My thoughts...On the Volley. To tennislearningforlife or to whom it may concern.

[bottle]

Stotty,

Did you know that Nabokov himself was a European pro supporting himself by giving tennis lessons at one time? As well as a chess player, a distinguished lepidopterist with his name on a butterfly species or two, and quite a few other things. I believe that he and his son Dmitri hit the ball pretty good. Don't know about Vera, N's beautiful wife, who sat next to him and took notes as he delivered each lecture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, but I would be surprised if she didn't play tennis, too.

I once received an unsolicited assignment to do a magazine article on N's biographer, Fred, who was Dean Emeritus at the University of Virginia. The editor had made a mistake however. Fred was not N's biographer but his bibliographer. Because of this mistake, the magazine never used my article although I wrote it three different ways. After the third attempt, the magazine finally gave up, broke its silence and paid me in full.

A highlight of this mostly humiliating experience-- especially since Fred's wife was a mentor and best friend of mine-- was that Fred got me into the cork-lined room at UVA where all of N's typed lectures and teaching copies for literature courses at Cornell, Wellesley and Harvard were stored.

I have to say that N's handwriting is the best I've ever seen in my life-- small, continental, utterly clear and well formed. In addition, he could draw and paint. In a margin of N's teaching copy of Flaubert's EMMA BOVARY is a tall watercolor of Emma's famous hat that is about as perfect as anyone could imagine.

Note: I use the letter "N" instead of the full name Vladimir Nabokov so that the "N" can refer either to Nabokov or Napoleon-- not my idea but I run with it nevertheless.

Fascinating-- your intelligence about "Ned Litam." A similar sounding name is uttered by Tilden in one of the instructional films he made, or maybe I'm thinking of Ned Swattem in MATCH PLAY AND THE SPIN OF THE BALL or maybe in one of Tilden's other books.

[stotty]

Tilden and N

Stotty,

Did you know that Nabokov himself was a European pro supporting himself by giving tennis lessons at one time? As well as a chess player, a distinguished lepidopterist with his name on a butterfly species or two, and quite a few other things. I believe that he and his son Dmitri hit the ball pretty good. Don't know about Vera, N's beautiful wife, who sat next to him and took notes as he delivered each lecture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, but I would be surprised if she didn't play tennis, too.

I once received an unsolicited assignment to do a magazine article on N's biographer, Fred, who was Dean Emeritus at the University of Virginia. The editor had made a mistake however. Fred was not N's biographer but his bibliographer. Because of this mistake, the magazine never used my article although I wrote it three different ways. After the third attempt, the magazine finally gave up, broke its silence and paid me in full.

A highlight of this mostly humiliating experience-- especially since Fred's wife was a mentor and best friend of mine-- was that Fred got me into the cork-lined room at UVA where all of N's typed lectures and teaching copies for literature courses at Cornell, Wellesley and Harvard were stored.

I have to say that N's handwriting is the best I've ever seen in my life-- small, continental, utterly clear and well formed. In addition, he could draw and paint. In a margin of N's teaching copy of Flaubert's EMMA BOVARY is a tall watercolor of Emma's famous hat that is about as perfect as anyone could imagine.

Note: I use the letter "N" instead of the full name Vladimir Nabokov so that the "N" can refer either to Nabokov or Napoleon-- not my idea but I run with it nevertheless.

Fascinating-- your intelligence about "Ned Litam." A similar sounding name is uttered by Tilden in one of the instructional films he made, or maybe I'm thinking of Ned Swattem in MATCH PLAY AND THE SPIN OF THE BALL or maybe in one of Tilden's other books.

Amazing post, bottle! Thanks so much for sharing. After reading Bill Tilden's book I became a little intrigued by the man and started to dig around to try and find out a little about his life. Biographies are often way too flattering so I delved into other leads instead, namely articles, newspaper archives, and gossip. The gossip is always the best. Apparently Tilden stunk when he played tennis and had a significant body odour problem. He also never showered with others in the locker room...he always went straight home in the clothes he played in....seems he was locker room shy. The gossip, of course, cannot be fully relied upon for truth, but more often than not there's an element of truth in it.

