Florida Sports

Archive for the ‘Volley Ball’ Category

To be useful exactly receive is the principal competence of volley ball to run the offence of your TEAM effectively. Here 5 ends of little volley ball which will make a GREAT difference in your execution of going beyond. 1) the good service of volley ball receive qualifications require of a player to keep a right platform by maintaining elbows right. One of the greatest errors than the players of volley ball make plaice their elbows to pass the ball. If you review the photographs of the players of elite (control out of Danielle Scott passing on my myspace/volleyball the site expresses) the players of interior of volley ball and from volley ball of sand when they serve receive you will note that their platforms aka the interior of their front armlevers whom they introduce… are thus directly because a council you could use their arms as table punt to eat above. The bent elbows means less exactitude of ball while the right arms give more order and of exactitude of ball to the guide the ball with the setter with target. the exactitude of the increase 2)To in your service receive qualifications detect the ball visually all the manner in your arms. There is alot things to look at when the waiter has the ball right before the reference breath whistle. There can be alot things to distract close if you don’t learn how to concentrate and narrow your hearth. What do you focus above? Once that the waiter takes volley ball in their hands and places to indicate where and how they will be useful and then they start to rebound volley ball in forecast athletes of the elite of the it of portion of him… the majority of in this moment that I know the hearth 125% ONLY on the ball in the hands of the server . As from this moment there your eyes and spirit should see and to concentrate on nothing but the ball ALL manner IN your arms. Detect the ball visually all the manner in your arms… so that you can see your right platform. 3) cut of Don’t your arms with share. Anyhow hard or easy subsistence of service… your arms together when you pass. Fight to maintain good volley ball passing competence and the technique. Guilty I’m to make this error when I know a his easy passage or a free ball. You must fight temptation to break your arms together particularly when you pass on the movement. That why the important it to pass with your feet initially, obtain stopped then employ the don’t correct of technique is lazy right because it seems as an easy passage to make (see # 5) 4) pass with the two feet on the floor of court of volley ball. Bump of jump of Don’t. The very easy reasoning… when you are in the sky which you much less have with any ordering of your body and/or of the ball but if your feet remain on the ground you can make small adjustments (perhaps an ahead additional step or behind if necessary) to order the results of the service receive 99% better. You cannot be airborne and to intend to carry out the service receive the competence of volley ball. 5) pass with your feet initially not with your arms. This resounds crafty one to include/understand but what the this means is that you must enter the practice to obtain with the ball initially by obtaining your feet behind the ball, first, anywhere it is. There is a drill of volley ball which really illustrates how this should look at. A player starts in the service of back of left receive the position… that still can be in position of back of right-hand side as well. A trainer of semi court on other side of the will of net of volley ball to the first underhand service a ball anywhere at the left side of the court. The left passer by on side must keep arms of her/his behind his back constantly and run to obtain its feet with the ball in time to make it possible the ball to take a rebound by its legs. To make the drill more provocative the waiter supports to make at full court reversed services. The services of shorts defy your qualifications speed of foot of volley ball since a passer by must cover the whole half of its court obtaining with each volley ball been useful of it of the arms behind it behind. To improve your service receive the test of competence of volley ball this drill with a team-member or suggest-the with your trainer of volley ball. In team the drill after the first nobody goes on the left side then the waiter is used to the right alternate players while they still function behind the last person in the line with the test. It is a very effective drill speed of foot of volley ball that i’ve had pro the American and Italian trainers of team of volley balls run in my practices. Except this drill if you have one difficult moment to obtain your feet with volley ball to be been useful receive an additional work of the end of the here of accurately..then… on increasing your exercises speed and agility of foot. This is why your pre-heatings should have the alot ahead short sprints and towards the back and by the exercises of work of foot of agility at the beginning of each practice as regards volley ball… with precision for this reason thus you can increase your reactive speed towards the service receive and the defensive balls. Work on the work growing speed of foot and foot of volley ball so that you can quickly and then to obtain with volley ball passage right the ball.

The tennis volley has seen an interesting yet welcome return to the game in recent months.

Having just watched Federer’ power through to the Australian Open title, one thing sprung to mind.

He is beginning to volley a whole lot more.

And it’s not only Federer, many more players are beginning to volley again.

