ball, she's doing it.
And you know why this comes about is because she practices that way.
This doesn't come about by accident.
Now she will move back once in a while and when she does move back, she'll get right
back up into that pocket immediately.
That's what makes it so good.
Your ability to improve your court position behind every shot is critical to your attacking
game plan.
When working with short balls out near the alley, approaching down the line provides
the shortest path to improving your court position.
To approach cross court from that same position requires you to travel a much greater distance
to reach closing net position, leaving you most vulnerable to the down the line passing
shot.
When you have a short ball in the center of the court, attacking straight down the center
will reduce the opponent's passing shot angles, deter their lob tendency, and allow you to
position for the volley.
As you progressively work your way into net with your approach shot and often a first
volley, you are trying to ultimately achieve a closing position that is close enough to
net to angle the volleys away and still guard against the lob.
When facing an opponent with all the weapons, you must position yourself halfway between
the opponent's best possible shots.
That means your position within one step in a full reach of the racket of covering the
down the line passing shot, within one step in a full reach of covering the angle passing
shot, and within two steps of covering a lob.
In closing net position, your range of coverage is the area within your reach that you can
effectively cover most of the time.
Through solid volley and overhead skills and quick reflexes, you are creating a wall of
defense that the opponent cannot easily penetrate.
To beat you they must hit outside your range of coverage and execute with precision.
A backboard, and by the way a voluntary backhoe backboard, that's the defense.
Imagine the opponent saying if I hit anywhere in that range I lose.
You must be able to cover the entire distance of that backboard.
Move to the right, move to the left, make those lunges.
Once the backboard breaks down that area of play, the counter puncher has a field day.
So you must protect that wall of defense.
So we have two basic percentage shot patterns to remember.
In the baseline rally we use cross court patterns, and for attacking the net with approaches
and set up volleys we use the down the line patterns.
As you begin to gain knowledge about your opponent, their strengths, weaknesses and
tendencies, you may be able to adjust your court positioning and even deviate from the
shot patterns at times to attack a weakness.
Approaching cross court into a weakness may end up paying off, but you do risk leaving
open court opportunities for your opponent.
When you choose to not play the preferred patterns, you just need to understand how
it adversely affects your court position.
When you volley, you volley for position, especially if you're backed by the tee.
The closer you get to the net, the more you can angle off the volley, and that's what
it's about.
You're putting more pressure on the counter puncher to make their shot even better.
To air is human, to force is divine.
Take a moment to picture in your own mind a scenario where you have an approach shot
and your intent is to force your opponent while you move into net position.
With your knowledge of percentage shot patterns, you are likely thinking of a down the line
approach and probably a penetrating drive with margin of error.
But what if your opponent typically positions five feet behind the baseline in the rally?
Then your chances of actually forcing the opponent with your deep shot get very slim.
Looking at that same point, by the way the attacking player is preparing for the approach
shot, what type of shot do you think the opponent is expecting, deep or short?
It is clear by the attacker's racket preparation that his intent is to drive the ball, not
to hit a drop shot.
There's no need for the opponent to worry about the short ball.
By using your deep slice approach, you set up great disguise for adjusting the depth
of your shots.
Every so often you can mix in the drop shot and the opponent will be left sitting on their
heels waiting for the ball to come to them.
Don't forget, drop shots and drop volleys are the most effective forcing shots when
your opponent positions deep in the backcourt.
Once you force them a few times with drop shots and drop volleys, the opponent will
have to guard against that strategy by positioning closer to the baseline in the rally where
they may not be as comfortable.
Now when you attack on a deep ball, it will be much easier to force the opponent because
of where the opponent is positioned in the court.
Developing the art of disguise in your game and paying attention to how your opponent
positions in the court will allow you to effectively attack both deep and short throughout the
match.
When you've created a great opportunity to approach and attack the net, the last thing
you want to do is to provide the opponent with the exact type of shot they love to work
with when hitting passing shots and lobs.
All it takes is a sliver of opportunity and a quality counterpuncher will take control
of the point, turning the tables using their own closing combinations to force you at net.
