Have you ever wondered how the greats of tennis like Roger Federer, Pete Sampras,  John McEnroe and countless other pro tennis players of their time learned to hit exceptional volleys time and time again?

The irony is that most club, recreational and weekend warrior players struggle with the volley, because of poor tennis volley technique and lack of knowledge of the correct arm positions required for the volley. Many times, players are even afraid to approach the net because

Tennis Volley Techniques – Role of the Wrist

A common mistake made by club players is using the “wrist” to hit the volley, and done in this manner will always result in poor or weak depth and power on the volley. On contact, the wrist should be firm (but not possessing a death grip) at any point during the stroke. Often times, you will hear players referring to a player’s volley as “too wristy” because the wrist is either droopy or being manipulated at contact.

Watch Roger Federer’s volley, and you could see his wrist is firm while still staying relaxed at contact. There is no abrupt or jerky movement of the wrist or forearm. In fact, Federer keeps the arm and wrist “quiet” throughout with minimal superfluous movement.

Keeping the volley movement compact allows a player to hit driving volleys with good depth and penetration through the court. Often times, club players make the mistake of using too much racket movement in the volley – causing them to hit either late or weak volleys that allows their opponents to easily penetrate through them at net.

Less is More in Volley Techniques

Something to keep in mind with tennis volley techniques is that less is often more. Keeping the tennis volley compact is key. One thing players can practice is what is called “tucking in” the elbow. Here, a player ensures that the elbow stays tucked in and close to the body throughout the volley motion. A common mistake many players make is allowing the arm to “flail” away and the racket to swing wildly into the ball causing an elongated motion – whereas the pro tennis volley technique is often remarkable in it’s crisp appearance with almost no extraneous motion.

L-shaped hitting arm position – Key Tennis Volley Technique

The “L shaped” hitting arm, or double-bend is a super key hitting arm position, characterized by a bend at the elbow and a slight bend at the wrist – this position allows pros like Federer and Sampras to achieve maximum leverage and control on the ball without sacrificing accuracy. Think of a construction crane lifting a heavy object – the crane utilizes leverage to pick up the object. Here, the slight bend at the elbow and L shaped angle between elbow and forearm allow for the torque and leverage to occur.

Most club players lack this key position on their volley, which results in a weak volley. Or worse, they posses a straight-arm which will result in a player getting tennis elbow over time as there is no leverage and there will be excessive force on the grip.

Whether a player is hitting a forehand or backhand volley, the correct tennis volley technique involves the characteristic “L” shaped hitting arm position for leverage.

Pivot Sideways and Turn

Similar to the unit turn in tennis, the world class pro volley involves a player pivoting their foot sideways – which turns their body, shoulders and racket as one unit together. A common mistake is that some players will take their racket back for the volley, without turning their shoulders sideways – so essentially their torso is still facing the net, which will often cause a player to feel “jammed”

Racket Face in Front – Critical Tennis Volley Techniques

The other key position of note is the strings of the racket should always face the fence. The tennis volley technique involves a very simple, elegant and fluid motion. There is very little excess, virtually no “backswing” on the volley as short and sweet is the motto here.

A common mistake here is players hit either their forehand or backhand volley by taking their racket back way too far which results in them hitting “late” or getting “jammed” by the incoming ball on the tennis volley. Here, it will make it difficult for players to time the incoming shot accurately.

Keeping the strings of the racket facing the net at all times and minimizing any swing will allow a player to hit a compact but firm volley that has deep penetration in the court.

Watch Federer here for an example. 

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This is often a follow-up shot after an initial approach shot has been hit. Typically, players use the forehand volley when the ball comes to their dominant side. Depending on the point situation and court position, the forehand volley can either be a finesse shot or a finishing shot. Some examples of top professional players that have exquisite tennis volley technique is Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. For these professional players, the forehand volley is a creative shot.

Forehand Volley Grip

The forehand volley can be an easy and simple shot, but it needs a lot of practice and drills to master. The hardest part of this tennis volley shot is to choose the appropriate grip that you are most comfortable with. The forehand volley shot does not vary on the type of grip you use. Thus, it is very important to use the grip that are you are comfortable with.

The most common forehand volley grip used by tennis players is the continental grip. The good thing about this grip is that you don’t have to change your grip if you execute a backhand volley after a forehand volley shot.

Tennis volley shots can be hit using the Eastern forehand grip as well. However, this grip is not that popular because of the fact that you have to change your grip to a modified Eastern backhand or full Eastern backhand for backhand volleys. To change one grip from one shot to another can be very difficult especially for beginners.

