Tennis is a very complicated sport. It requires you to think on your toes with very little time. You also have to make sure your doing all the right things just to get the ball in. Then theres the decision making of where to stand and how to move.
Well in this episode, we're looking at how to volley, one of the least complex shots in tennis. That doesn't mean it's easy, just means theres not as many things that can go wrong.
What is a Volley?... Volleys are the shot you hit, whenever you hit the ball on the full (before the bounce).
There are a few different types of Volleys e.g. Drive volleys, stick volleys, and drop volleys. Today we are looking at the standard "stick volley".
Firstly, you want to make sure you have the hammer grip or continental grip. Next, you need to get close to the net and have a nice wide base (feet apart), bent knees, and on your toes or balls of your feet.
For the swing, or not so much of a swing. You need to get these 3 steps to make sure you can hit your volleys right. Firstly keep the racquet head up. In simple terms if your racquet is close to touching your shoulder, its up. If theres a huge gap between your racquet head and your shoulder the racquet is not in a strong position. Secondly, make sure you tilt the racquet head back (towards the sky). Do not get "back" confused with "down". I never said down. Lastly, when you hit the ball (make contact with the ball), you need it to be out in front. Like you are trying to reach over the net. If you are making contact with the ball by your side (close to your body), or behind you (towards the baseline).. You are hitting the ball very late and need to improve your timing. You will notice if you get these three simple steps right the ball should glide off your racquet effortlessly. If you are having to use a lot of force to do the volley, you need to practice these three steps again.
Check out the video below to see how it's done.
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