Most counterpunchers would prefer your approach shot to travel at the same speed as your shots
in the rally, land within three or four feet of the baseline, and bounce up into their
preferred contact zone.
All too often we see players approaching on this same type of shot every time, then they're
left wondering why the opponent is having such a great day passing them time and time
again.
Using variations of spin, pace and depth on the approach shot forces the opponent to work
with balls outside of their preferred contact zone, giving them nothing to work with, making
them generate all their own pace as you toy with their timing and rhythm.
Think of using variation as a way of giving the opponent less to work with so you don't
end up feeding the giant.
Don't feed the giant!
The 1999 Men's World Championship clearly showed that the all-court game with a couple
of weapons in the long run will normally beat the other player no matter how good they are.
And this was clearly shown by Sampras beating Agassi in the finals, even though Agassi was
number one.
Pete was able to dig deep, come in with a big serve and volley, come in and hit that
kicker overhead, the slam dunk.
He had powerful ground strokes there, flat, but he had a little bit more than Andre to
come in.
And this is what I believe is going to happen in the 2000s.
Yeah.
When you come up to the net, you're in the fire zone.
You've cut off almost half the distance that the ball travels.
You've got to be ready.
Be standing on your heels and taking a picture.
You're going to be flat on your fanny.
A short stop is ready.
He's down, ready to make wonderful moves.
You watch the girl basketball players in guarding the opponent.
They're down, ready.
Once you're in that fire zone, you have to be prepared not only for the first volley,
but to get back to position.
You have to be prepared to move back, hit the overhead and move back in.
When you choose to enter the fire zone, if you're unable to maintain control of points,
chances are you'll go down in flames.
As you work to build your wall of defense at net, your movement must be quick, yet controlled
and calculated, and your net skills rock solid.
What you need is an athletic foundation.
The athletic foundation is the core body position we establish to maximize our quickness, power,
balance and control.
To be an attacking player, you must develop these qualities to allow you to create more
fluid motion and maintain control of your movement and strokes as you attack.
When positioning to react to the opponent's shot, you prepare to reflex by setting up
with a strong foundation position.
That means spreading your feet one and a half to two shoulder widths apart, lowering your
hip position by bending your knees, and strong upright positioning of your back posture.
Your athletic height in this position should be approximately one foot lower than your
normal standing height.
As you react and begin to move, this low-to-the-ground, strong back posture foundation should remain
intact throughout the duration of the point.
What does this all lead to?
You've got to pay attention to your physical fitness program.
Patrick Rafter, a lot of the girls, Mary Pierce, Pete Sampras, they spend lots of time in the
gym, and if you want to improve your reaction time, improve your foundation.
By making a strong commitment in your practice and match play, and with lots of hard work,
you can dramatically increase your performance potential by building into habit a stronger
athletic foundation.
When you can maintain these qualities throughout each point you play, you will reach maximum
efficiency and precision, functioning like a finely tuned machine.
While staying low and compact in your athletic foundation, your footwork has to be smooth
and fluid as you move in.
Whether you're attacking off the serve, return, or short ball, you must accelerate your footwork
in the first few steps to get you in closer to the net.
With the help of the cross behind footwork pattern, you can learn to move through your
approach shots using your forward momentum to help you execute the stroke.
This footwork pattern works most effectively for the underspin approaches.
As your opponent is about to make contact, you must split step with your footwork.
The purpose of a split step is to regain control of your body's forward momentum and establish
your balance.
Your split step allows you to read the opponent's next shot and make your move accordingly.
The timing of your split step must stay in sync with the opponent's contact point to
allow you time to react to their shot.
Even a fraction of a second late on your split will often close the window of opportunity.
Your split step technique should keep you light on your feet, energized, and looking
to make your next move.
If you plant your feet too heavily, stopping all your forward momentum, you'll find it
will be much more difficult to get yourself to move to the volley.
All too often, when the body weight gets planted back on the heels, you end up watching the
passing shot go by, not making any move at all.
So you have to stay light on your feet and make yourself react and move quickly out of
this position.
Don't get too settled in.
The ready position on your split step should have your arms and racket out in front of
you, centered between your shoulders, putting you at the midpoint between the forehand and
the backhand side.
