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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A proper tennis volley technique will allow the tennis player to effectively hit the tennis volley with little to no effort. The swing shape of the volley technique is very simple, and almost no backswing is required.

The Tennis Volley Explained

What is the Tennis Volley, and why does a good tennis volley give a tennis player so much of an advantage?

A tennis volley effectively hit with good placement will have your opponent scrambling to get your forehand volley or backhand volley. The tennis volley is usually hit after the approach shot. The tennis volley is often hit midway in the air, while approaching forwards toward the net. The tennis player is usually somewhere between the middle of the service box and halfway close to the net at the time the player hits the tennis volley.

Tennis Volley of Pete Sampras

Keys to the tennis volley technique

A good initial split step, is key on the tennis volley technique. This places the tennis player in a wide and low base of support on the split step. The split step also readies the tennis player to react in any given direction of the passing shot. In addition, the split step effectively balances the player to hit the tennis volley technique appropriate for the shot situation.

The second key to tennis volley technique is reacting on-time and positioning the feet to drive the tennis volley forward. The entire body’s momentum should be moving forward at the time of impact, thus allowing the tennis player to continue the move forward.

The third key to tennis volley technique is having an aggressive mentality. This means that the volley technique is an aggressive shot, not a push or a rally shot. The point should be finished within one or two shots at the net. Anything more and any good tennis player will have hit put a passing shot away.

The third key to tennis volley technique is having an aggressive mentality. This means that the volley technique is an aggressive shot, not a push or a rally shot. The point should be finished within one or two shots at the net. Anything more and any good tennis player will have hit put a passing shot away.

The fourth key to tennis volley technique is fluid tennis footwork. Proper tennis footwork on the volley technique goes hand in hand with the forehand and backhand volley. This means that the tennis footwork needs to be fluid and small sprinting steps should be made.

The fifth key to tennis volley technique is incoporating the body into the tennis volley. Volley technique is not a wrist or arm shot. Making sure to stay low on a low volley, keep the racket head up and don’t prematurely drop the racket head (which will funnel the ball long or in the net)

Volley Technique is Powerful, Compact and Fluid

The volley technique must be powerful, compact and fluid just like the rest of the groundstroke technique.

Great tennis volley allows a tennis player to finish the point at the net after the initial approach shot. A weak tennis volley, on the other hand will leave a tennis player like a sitting duck, allowing an opponent to drill the tennis ball right back.

Forehand Volley

The Forehand Volley is an essential part of an all court game for every tennis player. The tennis volley is often hit when the opponent attempts to pass on to the forehand volley side. This tennis stroke must be kept simple in order to be made effective.

Pete Sampras had one of the best forehand volley in the history of tennis. His forehand volley was graceful, smooth and deadly. Roger Federer’s forehand volley technique is also world class. These two professional players use their tennis volley to great success in helping them finish points on their terms.

A good forehand volley is neccessity in order to play an attacking game, otherwise the baseline game will be your only option

What the keys to a good Forehand Volley

The forehand tennis volley is hit with all five keys mentioned above for a great tennis volley. The forehand volley is no exception. Typically, on the forehand volley there will be little to no swing.

The first key to the forehand volley in tennis is keeping the racket face up while the lower body must maintain a low and strong base of support. The posture on the body must be upright, and the swing path should be limited. Only a small takeback is needed, and most of this will be completed with the initial turn of the body.

Backhand volley

The volley technique on this tennis stroke must be compact in a similar fashion as on the forehand volley. The tennis volley technique must be kept compact, especially on harder hit balls. The momentum of the body moving forward will usually impart additional power needed to power the backhand volley, and little to no additional swinging is necessary. The backhand volley can be thought of as a block, rather than a swing.

Tennis players who attempt to swing on the backhand volley end up with poor results. They often hit the ball late, and are jammed on every shot and unable to effectively hit a powerful shot that they are looking for.

Volley Technique

Volley technique in tennis has to be made simple. Great net players have excellent finesse, and soft hands. The tennis volley is not a rigid or explosive stroke, rather it is a compact and fluid motion. At times, depending on the situation the tennis player must adjust the racket face and wrist angle to direct the tennis volley in the appropriate direction with the correct amount of spin and depth.

A tennis volley hit deep is better than one than lands short, potentially allowing the opponent to make a passing shot. A tennis volley hit with sharp angle will also force the opponent off the court increasing the chance for a forced error or a second put away tennis volley.

The volley technique of the pros are excellent models for every tennis player looking to improve tennis volleys. There is little acceptable variation on volley technique as it is in groundstroke technique, so adhering within the exact volley technique will improve your results on the tennis court.

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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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