Volleying Tips From The Old School

Recently, I've had the pleasure of hitting with a 73 year old man at our club.

Not just any 73 year old man, mind you, but a former Davis Cupper and someone can regale you with stories about greats like Don Budge, Pancho Gonzalez, and the Aussies.

A fine gentleman as well.

But, let's get to the tennis part of things.

Obviously, he's from the old school with conservative grips and the traditional linear groundstrokes of that era. But, what an eye for correct technique on the volley and backhand approach shot.

All great volleyers contact the ball in front of them. Most club players contact the ball further back and then wonder why they don't get the stick and angle they desire.

The problem is that most club players may think they're contacting out in front but, in fact, actually aren't.

So, when I'm on the court with this senior with the wisdom of the ages, he continually reminds me to contact out front. When you start to get it, the ball has far more zip.

I noticed the difference in one of our weekly doubles matches. One of the foursome is a fine player with soft hands who can volley well but tends to catch the ball late and let it bounce off the racket instead of sticking it.

When, I got into exhanges at the net I was almost guaranteed to win since his volley had no stick and therefore gave me time to react, whereas my volleys had more zip and ultimately forced the error and won me the point.

So, even if you don't have an ex-pro drilling you on an in-front contact point, remind yourself and practice until you get the feel.

Until next time,


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics For Beating The Next Guy guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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