Keeping the racket head above your hands and pointed upward will create a lighter feel
to the racket, allowing you to be quicker on preparation for the volleys.
With a strong athletic foundation as our building block, we now want to focus on the skills
behind our wall of defense.
When you have to reflex in situations with less than a second to execute, any excess
motion in your preparation will make you late for the shot.
Based on those conditions, let's look at how to improve our volley technique.
We begin our study of basic volley technique with the grip behind tenacious net play.
The continental grip is equally effective for both the forehand and backhand side, as
well as for the bottom hand on two-handed backhand volleys.
You can see in this illustration, the continental grip positions the V shape between your thumb
and first finger, in line with the top edge of the grip.
The continental grip provides the best support and control for the racket face at contact
throughout your full range of coverage.
Notice how the elbow is positioned inward, as the wrist remains in a strong position
when using this grip.
As you move forward on the attack, you must shift to the continental grip to close the
points at net.
Since this is also the preferred grip for serves and overheads, you'll find when you
serve and volley, you never have to change your grip.
How in the world can you volley with a grip like this?
I mean, look at this grip.
That's why you're so loose on the backhand side.
When you hit, your racket head makes contact and you drop it right on down to here.
You can't have that.
Let's get on over here into that continental grip.
Let's firm up a little bit on contact, but this new grip should eliminate about 90% of
those problems.
With the continental grip in hand, we progress to the preparation on the forehand volley.
Most of the time you will be volleying in quick reflex mode, so your preparation needs
to be compact with no excess motions.
Your objective is to prepare immediately for contact.
You'll be using the pace that is already on the passing shots, so you won't need a backswing.
A great analogy for understanding the preparation and mentality on the volley is to study the
catch and baseball.
Watch the right elbow closely as it prepares for the catch.
There's no backward movement of the elbow.
The arm and glove move forward to meet the ball.
On the volley, the same movement should occur.
You want to eliminate any backward movement of the elbow in your preparation on the volley.
Even though his racket head may be going back slightly, his elbow is still going forward
in the process.
The best way to test and train the correct preparation habit is by positioning yourself
up against the back fence and have someone feed you volleys.
If your racket head hits the back fence, you're definitely taking a backswing.
This exercise will help you eliminate backswing and teach you to come forward to meet the
ball.
Your preparation should position the racket in front of you so that your contact point
is preferably between your shoulders and in line with the center of your chest.
Your racket and arm should make an L shape, indicating strong leverage in the wrist position.
On your basic block volley used in reflex situations, there's very little, if any,
follow through.
Remember, you're thinking catch, not swing.
On a block volley, the arm and racket function as one solid unit, blocking the ball like
a backboard.
To achieve depth, use your footwork to drive your body weight into contact to help provide
punch to your volley as your arm and racket remain firm.
When the ball is well within your reach, you can create angle volleys by moving your contact
point more out in front of you, allowing you to angle the racket face.
For the inside out angle volley, you must allow your hand to get a little ahead of your
contact point to create the inside out angle in the racket.
When you have to lunge and reach for volleys, you can create angle in the racket face by
adjusting the position of your wrist.
For those softer angled touch volleys used to put away the ball, you must create the
angle in your racket face, then be prepared to use your arm and racket like a shock absorber.
To execute a drop volley, your arm and racket must again function like a shock absorber,
absorbing nearly all the pace of the incoming shock.
Your preparation positions the racket face directly to contact point position, and in
your mind you're thinking, catch the ball on contact.
On impact, the wrist position maintains enough firmness to keep the racket and arm together
as one solid unit.
Watch how the elbow holds position, and on impact, the lower forearm and racket recoil
together, absorbing the shock of the ball.
Make sure your hand doesn't grip too tightly, or you'll lose flexibility and feel for the
shot.
Your setup for the drop volley should have the same preparation as your deep volley,
disguising the shot so the opponent can't anticipate the depth of your volleys.
Your intent on the drop volley should not be to make the shot perfect, just good enough
to force the opponent.
If you go for the outright winners, you'll end up making too many errors in the long
run.
