In order to dramatically improve your volleys or learn how to play the volley you need to simplify these shots by following these Golden Rules for every single volley you play.
To maximise your chances of finishing off the point with a volley you REALLY need to relax. Your anxiety and reservations about going for volleys is a huge factor that prevents you from making great improvements. Therefore, look to take as many volleys as you can and whilst playing doubles expect that every ball is yours to volley.
Another huge limiting factor almost without fail is what you have been taught to do when you volley! The best thing you can do is wipe all of these things you have been advised to do from your mind and make the commitment to ONLY FOCUS on the following advice.
“THE” GOLDEN RULES:
Rule No.1 – For every single volley…Always FOCUS on the ball. To learn more about exactly how to focus on the ball click this link-> How to Concentrate and Achieve FOCUS.
Rule No.2- For every single volley…Try to make contact with the ball above the height of the net. By hitting the ball above net height your ability to get greater speed and penetration on your volleys increases immensely. This is because you have intercepted the ball’s flight path whilst the ball is still above the height of the net so you already have net clearance. Now all you have left to do is make sure the ball lands inside your opponent’s court. This is achieved by keeping the angle of your racquet face pointing towards your intended target area until after you strike the ball.
Rule No.3 – For every single volley…Try to achieve the shortest possible distance between you and the net by the time your racquet and the ball make contact. When you are closer to the net your chances of executing a successful volley increase substantially. One of the many reasons for this is because the closer you are to the net when you make contact with the ball, the greater degree of angle opens up for you to use. This greater degree of angle means you have more of your opponent’s court to hit into. For your opponent that means they have more court to cover and have far less time to reach your volleys.
Pictured above is Roger Federer playing a backhand volley. Notice how Federer follows the Golden Rules. No.1 Federer is focusing on the ball, No.2 he is clearly going to make contact with the ball above the height of the net and No.3 he is leaning forward and continuing to close his distance from the net.
IF you apply these Golden Rules for your volleys then YOU will definitely have the OnCourt Advantage.
Very accurate and useful rules on the volley!