It's really is hard to know what Tilden was really like as a man. It's hard to know, also, just how good he was as a player. There isn't much to compare him with. The other great players came a decade or so after.

Amazing how one great life can often lead to another...now you've intrigued me a about N...that's a lovely snippet about his handwriting and painting skills.

Wonderful this forum. I've never such a great bunch of guys that I've not actually met in all my days on the Internet. You're a gem, bottle, a real gem.

[blake_b]

Once again thanks for your trying out my suggestion with this drill. I wonder if you would mind expanding on your thoughts a bit about your initial impressions about how this might help you in your all-court game. What revelations have you had?

Hi don_budge,

Sorry for the late reply. I have been doing other things lately. I have always tried to come in on short balls, but this drill showed me that I can also hit effective approach shots on balls that are not quite so short. It also gives me more confidence playing in "no mans" land. The drill teaches hitting the ball on the rise.

It can give a large number of repetitions hitting half volleys and low volleys. I also like the concept of the sneak attack that you mentioned.

Do you have any tactical recommendations for half volleys? I have always heard to hit them deep, but if they don't have good enough pace or placement they can be in an opponents strike zone.

Thanks,
Blake

[don_budge]

The queer private life of Bill Tilden...

The background to Tilden's life is also fascinating. Was he really a ephebophile or a pedophile? Or merely a victim of rumor and trumped up charges?...we'll never truly know. He was certainly homosexual it seems.

If you find his private life fascinating you might like this book..."The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People". Irving and Amy Wallace. Or the Tilden biography "Big Bill Tilden" written by Frank Deford.

From the book "The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People"..pages 567 and 568.

SEX LIFE: In his autobiography, My Story, Tilden spoke of boyhood crushes on pretty girls. He claimed that upon reaching manhood he considered marriage, and later suffered from unrequited love at the hands of some of Hollywoods most famous women-all a pathetic fabrication. Actually he realized early on that he was "different". At age 10, somehow he escaping Selina (his mother), he embarked on a five-year fondling affair with another boy. Traumatized by his mother's preachings, living as he did at a time when words like pregnancy and menstruation hid behind such euphemisms as "with child" and the "the curse" and homosexuality was an absolute taboo, he fought to sublimate his sexual urges in tennis. Sadly, he never enjoyed a fulfilling homosexual love affair, and it is unlikely he ever had complete physical contact with another human body, male or female. Mostly he fondled his boys and masturbated privately, increasing this activity as his career faded. Although he minced onto the tennis court before launching into his powerful game, very few knew his secret. Ty Cobb called him "that fruit," and in Lolita Vladimir Nabokov's nymphet takes tennis lessons from Ned Litam ("Ma Tilden" spelled backwards), but no one openly exposed his problem.

Describing the incident that led to his downfall, Tilden wrote: "I met one lad on the court who showed unusual promise...Somehow we drifted into a foolishly schoolboyish relationship...coming home from a movie...we indulged in horseplay...we were stopped by the police in Beverly Hills." As a consequence, Tilden spent almost eight months at a California honor farm, polishing kitchen pots, setting the table and serving other inmates. Arrested a second time after he violated a five-year parole by consorting with a minor, Tilden protested, but to no avail. The youth he had pursued identified Tilden unhesitatingly, using that missing fingertip as a clincher. He also testified that Tilden "was playing with my privates." This time Tilden was sent to a road camp. Released in time for Christmas, he returned alone and abandoned to his apartment, where six lonely moths later, fully dressed, he stretched out on his bed to rest and quietly died. In his sensitive, definitive biography, Big Bill Tilden, Frank Deford wrote of Tilden's Philadelphia funeral: "He was placed at the feet of his mother, so that at last he could be her child again, for good, at peace."