In many first volley situations, you'll have to execute the low volley, making contact
just before the ball bounces.
You must force yourself to get down for these shots by spreading your feet and really bending
your knees.
You should realize that the opponent has you in a defensive position, having hit the ball
to your feet, so don't rush through this shot.
Take the time to get the ball back into play.
To give the ball lift over the net, you should angle the racket face so that it is open slightly.
You should make every effort to get to the ball and volley it before it bounces, so that
you don't lose offensive control of the point.
But at times you will be caught in situations where you must half volley.
Executing the half volley is not all that difficult if you keep it simple and don't
panic.
Treat it just like the low volley by getting down to make the shot.
Determine where the ball will bounce, then position the racket head directly behind that
spot.
The closer you can position the racket behind the bounce, the better you can judge the height
of contact and the timing.
Using a slightly open racket face, you can either block the ball or add a little punch
with a follow through.
The half volley drop shot is often a great solution to force the opponent.
But avoid trying to make the shot better than it needs to be.
When you're in a first volley situation, your low volleys and half volleys work like
approach shots, used to improve your net position to close the point.
Using the percentage shot pattern rule for approach shots, the down the line direction
will provide the shortest path to reaching your closing net position for the next shot.
When working with the low setup volleys near the center midcourt, choosing to hit the volley
straight ahead, down the center of the court, reduces the passing shot angles and makes
the lob a more difficult option for the opponent.
Recovery for the volley is even more important than recovery on the ground, so why?
You're right up there by the net, so the ball is going to reach you 25, 30, 40 percent quicker.
So the initial volley is important, but the recovery for the second volley and the covering
of position become even more essential.
The high volley can be a very awkward shot for many players, especially when the incoming
ball is a high floater.
Typically you get anxious to swing at it, and if you don't use the right technique,
all too often the ball ends up hitting the fence and a fly.
When you need to apply some pace to the volley, there's one key element to remember.
As you prepare for the volley, with your elbow moving forward as the first move, you should
angle the butt of the racket towards the ball.
As the forward action begins, you drive the butt of the racket forward and down along
the path like a waterfall.
This action sends the racket face up into contact with plenty of pop.
Notice there's no snapping of the wrist in this action.
The wrist maintains the strong leverage position through contact.
You can learn to add power with great control using this technique for the high floating
volley.
The swinging volley has always been a trademark of the Voluntary Academy students.
We teach this shot to be used as a tool for sneak attack out of the rally.
It is basically nothing more than a regular ground stroke without letting the ball bounce.
Shifting to the same grip you use on your forehand ground stroke, your backswing should
be short and compact as you prepare to take a slightly low to high yet level stroke.
Position yourself so you can work with the ball within your preferred contact zone.
You should add some topspin and build margin of error into this shot as you try to force
the opponent.
Follow the shot to net as you would on any approach shot to close the point if necessary.
You're an attacking player and you're able to shorten that swing and use the power of
the opponent.
You then can step into the court another foot or two and make contact with the ball.
So the attacking player does have to make some adjustments.
As we shift our focus now to the backhand volleys, you'll see that many of the same
principles we learned on the forehand volleys still apply.
It is even more critical on the backhand side that you work with the continental grip to
create leverage in your wrist.
Notice the strong wrist position and the big L shape created between the racket and the
arm.
Watch how it never breaks down in the action.
Maintaining the strong wrist position provides solid support to the racket face at contact
for the various types of backhand volleys.
To execute the basic one-handed backhand volley with underspin, your first reaction is a hip
and shoulder turn so that your body is facing the point of contact.
With the help of your opposite hand on the throat of the racket, you prepare the racket
head so that it is positioned back near your opposite shoulder.
You want to avoid taking the racket head too far back, getting it behind your body in your
preparation.
In this position, your hitting arm is bent and your elbow is centered between your shoulders.
You can see the qualities of a strong foundation are in place and the body weight is loaded
onto the left side, ready to drive forward into contact.
As the ball approaches, the body weight begins the action driving forward as the elbow begins
to straighten out, sending the racket head into contact.
The racket face is slightly open and produces a little underspin, making contact between
the shoulders.
