Fan Conversion

Marcus Paul Cootsona

Volleys are coming back. Are yours? If so, it’s time to amp them up.

At every level of the game, players are volleying more. But almost nobody volleys correctly. Many of the pros. Most amateurs. Dave on your USTA team. My old instructor. Why don’t they? Because like the ATP rankings, their method is just too complicated. Let’s change that. Don’t follow the crowd, or most of the pros, or Dave. He just got moved down. Stand out! Move up! Take these three steps to simplify and improve your volley.

Fan It. Target It. Hit It.

Fan It

Volleys are simple, so keep them simple. Like Pete. Like Martina (either one). Like that guy in twill shorts at the club. Keep them simple and take full advantage of all the effort you spent getting up to the net in the first place.

So, here’s what you need. A racquet. Position at the net. A ball coming at you. A relaxed neutral stance with your arms out in front of your feet. Light grip pressure. And the fan.

No turn. No takeback. No complications. Just hold your position, face your opponent and Fan It!

What does that mean? (The Fan Explained)

To hit a firm volley with court depth and annoying underspin, you ideally want to angle the racquet face into position early. And in two directions. Forty-five degrees up from your wrist and forty-five degrees away from the ball. But don’t sweat it, in a pinch, forty-four or forty-three will do just fine. This puts the wrist in a strong position, the racquet head higher than your hands and the racquet face set to create a natural underspin. To get there, all you have to do is fan the racquet.

Here’s how it works for a Forehand Volley —

With your hitting arm almost straight forward, pronate your racquet hand. That’s it. Open your hand, lay your wrist back and the racquet is ready to volley. No backswing. No turn. No delay. Your palm is now facing up and over your opponent, and there’s a slight bend in your elbow. That’s it. That’s the fan.

Now, from your swing side shoulder to the tip of your racquet, it’s one unit making the volley. No wristiness. No flingy racquet movements. No wild loopy follow-throughs. Those things are for lofty mid-court sitters, swinging volleys, and highlight reels. For a true, crisp, close-to-the-net volley, you want one firm piece attacking the ball. And you want to fan into position as soon as you know if it’s a forehand or a backhand. As Devo once so aptly observed, “Duty Now For The Future,”

But why no turn and no takeback? Why do it this way?

Because, it works. A volley is not a groundstroke. You don’t need a big backswing. It can over-accelerate the ball and slow your recovery move. You don’t need wrist movement. It can soften the stringbed and reduce the pace. Your racquet is just essentially an angled backboard, accelerating at the ball.

Why?

Because like a basement full of bullion, that’s all you need. At the net, you’re closer to the opponent and their baseline. And without the court’s friction to slow it down, the ball is moving fast. Or at least, faster. The court is effectively shorter now, so you don’t need to make the ball go groundstroke far. The volley swing is short. Like a check swing. Like a resisted swing. Like the swing of players who know how to volley. Your step forward will provide the pace if your racquet stays firm.

Target It

You’re now prepared to hit a great volley. But like the plot of Homeland, there’s more to it than that. There’s the contact. Contact makes it all work. So, target carefully. The volley is a short stroke, and it’s hard to make mid-stroke corrections as easily as with a groundstroke. For power, control and social success, good contact is a must.

That’s why you fan. Turning and backswing feel powerful and preparatory, but they force you to hit the ball behind your feet, where the angles, leverage and sight lines aren’t as good. And where it’s a longer move back to your ready position. For the best contact, you want to see the ball in front of you, not in your periphery.

So, keep the racquet face forward and at eye-level. Watch the ball in hard focus. Make any small adjustments with your racquet and feet and knees to line up with the angle of volley you’re going to hit. Keep the racquet face higher than your racquet hand. Fan your off hand to your off side for balance. And tighten your chest and your abs. Onlookers will notice.

Now it’s time for the honey shot.

Hit It

The ball is almost on your racquet. Your grip is now firm, and you watch the ball approach the stringbed. Just as it’s about to hit your strings, you step forward, and drive your racquet forward, keeping the racquet face steady and level. You hit it back. Solidly. Firmly. With some canny angle and low-lying underspin. The volley goes in. Sometimes you win the point. And even if you don’t, you’re still ready to hit the next shot.

That’s a true volley. But there’s also this — the method within this method.

Despite fan technique, a real volley in real time will be different. And bigger. And do some of the things we’re trying not to do. The fan is a method and a guide. Use it to keep your volley on track and quicken your recovery. But when you actually hit a volley, you do want to turn some and take the racquet back some and let the racquet descend some on the swing. But, you don’t want to emphasize these things or you’ll do them too much. A little bit of each goes a long way. Often out of the court. If you don’t try to do these things, you’ll do them just enough.

And if you do, you’ll volley better than many of the pros, most of the amateurs, Dave on your USTA team and my old instructor. Not to mention, better than you did before.

Volleys work when the racquet face meets the ball solidly, deflects it and re-accelerates it. Any movement that weakens the racquet angle or loosens the wrist robs the volley of power. The fan keeps your volleys firm, efficient and predictable. And simpler than the ATP rankings. We can all be thankful for that.

So, that’s the deal. And here’s the last reminder.

Fan It. Target It. Hit It.

And as always —

Practice Often. Play Well. Have Fun.

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Marcus Paul Cootsona

Marcus Paul Cootsona is a teaching professional and author of Occam’s Racquet – 12 Simple Steps To Smarter Tennis. Contact him at: marcuscootsona.com.