TENNIS VOLLEY

A drop volley is a deft touch that lets the ball fall just after the net.

In today’s game where most points are contested with massive baseline rallies, players are forced to move 2-3 meters behind the baseline, a sudden drop volley at the opportune time can be deadly. Imagine; A heated game with power-packed groundstrokes. Both players giving it their all and suddenly, one of them pulls a soft volley. The ball lands just after the net and far away from the reach of the player. This is the drop volley. It is a deft touch that lets the ball fall just after the net. The greats such as Federer and Nadal often trap their opponents who are far behind the net with some ingenious drop volleys.

A half volley is when you hit the ball immediately after it bounces, before it reaches the top of it's bounce (Also called on the rise). Contact is made almost at ground level. Using the hammer/continental grip.

(Is the half volley actually a volley? Strictly speaking, it isn't.)

Generally, this is used when you are rushing towards the net and the ball lands right at your feet, it requires great touch to return the shot and keeping it a low clearance over the net.

This shot has been used as an effective weapon by greats such as John McEnroe. The doubles maestro Leander Paes is another player who has worked wonders with this shot.

Dangers of the half volley. (DON'T GET CAUGHT!)

There is a saying, if you execute a half volley well once in a point, it will be applauded. If you do it twice in a point, something is wrong. This is because, a half volley is a rather high risk shot that is used when you “get caught” rushing towards the net. After the first half volley, you should already be at the net to hit proper volleys. The only reason you hit another is when you get caught again…

This is a in itself is a contradiction to what a volley is. Above we kept emphasizing that a volley has no swing and it’s best to keep it compact, short and sharp.

A drive volley however, is as it is called. You swing a forehand or backhand drive though a ball that hasn’t landed on the ground yet. I.E. you hit the ball with a drive before it bounces. This is more commonly seen in the women pro matches where they hit is somewhere around the service line. Either as a replacement of an overhead smash or a high volley.

This is one of the riskiest shots in the game as the ball hasn’t loss any of its energy to the ground yet and you have to be completely vested in doing a full swing and with quite a bit of power. There is no middle ground.