Federer & Tsonga we know about, Andy Murray & Andy Roddick yes of course but Davydenko, Nadal & Del Potro??

Some of these guys used to get altitude sickness just by thinking about moving up the court to the net.

So why do it?

Well it’s simple!

The easiest place to win a tennis point from is at the net.

Whether or not you can do it or not doesn’t matter – it’s a fact!!

The other big factor is that it presents a totally different set of problems to the player stuck on the baseline.

Q. What’s the one thing out and out baseliners get used to and therefore grooved into when they play other players that only play from the baseline?

A. The ball coming back to them from the baseline!!

So, someone coming to the net gives them a completely different “view” of the game and a completely different set of shots to play.

Definitely a set of shots they hardly ever play on a match to match basis and maybe a set of shots they may never have played!!

Suddenly, they have to come up with other shots than just keeping the ball deep in the court.

If they do that then it’s an easy volley and the end of the point.

But what is the take away for you?

What is it that you need to think about doing in your game to make this work for you?

Well, all the things I said above are true, plus this fact.

The hardest shot in club tennis is the passing shot.

This means that you don’t have to become really good at the volley to be effective.

You just have to give your opponent more chances to miss……….and they will.

And we all know that they won’t always miss because of poor technique don’t we??

They will also miss because of the mental pressure you are putting on them.

It goes back to a principle that is a foundation of tennis strategy and the cornerstone of my ” BeatAll The Tennis Players YouWant ” Special Report.

To give yourself the best chance of winning a tennis match you want to be doing more of the things that you like doing or know will help you win whilst giving your opponent lots of things that they don’t like or are difficult to execute!!

If you play an opponent who struggles against people who come to the net and you are unable to pressure them in this way – you are missing a big trick!!!

So, if all you do is stay at the back of the tennis court and hit groundstrokes and the only time you get to the net is to shake hands and pick up balls…..think again!!

Get the volley working for you and start winning more singles matches – today!!

And we haven’t even started talking about doubles yet!!

Being ready for the tennis balls that are likely to come your way will help you to make the best hit possible. By getting the ball out of your court, you will have the ability to continue working towards the win. As a coach or a player, you will want to make sure that you know what the options are so you can learn to use them in the right place. There are eight basic shots that you can take in order to keep the ball going. When combining this with the ways to maneuver your body, you will have the ability to play each game better than the last. Following are general guidelines to keep in mind when preparing or coaching for the game.  Before even beginning the game of tennis, you want to make sure that you have the right stance. This will mean being prepared for the ball to come your way. Most tennis players will have their feet hip width apart with a bend in the knees. The focus will need to be on the ball and where it is about to go. By doing this, you will have the ability to get to the right place quicker. You will also want to have both of your hands on the grip of the tennis racquet, which will help you to control the ball more, as well as switch sides for the racquet.  After you have this stance, there will be the beginning of the game by service. A serve will begin on one side from the back of the court. After the ball is thrown into the air, the server will be able to hit the ball. They can control the way that the ball begins to be thrown by simply hitting it in a different way. This may make the ball spin, go to a different length, and move to a different area of the court.  After the serve has been made, it will be up to the opponent to meet the serve with different strokes. The first is the forehand stroke where the tennis racquet moves from one side of your body to the other in order to hit the tennis ball. Forehand strokes will be varied by the way that the tennis player holds the grip of their racquet. The backhand stroke is the opposite of this because it will begin on the left hand side of the body instead of the right and go all the way across your body backwards.  After you know these two basic strokes, you can go to a variety of options for hitting the tennis ball. The first possibility is a volley. This occurs when you hit the ball before it bounces into your court. The half volley is also an option, where you hit the ball after it has finished bouncing for the first time in your court. With both of these they will stay closer to the net. If you want to go further out into the court, you can use a lob to hit the ball higher and further out. You can also use an overhead smash, which is a harder hit that comes from a higher ground and moves quickly to the court. A drop shot can also be used by tapping the ball over the net so that it is closer to the edge.  If you are working on your tennis hits, then keeping the basics in mind about the types of hits to make can help you challenge your opponent, and even win against them. There are a variety of possibilities for you to use. All of these can be used strategically for you to benefit from the way you play the game.