[don_budge]

Strategic half volleys, no man's land and to the net...plus Tilden's take.

It can give a large number of repetitions hitting half volleys and low volleys. I also like the concept of the sneak attack that you mentioned.

Do you have any tactical recommendations for half volleys? I have always heard to hit them deep, but if they don't have good enough pace or placement they can be in an opponents strike zone.

That's great blake_b! I am excited for you. This is a whole new dimension that you are exploring now. The journey into no man's land and forwards ...to the net! You bet you are going to get a lot of repetitions on all kinds of shots that you normally wouldn't practice. Sneaky is good...especially when you are playing tennis or in other clandestine activities. Deception is a good rule of thumb! I think that this drill used as physical conditioning is perfect for your tennis game as well. Kill two birds with one stone.

Tactical recommendations for half volleys? Yes...here is some food for thought. Practice to hit them from anywhere in your court to anywhere in your opponents court. Hit them where he isn't. If he is deep then hit them short. Get him to hit up to you on the run if possible and be waiting there like a very angry cougar pounding that volley down his pie hole...or just softly dink it by him to raise his ire. If he is at the net dink it by him or lob it over him. Practice the half volleys in this drill until you can hit them with underspin, topspin, sidespin...any old spin. No spin. Learn to punch them a bit as you might a volley and learn to dink them with exquisite touch...like a Nastase or a McEnroe.

Normally you are in a defensive position when hitting a half volley so make like Dale Carnegie...make lemonade when you are dished up lemons. Add a little sugar to sweeten things up. The most difficult shot in tennis and as you are moving forwards and backwards in this drill you will be faced with some "impossible" shots. The more difficult the shot...the less you do with your racquet and the more you use your body's position to be the backboard from which the ball shall rebound with your subtle choice of spin, you merely try to create a wall of your structure and racquet and deflect the ball to somewhere where it makes the most amount of sense and will create the fewest amount of problems for you with your opponents next choice of shots. The more difficult the shot the shorter the stroke...especially when in "no man's land". It's subtlety that counts here. Try to cut your losses. Damage control.

This is a shot that is not to be taught necessarily...but one to be experienced. Just keep practicing them until you can do just about anything with the ball that you want short of making you lunch.

Such a great question blake_b. From the book, "How to Play Better Tennis, a Complete Guide to Technique and Tactics" by Bill Tilden. Tilden discusses the half volley so why not quote him...he says on page 91. Note his use of the word "evolve".:

"We come to the trimmings, the shots that are the last word in the game and the strokes that need not be taught. When a player reaches the place where he should use them, he is good enough to evolve his own way to play them, because they are largely a matter of "feel" or tennis instinct. These shots are the half-volley or pickup and the drop shot."*

(*note from don_budge...this drill will enable you to evolve and develop touch and subtle feel for the game...diametrically opposed to the conventional wisdom that is the modern concept of tennis. Work on that perfect service motion and evolve into a classic all-court tennis player.)

1. The Half-volley or Pickup. Its very name is confusing, and really a misnomer. It is actually a drive, not a volley at all. It is a rising bounce drive, not a volley at all. It is a rising bounce drive played just as the ball starts to rise from the ground, and should be hit with the grip, footwork, backswing, and complete stroke production of the drive...forehand or backhand. Except of course, the ball can't be taken waist-high. The real secret in hitting a half-volley lies in bending the knees, so you crouch over the ball, leaning into the shot and following through to the end of your swing with a flat racquet face and a stiff wrist.

further...

"Since the half-volley is more or less a desperation shot made under pressure, play it for attack, not defense. Hit it firmly, decisively, and fairly hard, moving in with your shot as you make it. If you always regard the shot as a rising bounce drive, played at the earliest possible moment, you can at times use a half-volley as an advancing shot to go to the net behind, but it should only be done if your opponent is far out of court and you are attempting to hurry him to the limit."

further still...

