Tennis is a sport where you are only as good as your weakest shot, thus you want to be well-versed in every type of shot on the court.
One of the most under-appreciated shots in tennis is the volley.
A volley is a shot when you hit the ball before it hits the ground. Generally a volley is played when you are standing near the net.
Volley’s can be a very difficult shot to master because of the precision and touch that are needed to execute it.
It is also worth noting that there are many different types of volleys, but in this article we are going to discuss the standard and most common one, a punch volley.
Here I am going to go over the steps you should take to hit the perfect volley.
Be sure to tune into our HOKALI volley demonstration video as well!
Stand six feet behind the net
Putting your body in the correct position is the first step to hitting a clean volley.
Ideally, you want to position yourself six feet behind the net. This allows you the perfect range to contact the ball with enough time to redirect it in your desired location.
If you stand too close to the net you may not have enough time to react to your opponent hitting the ball.
If you stand too far away from the net it will be harder for you to control the ball over the net and into the court.
Another tip when positioning yourself to hit the ball is to make sure you have a wide base. Spreading your feet shoulder width apart and creating a wide base will allow you to stay on balance and quickly react to wherever the ball is hit.
Keep your racquet in front of you and up
After you have your body in the right position to strike the ball, you will want to get your racquet into the correct position.
You want to keep your racquet in the ready position.
In tennis, the ready position is with two hands on the racquet, holding it two feet out in front of you at chest height.
Staying in the ready position with your racquet allows you to move the racquet to wherever it needs to be to contact the incoming ball.
Keeping your racquet out in front of you and up in the air saves you time as you make your approach to contacting the ball.
Bring your racquet up to the side
Now that you have your body and racquet in the proper position, it is time to get ready to contact the ball!
As the tennis ball is traveling towards you, you want to release your non-dominant hand off of the racquet and brind the racquet to the dominant side of your body.
For example, if you are a righty player, you want to try and hit most of your volleys on the right side of your body.
As you bring the racquet to the side of your body, make sure it stays a foot or two in front of you.
Make contact with the ball
Now that you are prepared, it is time to contact the ball and hit it back over the net!
When hitting a volley, you have to react quickly.
Although you may have to change the positioning of your racquet to correctly contact the ball, it is crucial you try and keep your racquet a foot or two out in front of you. This will allow you to have more control when aiming your shot.
As you hit the ball, try and contact it so the ball is in the middle of your racquet strings.
Unlike a forehand or backhand shot, a volley does not need to be hit with much power. The speed of the ball traveling at you creates the power on its own.
All you need to do is take a step forward and aim your volley to a certain side of the court!
For those just learning how to hit a volley, I suggest practicing just getting the ball over the net before trying to place it perfectly in the corner of the court.
Oftentimes a volley is hit so quickly the opponent can’t react in time to return it even if it is not a perfect shot.
Now that you know the steps to hitting a tennis volley, go out there and practice!
At HOKALI we connect you with the best tennis coaches in the area to help you learn the game or improve your skills!
Book today! And make sure to read over this article, check out this other blog post and our YouTube channel before you take the court.
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