While a tennis ball machine can be useful for helping tennis players with their practices, there is one machine that is more advanced and can help players in more ways during practice. This tennis ball machine is known as Boomer, and it is referred to by many as the “ultimate tennis ball machine.”Created by robotics designer Dave Jordan and used by programs such as the University of Georgia’s tennis program, Boomer is a tennis machine that can help with not only practice shots for responding to serves and returns but also with other aspects of the game, including reading lines and scores, as well as the quality of your shots. Generally speaking, it is a tennis ball machine that doubles as a virtual competitor. Boomer helps to analyze how well you are doing and offer you more assistance in your practice that what any typical tennis ball machine would offer.Unlike any ordinary tennis ball machine, Boomer can give information for people of all skill levels from beginner to expert. The user can also adjust the skill level of Boomer for the person’s own needs. This means that Boomer can play at a skill level of a pro tennis star or of a regular casual player. Therefore, this tennis ball machine is able to respond to your moves with a variety of shots, ranging from hard smash shots to slow volley shots.Another advantage of thismachine is that Boomer can shoot with a variety of different shots used in tennis. For instance, Boomer can shoot volley, net, serve, approach and ground shots, which allow for a better variety than what a normal tennis ball machine has. Also, the scale of the shots can be arranged between 2.0 and 7.0. Boomer also gives points to its shots, ranging them from a scale of one to nine based on the depth and width in the shot. This allows for more range than what a typical tennis ball machine would offer.One advantage of using Boomer as a tennis ball machine is that it makes practices more exciting and enjoyable. Boomer works like a regular tennis player would with different difficulties, making this a more challenging tennis ball machine to use in your practice. Also, it can simulate an entire match for you, which makes the practice a good way to prepare for a real match. It is like a real person when you don’t have one to practice with you.Whether you are an expert at tennis or you are just learning to play the game Boomer is a great tennis ball machine that you can use for your practice. This tennis ball machine will analyze the quality of your shots and give you a variety of shots with which you can respond to. This machine is one that works like a real person to give you a challenge in your practice. No matter what skill you have Boomer will be a great practice buddy for you.

Serving and volleying is not as big a part of the game as it used to be, but can still be very a very effective change up and should be a tool in every tennis players arsenal. As ever though, there are good ways and there are bad ways to do this, so how do you serve and volley effectively?In regards to your serve, variety is key. There is no use serving the same or similar serves around the same spot, same height and same speed. Eventually your opponent will pick up on it and will punish you. Good variety comes from planning before the point. Try and pick three different combinations of serves and mix it up as much as you can every service game.You can mix up your serves by changing the spin, height and pace. One very effective type of spin for a server and volleyer is the kick serve. This serve has a lot of topspin on it which makes the serve slow and loopy, but it kicks up hard and fast off the court. This is good because it gives you enough time to get in a good net position and if the serve is placed correctly, it should bounce high enough to get out of the hitting zone of your opponent, which will often lead to an easy to moderate volley that you can sink your teeth into.As well as the kick serve you can utilize the slice and the flat serve. These serves are much quicker, which gives you less time to get to net, so you must make sure you make your opponent stretch enough, so that they can’t get a good hit on the ball. The slice serve is very effective when aimed right at the body, spinning in towards your opponent. This boxes them up and often leads to a slow loopy return that you can put away into the open court.Using these different spin variations, you can then start experimenting with where you serve. Your main aim with the serve is to open up the court as much as possible to make your volley as easy as possible. This is done by hitting angle serves out wide and following the ball in fast to put the ball into the open court.Hopefully these tips will help you on your way to a better serve and volley game, good luck!

