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Singles
Strategy
Advice on Serve and Volley?
By Monty Basnyat, TennisONE Associate Editor
Question
Do you have any advice on how to serve and volley? I could use it.
Answer
First, don't give up on your serve and volley--it's a major weapon for an
offensive player and contributes to the overall advantage you hold when
you're serving.
The keys to the serve and volley are selecting the correct serve, moving
in quickly, and then timing the split-step before hitting the first volley
(see Dan Leon's
complete approach volley lesson). Remember, the first volley should
be thought of as a means of setting up your second volley, which is hit
closer to the net and can be put away for a winner.
The biggest mistake serve-and-volleyers
make is trying to hit a huge serve before rushing towards the service line.
First, the attempt to kill the first serve dramatically lowers your first
serve percentage (and thereby sacrifices your best advantage as a server).
Secondly, even if your fast first serve goes in, fast serves lead
to fast returns. As the server-and-volleyer, you want to hit your
first volley at or near the service line. This enables you to hit an effective
and penetrating first volley without taking any excessive risks. If
the ball comes rocketing back from your rocket serve, your approach time
is cut short and you can find yourself jammed or hitting that first volley
in no-man's land (half-way between the baseline and service line).
From this position it's very difficult for the average player to hit a safe,
penetrating first volley.
To give yourself enough time to get
closer to the ideal first volleying position (and to cut down on your first
serve errors), you must do two things:
1) Make up your mind to serve-and-volley BEFORE you serve.
If you wait to see whether you've made a good serve before moving forward,
you will lose precious time and you won't reach that ideal first volley
position.
2) Choose a spin serve. With a spin serve, your ball's slower speed
and higher trajectory will give you enough time to move forward into the
ideal first volley position.
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