You want to make contact just before your arm straightens out completely, which leaves
you with a minimal follow through after contact.
The volley action comes from the elbow straightening out, not a swinging motion from the shoulder.
The preparation drill we use for the forehand volley also works well for backhand volleys.
Position yourself against the back fence as you reflex volley with your partner.
If your racket head hits the fence in your preparation, you have too much backswing.
Make yourself come forward to volley in this drill, then recover back against the fence.
Now let's focus on the opposite arm as the forward action begins.
You can see the two arms move in opposite directions.
This keeps the shoulders firmly in place through contact, not allowing them to rotate open.
Look how the shoulder blades come together, stretching the chest muscles as the back posture
stays upright and strong.
You'll find in the heat of battle that your opposite arm will work naturally to help you
control your balance.
Under tough circumstances, you'll be surprised to see the positions and actions happening
with your opposite arm.
The reflex block volley on the backhand side begins with a hip and shoulder turn as you
reach directly to contact point position in your preparation.
As your arm straightens out for contact, the racket head becomes more solid at impact,
blocking the ball as you maintain the big L shape.
Using the exact same preparation as the deep block volley, you can totally disguise the
drop volley.
You prepare the racket to contact point position and get ready to catch the ball on the strings
as the arm and racket again work like a shock absorber.
On impact, the racket head will flex and recoil, taking the majority of the pace off the ball.
Depending on the situation, you can create angle volleys two different ways.
When the ball is well within your reach, by moving your contact point forward and making
contact earlier, you can position the racket face at the desired angle to create the shot.
Or you can create the angle in the racket face by changing your wrist position, a technique
you must learn to be able to angle on the full reaching lunge volleys.
When the ball is nearly out of reach, the opposite arm will separate early to help maintain
upper body control and balance as you reach beyond your stance.
Be confident that you'll regain your balance after making contact on a full lunge, or fear
will keep you from going for it.
Even if you can't make the shot, you'll still establish in the opponent's mind your
ability to create a wider wall of defense and range of coverage.
On the low volley, you must get down for the shot by bending your knees.
Using a slightly open racket face to create lift over the net, you should block the ball
keeping your wrist position firm to achieve depth.
Remember, the opponent has you in a forcing situation, don't rush through it or you'll
increase your risk of error.
The half volley is very similar to the low volley in that you must get low for the shot
and use the block technique.
Positioning the racket face behind the bounce of the ball, you must anticipate the height
of the bounce and the timing for the shot.
And remember, sometimes the half volley drop shot is the best alternative you have.
When the opponent takes aim and fires and you realize you are the target, it is your
backhand volley that has the most range in covering your body.
Where the forehand volley gets jammed and awkward, your backhand volley can pass freely
like a pendulum across the body.
Using the block technique, you maintain firmness in your arm and racket to achieve depth on
the volley.
On the high backhand volley, when the incoming ball is more of a floater and you need to
add some pop to fill the opening in the court, you prepare the butt of the racket so that
it points more upward towards contact.
The forward action begins by driving the butt of the racket forward and down, sending the
racket face up into contact as you maintain the L-shape position of leverage in your wrist.
The swinging volley, as we discussed on the forehand side, is treated like a compact version
of your ground stroke without letting the ball bounce.
If you use two hands on your backhand ground stroke, then use both hands on the swinging
volley as well.
Using your normal ground stroke grips, position yourself so you can work with the ball within
your preferred contact zone.
Whether you're one-handed or two, you should remember to use margin of error and apply
some topspin to your shot for added control.
Look to close in behind your penetrating shot so you can capitalize on any short ball opportunity
and finish the point.
The two-handed backhand volley should find the bottom hand in the continental grip and
the top hand in more of an eastern to semi-western forehand grip.
Much like the one-handed backhand volley, you must maintain leverage in the wrist position
of the bottom hand.
As the bottom hand works to control the racket head, the top hand provides added support
through contact, then releases off the racket after contact.
When creating some underspin, you will have a minimal follow-through.
And under reflex conditions, rely on the simple block volley technique to have you ready for
contact.
For younger children, the two hands offer more control and support for the volley as
they develop their strength.