A good volley game can turn a match on it’s head. If your a serve and volleyer your volleys need to be rock solid. Even if you’re not a server and volleyer your more than likely going to have to hit a few volleys from time to time to finish a point off. So how do we hit an effective volley?The best part of a volley is being able to knock off the shot quickly, taking time away from your opponent because of your position in the court. The best thing you can do is open the court up by serving wide and following it in, volleying into the open court. Your opponent will usually be on the stretch giving you an easy put away volley.To get the most power out of your volley, you must leverage the power of your big muscles groups. These are your legs, hips and chest. Your arm swing should be as minimal as possible, all the power comes from your stance and movement into the ball. Always bend your legs as low as possible or else you will end up having to hit down on the volley which will throw off your accuracy. The swing should be a straight punch through the ball.For a backhand volley your right foot should be in front of your left foot and vice versa for a forehand volley, this side stance gets the big muscles in your back involved. When approaching the net you should always do a move called the split step. The split step should occur right as your opponent is about to hit the ball. It is basically where you stop running forward and enter a stance where you are facing front on to the net, with your knees bent and ready to jump to either side. The split step stops you from running through the volley and getting out of position and gives you the opportunity to easily change direction depending on where your opponent hits the ball.

In Tennis, a chop stroke is a shot where the angle towards the player and behind the racquet, made by the line of flight of the ball, and the racquet traveling down across it, is greater than 45 degrees and may be 90 degrees. The racquet face passes slightly outside the ball and down the side, chopping it, as a man chops wood. The spin and curve is from right to left. It is made with a stiff wrist.  The slice shot merely reduced the angle mentioned from 45 degrees down to a very small one. The racquet face passes either inside or outside the ball, according to direction desired, while the stroke is mainly a wrist twist or slap. This slap imparts a decided skidding break to the ball, while a chop “drags” the ball off the ground without break.  The rules of footwork for both these shots should be the same as the drive, but because both are made with a short swing and more wrist play, without the need of weight, the rules of footwork may be more safely discarded and body position not so carefully considered. Both these shots are essentially defensive, and are labour-saving devices when your opponent is on the baseline. A chop or slice is very hard to drive, and will break up any driving game. It is not a shot to use against a volley, as it is too slow to pass and too high to cause any worry. It should be used to drop short, soft shots at the feet of the net man as he comes in. Do not strive to pass a net man with a chop or slice, except through a big opening. The drop-shot is a very soft, sharply-angled chop stroke, played wholly with the wrist. It should drop within 3 to 5 feet of the net to be of any use. The racquet face passes around the outside of the ball and under it with a distinct “wrist turn.” Do not swing the racquet from the shoulder in making a drop shot. The drop shot has no relation to a stop-volley. The drop shot is all wrist. The stop-volley has no wrist at all. Use all your wrist shots, chop, slice, and drop, merely as an auxilliary to your orthodox game. They are intended to upset your opponent’s game through the varied spin on the ball.    This shot requires more perfect timing, eyesight, and racquet work than any other, since its margin of safety is smallest and its manifold chances of mishaps numberless. It is a pick-up. The ball meets the ground and racquet face at nearly the same moment, the ball bouncing off the ground, on the strings. This shot is a stiff-wrist, short swing, like a volley with no follow through. The racquet face travels along the ground with a slight tilt over the ball and towards the net, thus holding the ball low; the shot, like all others in tennis, should travel across the racquet face, along the short strings. The racquet face should always be slightly outside the ball. The half volley is essentially a defensive stroke, since it should only be made as a last resort, when caught out of position by your opponent’s shot. It is a desperate attempt to extricate yourself from a dangerous position without retreating. never deliberately half volley. A tennis court is 39 feet long from baseline to net. There are only two places in a tennis court that a tennis player should be to await the ball. 1. About 3 feet behind the baseline near the middle of the court, or 2. About 6 to 8 feet back from the net and almost opposite the ball. The first is the place for all baseline players. The second is the net position. If you are drawn out of these positions by a shot which you must return, do not remain at the point where you struck the ball, but attain one of the two positions mentioned as rapidly as possible. The distance from the baseline to about 10, feet from the net may be considered as “no-man’s-land” or “the blank.” Never linger there, since a deep shot will catch you at your feet. After making your shot from the blank, as you must often do, retreat behind the baseline to await the return, so you may again come forward to meet the ball. If you are drawn in short and cannot retreat safely, continue all the way to the net position. Never stand and watch your shot, for to do so simply means you are out of position for your next stroke. Strive to attain a position so that you always arrive at the spot the ball is going to before it actually arrives. Do your hard running while the ball is in the air, so you will not be hurried in your stroke after it bounces. It is in learning to do this that natural anticipation plays a big role. Some players instinctively know where the next return is going and take position accordingly, while others will never sense it. It is to the latter class that I urge court position, and recommend always coming in from behind the baseline to meet the ball, since it is much easier to run forward than back. Should you be caught at the net, with a short shot to your opponent, do not stand still and let him pass you at will, as he can easily do. Pick out the side where you think he will hit, and jump to, it suddenly as he swings. If you guess right, you win the point. If you are wrong, you are no worse off, since he would have beaten you anyway with his shot. Your position should always strive to be such that you can cover the greatest possible area of court without sacrificing safety, since the straight shot is the surest, most dangerous, and must be covered. It is merely a question of how much more court than that immediately in front of the ball may be guarded. A well-grounded knowledge of court position saves many points, to say nothing of much breath expended in long runs after hopeless shots.

