Tennis Volley Transformation - Rubbish To Rock-Solid in 8 Minutes
In the summer of 2022, I played a few ITF Masters events and my forehand volley was letting me down at times.
I missed a few simple volleys on big points, so I got to work.
Using video analysis and studying the technique on my volleys, I quickly spotted a few key things that needed some improvements.
Flat vs Underspin Volley Technique
When it comes to the volley in tennis, we have two main types of volleys we can hit:
1. The flatter volley - this is where the strings are more flat towards the net. This produces a firmer strike zone and imparts very little spin on the volley, which is great when you're closer to the net and want to put the ball away.
2. The underspin volley - this is the volley we should be using 60-70% of the time at the net as it allows us to produce slice on the ball and keep the ball low after the bounce.
In this video, Coach Simon Konov of Top Tennis Training will show you how he transformed his forehand volley technique using some very simple net drills.
The Improvement Process
The first step to improving a stroke is to identify what the issue is and how it can be improved.
I spotted that my strings were very flat on most volleys, which caused me to hit many forehand volleys into the net when I was further back in the service box.
I also noticed that my elbow was too extended at contact, causing the swing to become a bit robotic and stiff.
The Drills:
1. Two touch drop volley drill - this drill is great for developing feel with your volleys and imparting underspin on the ball
2. Drop volley down the line drill - similar as the two touch drill in regards to improving the feel etc but more realistic to a normal volley swing
3. Service line volleys - this is a great way to work on cutting down or under the ball as you make contact to produce the slice on your volleys
4. One deep, one drop - this drill helps you to develop the feel between a power volley and a feel volley.
5. Normal volleys - working on simply applying the underspin to the volleys
Video Timeline:
00:00 - My volley problems revealed
01:20 - Flat vs Underspin volley technique
02:14 - The drills I used to transform my volley technique
05:05 - Why the underspin volley is so effective
06:40 - Racket angle on volleys
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