You should realize that it is difficult for the attacking net player to maximize their
reach and their range at net using two hands.
So you must develop the skill of working with just one hand as well.
Eventually, you do want to become a skilled one-handed volleyer to maximize your threat
net.
This young lady is capable of doing everything, tremendous balance.
She wants to volley.
She's set with the grips.
We're letting her volley now with two hands, and later on we'll go to one hand.
We're now letting her just use one hand, she's got the correct grip, we want those fingers
spread out just a little tiny bit, that index finger is spread out.
Now watch with the two hands on the volley.
All right, now put the zip on it.
We worked on this now today.
Look at that acceleration.
The atmosphere is a wonderful one.
And that's what we must remember, whether it's an adult, whether it's a child, whether
it's a beginner.
Get them to look forward to volleying.
If we do that, it's just a matter of time.
Anybody that's going to be attacking that net, they're going to get lobs, and you have
to give a strong message immediately.
You want to lob me, you watch what I do with that.
You have to learn how to hit the overheads, but wait a second.
Not only are you going to hit the overhead, you're going to hit the overhead and you're
going to attack and move right in for that defensive return.
If you establish the fact right away, hey, counterpuncher, hey, defensive player, I don't
care what you hit.
I'm coming right back at you, so be prepared.
If you watch the opponent closely as they set up to execute, often you can detect their
intent to lob by the way they prepare.
As you're closing into net position, your split step must work to quickly reverse your
body's forward momentum and start you back for the overhead.
Your first reaction out of your split step should be to get lower to the ground for quicker
movement.
Your first few steps should work to position yourself so your contact point is out in front
of your body.
Stay light on your feet because you may need to use little adjustment steps as the ball
gets closer to you.
While you quickly position with your footwork, your upper body prepares by pointing the hitting
elbow towards the back fence.
Notice how the shoulders are in a level position, helping you maintain upper body balance, especially
when pushed backwards.
Your opposite arm prepares by pointing up towards the ball, then serves as a counter
balance, helping to rotate the shoulders as it tucks into the rib cage at contact.
Your back posture must be strong and upright throughout the stroke as well.
Remember, the ball is descending quickly, so you must start your swing early enough
so your timing at contact allows your arm to fully extend into the overhead.
You preferably want your contact point out in front of your body, but in situations where
you can't position in time, you must be able to execute even when the ball gets behind
you.
This is where using the continental grip is most critical, enabling you to work with the
ball in all the various contact point positions.
You will need to learn the scissor kick technique to provide power and reach on the lobs that
really push you backward.
You can see how he pushes off the right foot to drive up into the shot, landing on the
left foot, kicking the legs in a scissors-like action.
Most girls have a tendency for the back side to come out.
Watch successful people or players if they're overhead, you'll see the whole body is quite
straight when they make contact.
This prevents a lot of the shank and mishits when hitting the overhead.
The left hand is up, upper body is extended, wonderful racket speed, use of her legs.
A popular strategy of the counterpuncher is to lob to your backhand side, forcing you
to hit the backhand overhead.
When considered as one of the more challenging shots to master, the backhand overhead is
really not that difficult if you use the right technique.
As we learned on the high volley, when you want to add power, you prepare so that the
butt of the racket points up towards your contact point position.
The same applies on the backhand overhead.
In your preparation, the elbow stays bent as the butt end points straight up towards
your point of contact.
You drive the butt of the racket up towards contact and as the arm straightens out, the
racket head comes up over the top, pronating the wrist.
It is almost like the service motion, only in reverse, going from follow through position
to backswing.
With practice, you can develop this into a weapon.
Now let's review the various attacking combinations you have to work with to force the opponent.
The serve and volley is the best way to capitalize on a serve's strength.
This tactic forces the returner to have to execute with great accuracy under pressure.
Your serve must allow you time to position for the first volley and minimize the passing
shot opportunities for the opponent.
Serving to the tee as your primary target on the serve and volley allows you to limit
the returner's options.
Remember, the harder you hit the serve, the less time you have to position for the first
volley.