THE VOLLEY AND OVERHEAD SMASH.

The net attack is the heavy artillery of tennis. It is supposed to crush all defence. As such it must be regarded as a point-winning stroke at all times, no matter whether the shot is volley or smash.

Once at the net hit from the point at the first opportunity given to get the racquet squarely on the ball. All the laws of footwork explained for the drive are theoretically the same in volleying. In practice you seldom have time to change your feet to a set position, so you obviate trouble by throwing the weight on the foot nearest to the ball and pushing it in the shot.

Volleys are of two classes: (1) the low volley, made from below the waist; and (2) the high volley, from the waist to the head. In contradistinction to the hitting plane classification are the two styles known as (1) the deep volley and (2) the stop volley.

All low volleys are blocked. High volleys may be either blocked or hit. Volleys should never be stroked. There is no follow through on a low volley and very little on a high one.

You will hear much talk of “chop” volleys. A chop stroke is one where the racquet travels from above the line of flight of the ball, down and through it, and the angle made behind the racquet is greater than 45 degrees, and many approach 90 degrees. Therefore I say that no volleys should be chopped, for the tendency is to pop the ball up in the air off any chop. Slice volleys if you want to, or hit them flat, for both these shots are made at a very small angle to the flight-line of the ball, the racquet face travelling almost along its plane.

In all volleys, high or low, the wrist should be locked and absolutely stiff. It should always be below the racquet head, thus bracing the racquet against the impact of the ball. Allow the force of the incoming shot, plus your own weight, to return the ball, and do not strive to “wrist” it over. The tilted racquet face will give any required angle to the return by glancing the ball off the strings, so no wrist turn is needed.

Low volleys can never be hit hard, and owing to the height of the net should usually be sharply angled, to allow distance for the rise. Any ball met at a higher plane than the top of the net may be hit hard. The stroke should be crisp, snappy, and decisive, but it should stop as it meets the ball. The follow through should be very small. Most low volleys should be soft and short. Most high volleys require speed and length.

The “stop” volley is nothing more than a shot blocked short. There is no force used. The racquet simply meets the oncoming ball and stops it. The ball rebounds and falls of its own weight. There is little bounce to such a shot, and that may be reduced by allowing the racquet to slide slightly under the ball at the moment of impact, thus imparting back spin to the ball.

Volleying is a science based on the old geometric axiom that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. I mean that a volleyer must always cover the straight passing shot since it is the shortest shot with which to pass him, and he must volley straight to his opening and not waste time trying freakish curving volleys that give the base-liner time to recover. It is Johnston’s great straight volley that makes him such a dangerous net man. He is always “punching” his volley straight and hard to the opening in his opponent’s court.

A net player must have ground strokes in order to attain the net position. Do not think that a service and volley will suffice against first-class tennis.

Strive to kill your volleys at once, but should your shot not win, follow the ball ‘cross and again cover the straight shot. Always force the man striving to pass you to play the hardest possible shot.

Attack with your volleys. Never defend the ball when at the net. The only defensive volley is one at your feet as you come in. It is a mid-court shot. Volleys should win with placement more than speed, although speed may be used on a high volley.

Closely related to the volley, yet in no way a volley stroke, is the overhead smash. It is the Big Bertha of tennis. It is the long range terror that should always score. The rules of footwork, position, and direction that govern the volley will suffice for the overhead. The swing alone is different. The swing should be closely allied to the slice service, the racquet and arm swinging freely from the shoulder, the wrist flexible and the racquet imparting a slight twist to the ball to hold it in court. The overhead is mainly a point winner through speed, since its bounce is so high that a slow placement often allows time for a recovery.

