TennisOne Lessons

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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