Forehand Volley Ready Position

The ready position for a forehand volley begins with the initial recognition of the ball. An ideal ready positions is to stand with your body and feet facing the net and with your eyes glued to your opponent’s movements anticipating his/her shot.

You have to stand with your feet spread at a shoulder width. The racket position depends on the players themselves. Some would prefer to have their racket directly in front of them with their left hand or non dominant hand (for right-handed players) slightly supporting the racket’s throat.

At the same time, the elbow is off of your body. Avoid resting your elbow in your stomach because this posture may delay your volley shot. Always keep your elbows more or less parallel to the ground. This posture allows you to quickly react and hit the forehand volley once the ball arrives.

Other players are not comfortable with the above ready position especially when they don’t have a clear idea of their opponent’s return. They prefer to hold their racket with the racket face just in front of their left shoulder (for right-handed players in edge-first position-the racket edge is facing the body) but with the handle (held by the right hand) directly in front of the body. The racket’s throat is still slightly supported by the non racket hand

Forehand Volley Preparation: Split Step

A split step is one of the most important footwork moves that begins the forehand volley. It is normally done by tennis players in preparation to hit a return, in this case the forehand volley. The split step is completed by a little jump while you are air borne.

Upon landing from the split step, you should separate your feet widely to give you more balance when the feet touch the ground. This step prepares the player to move to any direction to where the ball is. For the split step to be effective, it has to be executed in a timely manner. The ideal time to execute the split step is when your opponent starts to make contact with the ball. This means that when you are up in the air, the ball has just come off from your opponent’s racket.

Forehand Volley Backswing

The backswing for a forehand volley shot is a lot different from tennis groundstrokes backswing. The forehand volley backswing is a lot shorter and less powerful. If you do a full backswing with so much force, your volley shot become unreliable. It should also be noted that not all forehand volley shots is executed with a backswing especially if the ball is hit at a very fast pace and you are near the net. However, if you are positioned farther from the net and the ball speed is not that fast; a longer backswing can be applied.

Contact Point

For your forehand volley to be very effective, meet the ball in front of your head or your body and transfer your weight gently forward. Remember that if you are a right-handed player and you hit a forehand volley shot, you have to step forwards with your left foot. If you are a left-handed player, you have to step forward with your right foot. These actions allow you to put extra pace to your shot. Once you made the contact, keep your eye locked to the point of contact. Also remember that you when make contact with the ball, your racket head should be above your wrist.

Forehand Volley Follow-through

The follow-through of a forehand volley is just a short continuation of your forward motion.

Forehand Volley Techniques and Tactics

Forehand Volley Tip #1

The most common reason why many tennis players hit a long forehand (outside balls) volley shots is because they tend to pivot their elbow or wrist when they hit the ball. If you do this, you have to execute the shot accurately to avoid error. Remember to keep your elbow and wrist firm when you execute your forehand volleys. You also have to punch out from your shoulder when you hit the ball.

Forehand Volley Tip #2

It is ideal to hit the forehand volleys when the ball is at net level or higher. To do this, you have to move forward to meet the ball.

Forehand Volley Tip #3

For better results, you have to keep your racket head above your wrist when you hit the ball.

Forehand Volley Tip #4

Always remember that in a backspin forehand volley, the ball floats farther than in a flat volley. Thus, you have to hit your ball lower and apply lesser power.

Forehand Volley Tip #5

To hit a proper forehand volley, the magnitude of the downward angle in your racket swing must be of equal proportion to the magnitude of the upward angle of your racket swing.

Forehand Volley Tip #6

Always move forward and meet the ball in front of you when you make contact. Avoid hitting the ball back or else it can cause a lot of errors.

Forehand Volley Tip #7

When you are moving forward to hit the ball (as mentioned above at contact), you have to make sure to that you keep moving when you are about to make contact with the ball.

Forehand Volley Tip #8

If you are about to hit a return from your opponent’s heavy topspin shot, you have to remember that the ball has the tendency to jump off from your racket face. Thus, you need to compensate this by hitting the ball a bit lower.

Forehand Volley Tip #9

If you are going to hit a forehand volley below the net, remember that it is ideal to hit hard and deep than on a high ball. Add backspin in your shot and for best results, hit a drop shot or angle forehand volley shot.

Forehand Volley Tip #10

To hit a backspin forehand volley, you have to tilt your racket face upward or do the downward chop.

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If you want to jumpstart your forehand and play like the PROS, check out my 70+ page Tennis Ebook that will immediately show you how you can take your forehand to the next level.

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Learn How to Hit a Forehand Like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

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