TennisOne Lessons

The High Forehand Volley

Tom Downs

As a coach who has worked with some of the world’s premier doubles players, I have spent a lot of time on the practice courts working on various types of volleys. The high forehand volley was regularly worked on because the doubles players I have coached played traditional doubles, meaning they always came forwards to dominate the net position.

I am a firm believer in working with my players on shots, such as the high forehand volley, that are not practiced enough by club players. No, I am not talking about the swinging volley, which has become more popular in both men’s and women’s tennis, due to players realizing the importance of moving forwards behind punishing ground strokes and finishing points at net.

The swinging volley is extremely important and also probably not practiced enough by club players, but the floating ball that is a little too low for an overhead and too high for a regular waist high kind of volley, needs to be executed with a high forehand volley.

Click photo: Xavier malisse maintains eye level with the ball as he moves through the volley towards his intended target with great intensity.

Why it Can be Difficult to Execute

The high forehand volley, like any other shot in tennis, requires good ball judgment along with correct use of the whole body. As with all volleys, it is important to make sure that your eyes are level with the ball and you bring the racquet to the height of the ball. A lot of players at all levels tend to move up to floating balls, hit the high volley, and then watch it sail into the net. The reason for this is that their body has stopped moving through the ball, and naturally the racquet and arm hit down on the ball.

It can also be a difficult shot, because players have time on this shot. Often with volleys, it is easier to hit balls coming hard at you from any direction, as this just requires a simple reaction. When a ball floats toward a net approaching player, there is often time to think about what to do with this ball or where to hit it, and intensity can drop. I find players' intensity, especially in their movement, tends to decline on high balls. Players must always remember to move twice as fast as the ball, and nothing changes on high forehand volleys. Move through these volleys towards your target with enough intensity and you will be successful most of the time.

Technique and How the Execution Differs From Other Volleys

With all forehand volleys, the pivot of your outside foot will set the racquet. I don't mind using the word unit turn for a backhand volley, as the turn is much bigger. For a forehand volley, I prefer the word pivot, because the turn is a very slight one. For both the unit turn and the pivot, the hands and feet work as one. So when the player approaches the ball, he or she must pivot the outside foot and set the racquet at the same time.

Click photo: Ryan Harrison is one of many players who can execute the high forehand volley competently. Ryan lays his wrist back further making for a greater take back to create pace. His racquet travels in more of a high to low swing pattern.

The take back can be bigger than for a regular volley, as you are trying to create pace. So it is okay to lay the hitting wrist back slightly further than you otherwise would. The racquet is also set higher than with a waist level or shoulder level volley. Once the racquet is set, the player must load the weight on the inside part of the right leg, and push off of this leg.

On the forward swing, the racquet will travel in a high to low swing pattern towards the intended hitting target, and at the same time, the body is moving through the shot towards the target. The player must make and maintain eye level with the ball right through the impact zone, and continue to move through the volley toward the target.
If the player wants to volley crosscourt, he must hit the outside part of the ball. When going down the line, the player must hit the inside part of the ball.

I like a volley rule I once heard for all first volleys in singles. That rule is that all first volleys should go down the line. The reason is that it is easier to execute volleys with more penetration by keeping the racquet and body moving in a straight line. So, if you hit a punishing groundstroke or approach shot and have to close in for that first volley, remember this rule. It also means that you do not have to cover as much court after your volley, as you will have the percentage down the line volley covered.

Using This Volley in Doubles

I am a big fan of taking on the opposing net player in doubles. For example, if my partner approaches crosscourt, and gets a high forehand volley, I want him to hit it at the net person’s feet and continue to move forwards toward his target. That way, if he hits the high forehand volley well and the opponent puts up a weak reply, he is in a great position to finish the point.

Again, I would have him go at the net person. Too many times in doubles I see club players have chances to control or finish a point with a high forehand volley, and they hit the high forehand volley back to the baseline person. Or they hit high at the net person, who gets it back, and then they hit that shot to the baseline player.
Also, when my partner has an opportunity to poach and put-away a volley, he will use the high forehand volley to do this.

Drills to Practice Which Will Help You Master This Shot

One of the best ways to practice this shot is with a series of progression drills. The first drill in this series is to have your player hold a ball in his non dominant hand. The player will toss the ball in front of him fairly high in the air and he must move forwards and execute a high forehand volley focusing on the technical aspects mentioned earlier in this article. I recommend hitting 10 volleys.

Click photo: As a coach, I believe in the importance of progression drills. The first drill is to have your player toss a ball in his/her non dominant hand and then execute the high volley. This must be done with maximum effort and discipline. I recommend doing sets of ten for all of these progression drills.

The next progression drill is to have your coach feed you high floating balls and once again, the player must attack the ball and continue to move through it towards his/her target.

Click photo: This next progression drill involves a coach feeding a high floating volley. The player needs to move through the volley toward his intended target with good technique.

The following drill incorporates a groundstroke and a high forehand volley. Both player and coach start on their own baselines. Have your coach feed you a short forehand approach shot then follow that with a, weak high floating ball. Move forward and put away the high forehand volley. Remember, that after hitting your high forehand volley, you must cover the appropriate side of the court where you have directed your volley.

Click photo: This last drill more closely simulates a game situation. The coach will feed the player a short ball which he/she must approach the net on. The player must then continue into the net and the coach will then feed a floating ball to the forehand side, which the player must put away. It is important to always follow the ball at net, so after hitting the volley, the player must cover the side of the court where they volleyed to.

Spending time on shots that others are not prepared to spend time on will pay off for you, regardless of your club level. The high forehand volley needs to be added to your repertoire of shots so that you have more attacking options at net.

 

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Tom Downs

Tom has and extensive coaching background, and has been a member of the Institute team for several years. He has served as our Head Staff Professional, and is currently the Traveling Coach for Institute players. He has traveled with several of our Tour players including Laura Granville and Carly Gullickson, who won the US Open Mixed Doubles title in 2009.

Tom has worked with junior and other professional players, including Sam Stosur and Rennae Stubbs, at all 4 Grand Slam events, as well as other major tournaments around the world. Tom graduated from the University of South Florida in 2005 with a degree in communications. As a successful junior player, Tom represented Australia, and was consistently ranked in the top 10 in all age groups in Australia. He played college tennis at South Carolina State University and was a member of their conference championship team in 2004.