How to Hit a Perfect Tennis Volley
The volley is a shot in which the tennis player strikes the ball before it bounces on the ground. Usually, a player hits a volley while standing close to the net. The tennis player can execute it farther back, in the middle of the court or even near the baseline.
The best in this hit
Among the tennis players who stand out for their great volley shots, we find Feliciano López, the French Wilfried Tsonga, and the great Roger Federer.
The Spanish tennis player, Lopez, stands out for his remarkable left wrist, able to get him out of trouble. It’s a style of game serve and volley, which is extraordinarily good, especially backhand.
In the case of Tsonga, he stands out as a player with a large scope, which allows him to win the vast majority of points that he disputes. He’s a tennis player who doesn’t use many volleys.
Finally, we can’t forget the Swiss player, Roger Federer. He’s a tennis player who, in his beginnings, approached the net as soon as he served. However, his style of play has really evolved. Currently, he’s a great player from the depths of the court while continuing to volley at the right moments. He gives real recitals on the net.
Types of volley
There are different types of volleys, which depend on how the ball arrives and how you hit:
- Blocking volleys. Those in which the ball is hard to reach. They’re usually balls that pass very close to the net and force you to react quickly. The racket must be placed just in front of the body, to block the ball with firmness on the wrist. According to the movements you make with your hand, the ball will take one direction or another.
- Hitting volleys. Those in which your opponent’s ball reaches a medium or high height, above the net. In this case, it gives you time to get close to the ball to hit it with comfort and power, with which you can make a winning shot. We can divide these into short and long-distance volleys.
- Recovery volleys. Those that allow you to “recover” the ball in any move that takes you into an awkward position. With this hit, you have to force your opponent to put one more ball on the track to win the point. They’re the balls that reach you low (to the feet), far away or when a great return comes to you.
How to hit
To hit a good volley, we have to divide the hit into different phases, where the main thing is that the racket must be in front of the body in an elevated position and held with both hands:
- Waiting position: with the feet in front of the net, knees semi-flexed, the racket held by forming a fist, with the dominant hand. The non-dominant hand should hold the neck of the racket. The head of the racket is slightly high and the hands are in front of the body.
- Preparation and shoulder rotation: the turn is made to the side of the stroke. The racket is still held with the dominant hand, and the fist must point to the foot. Maintain the weight of the body on the left foot.
- Impact: in front of the body, with the arm stretched towards the ball. The weight of the body passes towards the forward leg and contrary to the blow. For those who are right-handed it will be the left leg and for the left-handed the right leg.
- Termination: with the weight of the body fully advanced on the opposite leg, the arm comes forward in the same direction as the ball.
In short, you hit the ball by advancing the foot to the opposite side where the ball is going to hit. And, letting the racket move slightly backward to hit the ball forward and from top to bottom. In addition, you have to try not to hit with more force than the ball already brings, and without flexing the wrist.