TennisOne Lessons

Singles Strategy

How to Play High-Bouncing Mid-Court Balls, Part Two

Question

How do you play high-bouncing mid-court balls?

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Answer, Part Two: The Setup

Go to Part One

In Part One, we discussed hitting the mid-court ball for a winner when you're playing confidently or when your opponent is out of position. But what if it's a tight match and you don't have a lot of confidence? Or, what if the mid-court ball doesn't bounce as high, forcing you to make contact with the ball below the net strap? In these scenarios, you must change your tactics from a one-shot winner to a two shot combo (approach/volley).

The key to the approach is hitting it at a speed that allows you ample time to get inside the service box for your volley. If you are forced to volley behind the service box, your offensive options are limited. It's difficult to hit down into your opponent's court and it's difficult to play an angled volley or drop shot. In short, your chances of winning this point are greatly diminished.

The setup approach shot is best hit with underspin (see the Rosewall Underspin Lesson). The underspin helps you control the speed and placement of the ball while keeping the bounce low. The low bounce will force the passer to hit up to clear the net. And unless your opponent hits the passing shot perfectly, his ball should be easy to put away.

Hitting a topspin approach can be dangerous because topspin tends to make the ball sit up, which makes it easy to hit a winning passing shot. Hitting the approach flat will not give you enough time to move into the ideal volley position inside the service box.

You have three basic options on your approach shot:

• Drop shots.
• Angled approach.
• Deep placement, including placement down the middle, which gives the passer very little angle to work with.

Summary: Use an underspin approach to give you the time to move in for that killing volley.

Go to Part 1

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