Do not leap in the air unnecessarily to hit overhead balls. Keep at least one foot, and when possible both feet, on the ground in smashing, as it aids in regulating the weight, and gives better balance. Hit flat and decisively to the point if desired.

Most missed overhead shots are due to the eye leaving the ball; but a second class of errors are due to lack of confidence that gives a cramped, half-hearted swing. Follow through your overhead shot to the limit of your swing.

The overhead is essentially a doubles shot, because in singles the chances of passing the net man are greater than lobbing over his head, while in doubles two men cover the net so easily that the best way to open the court is to lob one man back.

In smashing, the longest distance is the safest shot since it allows a greater margin of error. Therefore smash ‘cross court when pressed, but pull your short lobs either side as determined by the man you are playing.

Never drop a lob you can hit overhead, as it forces you back and gives the attacking position to your opponent. Never smash with a reverse twist, always hit with a straight racquet face and direct to the opening.

Closely connected to the overhead since it is the usual defence to any hard smash, is the lob.

A lob is a high toss of the ball landing between the service-line and the baseline. An excellent lob should be within 6 feet of the baseline.

Lobs are essentially defensive. The ideas in lobbing are: (1) to give yourself time to recover position when pulled out of court by your opponent’s shot; (2) to drive back the net man and break up his attack; (3) to tire your opponent; (4) occasionally to, win cleanly by placement. This is usually a lob volley from a close net rally, and is a slightly different stroke.

There is (1) the chop lob, a heavily under-cut spin that hangs in the air. This, is the best defensive lob, as it goes high and gives plenty of time to recover position. (2) The stroke lob or flat lob, hit with a slight top spin. This is the point-winning lob since it gives no time to, the player to run around it, as it is lower and faster than the chop. In making this lob, start your swing like a drive, but allow the racquet to slow up and the face to tilt upward just as you meet the ball. This, shot should seldom go above 10 feet in the air, since it tends to go out with the float of the ball.

The chop lob, which is a decided under cut, should rise from 20 to 30 feet, or more, high and must go deep. It is better to lob out and run your opponent back, thus tiring him, than to lob short and give him confidence by an easy kill. The value of a lob is mainly one of upsetting your opponent, and its effects are very apparent if you unexpectedly bring off one at the crucial period of a match.

 

