Introduction to the Volleys

The volley is an essential shot for every good tennis player because it allows you to end the point. When you come to net, you are trying to put the ball away and not have a long rally. Volleys are at the same time very simple and very complex to execute. They are simple because there are only a few things you need to do to hit a technically correct volley, but they are complex because there is a very wide range of possible contact heights. When you are at net it is much more difficult to control your contact point because you have less time to react to the tennis ball, and it is more difficult to control contact height because you cannot move up or move back easily.

Because contact heights can vary so much when volleying at the net, this can cause the shots to look different each time. However, there are certain fundamental things that all pro tennis players are doing each and every time they hit a volley, and in this section we are going to focus on those things. If you can master the fundamentals presented here, you will be well on your way to hitting technically correct, effective volleys.