So learn to complement your power serve with variations of spin and placement, but when
you serve wide be careful because the passing shot lanes will open up for the returner.
Your primary objective on your serve should be focused on getting a high percentage of
first serves in play.
It is very difficult to maintain your edge when you are living off second serves and
double falls.
Your return and volley combination is most commonly used in second serve situations.
When the opponent knows you might attack behind the return, you are applying pressure to their
second serve, forcing them to have to execute with much higher quality, leading to more
double falls.
Using underspin will allow you to adjust the depth of your return with more disguise.
As on any approach shot, getting a high percentage in play is very important.
Going down the line or straight ahead from the middle of the court is the percentage
shot selection for the return and volley to allow you to achieve position and time.
When the point progresses into the baseline rally, you have several options for setting
up forcing situations.
If you mix in deep slices and chips into your rally, you'll set up the opportunity to better
disguise the use of your drop shots.
Forcing the opponent with the drop shot brings them to net on your terms, giving you an easier
opportunity to pass and lob.
Another option you've seen is to sneak attack using the swinging volley to force your way
in off the opponent's deep ground stroke.
The short ball opportunities created in the rally allow you the option to attack deep
and short off the approach shots.
Your primary focus will be to approach deep as you mix in the occasional drop approach.
The highest percentage combination is to attack down the line for the set up shots and angle
the closing volleys for the put away.
Once you hit that attacking shot, it's that powerful two or three steps, then the split
step that will enable you to get inside the service line and angle out your first volley
rather than hitting it north and south.
Remember, add a little variation to your approach shot, including the slice, but at times you
want to drive, sometimes a little underspin.
Once you initiate the attack, you must work to close the point within three or four shots
or the edge will often shift to the opponent.
Never assume the point is over until it is absolutely over.
Being tenacious means closing strong and giving the opponent no easy points.
And no matter how good your approach shot in your first volleys, you'll get a counter
punch that will make you look like you're beginning and you'll say to yourself, that's
it for me, I'm not going there anymore.
Don't do that.
They may be on a hot streak, but as long as you force that counter punch to hit their
best shot, you've accomplished your goal.
You've just watched an exciting 60 minute video.
Watching it is one thing.
The attitude that you have being willing to go out and put it into actual play is what
counts.
You have to try it.
You're going to get beat up, you're going to get beat up again, keep trying.
Your attitude will determine whether or not you want to be at the net or stay back at
the baseline.
We'll be right back.
Learn from and train with the most famous and successful coach in tennis.
Improve your entire game with the Volitari video collection from Human Kinetics.
Nick Volitari has developed and coached many of the world's top players, including Andre
Agassi, Monica Salas, Mary Pierce, Tommy Haas, Boris Becker, and Anna Kornikova.
His video series covers all facets of the game in an entertaining and informative style.
The series includes ballistic backhand, tenacious net play, right back at your returns, sonic
serve, killer forehand, deadly drop shots and lobs, competitive club doubles, practice
with purpose, commitment, responsibility, and work ethic, building points and tactics,
and shot selection and court positioning.
To order the Volitari video collection, contact Human Kinetics.
If you're feeling more empowered by the knowledge you've gained from this video and have the
desire and motivation to reach for your full potential, then what are you waiting for?
Go where the players train, IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida.
Home to the world-renowned Nick Volitari Tennis Academy, you'll find academies for golf, soccer,
baseball, and hockey, as well as our International Performance Institute.
Spanning over 180 acres, IMG Academies is the world's largest, most comprehensive multi-sport
training environment.
Our campus offers a tropical setting, rich with the energy and excitement of athletes
from all over the world, in a variety of disciplines, coming together with a common goal of pursuing
excellence.
The same training environment famous for producing world champions like Andre Agassi, Monica
Sellis, Jim Courier, and countless other top players, today's academy offers even more.
In addition to full-time boarding, we have short-time programs all year round, including
camps throughout the summer and holidays.
Our adults enjoy completely separate amenities from dining to accommodations.
With the Volitari Resort Villas and Clubhouse on-site, this is the perfect destination for
the next family vacation or corporate outing.
It's the legacy of where the players have trained for over two decades, IMG Academies.