Chop stroke.
In Tennis, a chop stroke is a shot where the angle towards the player and behind the racquet, made by the line of flight of the ball, and the racquet travelling down across it, is greater than 45 degrees and may be 90 degrees. The racquet face passes slightly outside the ball and down the side, chopping it, as a man chops wood. The spin and curve is from right to left. It is made with a stiff wrist http://www.reading4.com
The slice shot merely reduced the angle mentioned from 45 degrees down to a very small one. The racquet face passes either inside or outside the ball, according to direction desired, while the stroke is mainly a wrist twist or slap. This slap imparts a decided skidding break to the ball, while a chop “drags” the ball off the ground without break.
The rules of footwork for both these shots should be the same as the drive, but because both are made with a short swing and more wrist play, without the need of weight, the rules of footwork may be more safely discarded and body position not so carefully considered.
Both these shots are essentially defensive, and are labour-saving devices when your opponent is on the baseline. A chop or slice is very hard to drive, and will break up any driving game.
It is not a shot to use against a volley, as it is too slow to pass and too high to cause any worry. It should be used to drop short, soft shots at the feet of the net man as he comes in. Do not strive to pass a net man with a chop or slice, except through a big opening.
The drop-shot is a very soft, sharply-angled chop stroke, played wholly with the wrist. It should drop within 3 to 5 feet of the net to be of any use. The racquet face passes around the outside of the ball and under it with a distinct “wrist turn.” Do not swing the racquet from the shoulder in making a drop shot. The drop shot has no relation to a stop-volley. The drop shot is all wrist. The stop-volley has no wrist at all.
Use all your wrist shots, chop, slice, and drop, merely as an auxilliary to your orthodox game. They are intended to upset your opponent’s game through the varied spin on the ball.
The half volley.
This shot requires more perfect timing, eyesight, and racquet work than any other, since its margin of safety is smallest and its manifold chances of mishaps numberless.
It is a pick-up. The ball meets the ground and racquet face at nearly the same moment, the ball bouncing off the ground, on the strings. This shot is a stiff-wrist, short swing, like a volley with no follow through. The racquet face travels along the ground with a slight tilt over the ball and towards the net, thus holding the ball low; the shot, like all others in tennis, should travel across the racquet face, along the short strings. The racquet face should always be slightly outside the ball.
The half volley is essentially a defensive stroke, since it should only be made as a last resort, when caught out of position by your opponent’s shot. It is a desperate attempt to extricate yourself from a dangerous position without retreating. never deliberately half volley.
Court position.
A tennis court is 39 feet long from baseline to net. There are only two places in a tennis court that a tennis player should be to await the ball.
1. About 3 feet behind the baseline near the middle of the court, or
2. About 6 to 8 feet back from the net and almost opposite the ball.
The first is the place for all baseline players. The second is the net position.
If you are drawn out of these positions by a shot which you must return, do not remain at the point where you struck the ball, but attain one of the two positions mentioned as rapidly as possible.
The distance from the baseline to about 10, feet from the net may be considered as “no-man’s-land” or “the blank.” Never linger there, since a deep shot will catch you at your feet. After making your shot from the blank, as you must often do, retreat behind the baseline to await the return, so you may again come forward to meet the ball. If you are drawn in short and cannot retreat safely, continue all the way to the net position.
Never stand and watch your shot, for to do so simply means you are out of position for your next stroke. Strive to attain a position so that you always arrive at the spot the ball is going to before it actually arrives. Do your hard running while the ball is in the air, so you will not be hurried in your stroke after it bounces.
It is in learning to do this that natural anticipation plays a big role. Some players instinctively know where the next return is going and take position accordingly, while others will never sense it. It is to the latter class that I urge court position, and recommend always coming in from behind the baseline to meet the ball, since it is much easier to run forward than back.
Should you be caught at the net, with a short shot to your opponent, do not stand still and let him pass you at will, as he can easily do. Pick out the side where you think he will hit, and jump to, it suddenly as he swings. If you guess right, you win the point. If you are wrong, you are no worse off, since he would have beaten you anyway with his shot.
Your position should always strive to be such that you can cover the greatest possible area of court without sacrificing safety, since the straight shot is the surest, most dangerous, and must be covered. It is merely a question of how much more court than that immediately in front of the ball may be guarded.
A well-grounded knowledge of court position saves many points, to say nothing of much breath expended in long runs after hopeless shots.

The net attack is the heavy artillery of tennis. It is supposed to crush all defence. As such it must be regarded as a point-winning stroke at all times, no matter whether the shot is volley or smash.

Once at the net hit from the point at the first opportunity given to get the racquet squarely on the ball. All the laws of footwork explained for the drive are theoretically the same in volleying. In practice you seldom have time to change your feet to a set position, so you obviate trouble by throwing the weight on the foot nearest to the ball and pushing it in the shot.

Volleys are of two classes: (1) the low volley, made from below the waist; and (2) the high volley, from the waist to the head. In contradistinction to the hitting plane classification are the two styles known as (1) the deep volley and (2) the stop volley.

All low volleys are blocked. High volleys may be either blocked or hit. Volleys should never be stroked. There is no follow through on a low volley and very little on a high one.

You will hear much talk of “chop” volleys. A chop stroke is one where the racquet travels from above the line of flight of the ball, down and through it, and the angle made behind the racquet is greater than 45 degrees, and many approach 90 degrees. Therefore I say that no volleys should be chopped, for the tendency is to pop the ball up in the air off any chop. Slice volleys if you want to, or hit them flat, for both these shots are made at a very small angle to the flight-line of the ball, the racquet face travelling almost along its plane.

In all volleys, high or low, the wrist should be locked and absolutely stiff. It should always be below the racquet head, thus bracing the racquet against the impact of the ball. Allow the force of the incoming shot, plus your own weight, to return the ball, and do not strive to “wrist” it over. The tilted racquet face will give any required angle to the return by glancing the ball off the strings, so no wrist turn is needed.

Low volleys can never be hit hard, and owing to the height of the net should usually be sharply angled, to allow distance for the rise. Any ball met at a higher plane than the top of the net may be hit hard. The stroke should be crisp, snappy, and decisive, but it should stop as it meets the ball. The follow through should be very small. Most low volleys should be soft and short. Most high volleys require speed and length.

The “stop” volley is nothing more than a shot blocked short. There is no force used. The racquet simply meets the oncoming ball and stops it. The ball rebounds and falls of its own weight. There is little bounce to such a shot, and that may be reduced by allowing the racquet to slide slightly under the ball at the moment of impact, thus imparting back spin to the ball.

Volleying is a science based on the old geometric axiom that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. I mean that a volleyer must always cover the straight passing shot since it is the shortest shot with which to pass him, and he must volley straight to his opening and not waste time trying freakish curving volleys that give the base-liner time to recover. It is Johnston’s great straight volley that makes him such a dangerous net man. He is always “punching” his volley straight and hard to the opening in his opponent’s court.

A net player must have ground strokes in order to attain the net position. Do not think that a service and volley will suffice against first-class tennis.

Strive to kill your volleys at once, but should your shot not win, follow the ball ‘cross and again cover the straight shot. Always force the man striving to pass you to play the hardest possible shot.

Attack with your volleys. Never defend the ball when at the net. The only defensive volley is one at your feet as you come in. It is a mid-court shot. Volleys should win with placement more than speed, although speed may be used on a high volley.

Closely related to the volley, yet in no way a volley stroke, is the overhead smash. It is the Big Bertha of tennis. It is the long range terror that should always score. The rules of footwork, position, and direction that govern the volley will suffice for the overhead. The swing alone is different. The swing should be closely allied to the slice service, the racquet and arm swinging freely from the shoulder, the wrist flexible and the racquet imparting a slight twist to the ball to hold it in court. The overhead is mainly a point winner through speed, since its bounce is so high that a slow placement often allows time for a recovery.

Do not leap in the air unnecessarily to hit overhead balls. Keep at least one foot, and when possible both feet, on the ground in smashing, as it aids in regulating the weight, and gives better balance. Hit flat and decisively to the point if desired.

Most missed overhead shots are due to the eye leaving the ball; but a second class of errors are due to lack of confidence that gives a cramped, half-hearted swing. Follow through your overhead shot to the limit of your swing.

The overhead is essentially a doubles shot, because in singles the chances of passing the net man are greater than lobbing over his head, while in doubles two men cover the net so easily that the best way to open the court is to lob one man back.

In smashing, the longest distance is the safest shot since it allows a greater margin of error. Therefore smash ‘cross court when pressed, but pull your short lobs either side as determined by the man you are playing.

Never drop a lob you can hit overhead, as it forces you back and gives the attacking position to your opponent. Never smash with a reverse twist, always hit with a straight racquet face and direct to the opening.

Closely connected to the overhead since it is the usual defence to any hard smash, is the lob.

A lob is a high toss of the ball landing between the service-line and the baseline. An excellent lob should be within 6 feet of the baseline.

Lobs are essentially defensive. The ideas in lobbing are: (1) to give yourself time to recover position when pulled out of court by your opponent’s shot; (2) to drive back the net man and break up his attack; (3) to tire your opponent; (4) occasionally to, win cleanly by placement. This is usually a lob volley from a close net rally, and is a slightly different stroke.

There is (1) the chop lob, a heavily under-cut spin that hangs in the air. This, is the best defensive lob, as it goes high and gives plenty of time to recover position. (2) The stroke lob or flat lob, hit with a slight top spin. This is the point-winning lob since it gives no time to, the player to run around it, as it is lower and faster than the chop. In making this lob, start your swing like a drive, but allow the racquet to slow up and the face to tilt upward just as you meet the ball. This, shot should seldom go above 10 feet in the air, since it tends to go out with the float of the ball.

The chop lob, which is a decided under cut, should rise from 20 to 30 feet, or more, high and must go deep. It is better to lob out and run your opponent back, thus tiring him, than to lob short and give him confidence by an easy kill. The value of a lob is mainly one of upsetting your opponent, and its effects are very apparent if you unexpectedly bring off one at the crucial period of a match.