"There is no shot in tennis that requires the perfect split-second timing that the half-volley does. Above all, it demands perfect vision, with the eye never leaving the ball for even an instant. It's fun to play, but it's likely percentage of error is so high that it should be used only when there is no other possible shot."


Tilden's description of "leaning into the shot and following through to the end of your swing with a flat racquet face and a stiff wrist" conjures up the vision of a well played chip or pitch shot in golf. Chip to play it short, pitch to play it deep. The weight is placed securely on the front foot, the club face is left facing the target and the wrists do not break at all...I believe that is what he meant by a firm wrist. He did not say a locked wrist.

[stotty]

Tilden to Vines to Sex

If you find his private life fascinating you might like this book..."The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People". Irving and Amy Wallace. Or the Tilden biography "Big Bill Tilden" written by Frank Deford.

From the book "The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People"..pages 567 and 568.

SEX LIFE: In his autobiography, My Story, Tilden spoke of boyhood crushes on pretty girls. He claimed that upon reaching manhood he considered marriage, and later suffered from unrequited love at the hands of some of Hollywoods most famous women-all a pathetic fabrication. Actually he realized early on that he was "different". At age 10, somehow he escaping Selina (his mother), he embarked on a five-year fondling affair with another boy. Traumatized by his mother's preachings, living as he did at a time when words like pregnancy and menstruation hid behind such euphemisms as "with child" and the "the curse" and homosexuality was an absolute taboo, he fought to sublimate his sexual urges in tennis. Sadly, he never enjoyed a fulfilling homosexual love affair, and it is unlikely he ever had complete physical contact with another human body, male or female. Mostly he fondled his boys and masturbated privately, increasing this activity as his career faded. Although he minced onto the tennis court before launching into his powerful game, very few knew his secret. Ty Cobb called him "that fruit," and in Lolita Vladimir Nabokov's nymphet takes tennis lessons from Ned Litam ("Ma Tilden" spelled backwards), but no one openly exposed his problem.

Describing the incident that led to his downfall, Tilden wrote: "I met one lad on the court who showed unusual promise...Somehow we drifted into a foolishly schoolboyish relationship...coming home from a movie...we indulged in horseplay...we were stopped by the police in Beverly Hills." As a consequence, Tilden spent almost eight months at a California honor farm, polishing kitchen pots, setting the table and serving other inmates. Arrested a second time after he violated a five-year parole by consorting with a minor, Tilden protested, but to no avail. The youth he had pursued identified Tilden unhesitatingly, using that missing fingertip as a clincher. He also testified that Tilden "was playing with my privates." This time Tilden was sent to a road camp. Released in time for Christmas, he returned alone and abandoned to his apartment, where six lonely moths later, fully dressed, he stretched out on his bed to rest and quietly died. In his sensitive, definitive biography, Big Bill Tilden, Frank Deford wrote of Tilden's Philadelphia funeral: "He was placed at the feet of his mother, so that at last he could be her child again, for good, at peace."

Thanks for this don_budge. I somehow missed this post and only picked up on it today.

Funny how one life leads into another. I ordered Myth and Method by Ellsworth Vines yesterday...found it for a couple of dollars on Amazon. Reading about Tilden has made me curious about Vines. I have also become curious about the life and writings of Nobakov.

I ordered Deford's book on Tilden and am waiting for it to arrive. I'm really looking forward to reading it.

It must have been hard being a homosexual back then, alienating. Must have been difficult to fathom what to do with yourself - how to gratify yourself with a partner. It's easier these days with homosexuality being so much more accepted.

As a heterosexual it makes me laugh these days. I spent 10 years fumbling around in the dark learning to press all the right buttons with women. Took me ages to find out what buttons did what! These days any teenager can download "How to" clips and be an expert by their third attempt. Still...I had great fun working things out for myself...can't complain.

[GeoffWilliams]

What he did is called child molestation. Ball boys. Children. Couple of guys tried the same thing on me when I was a child. I didn't appreciate it. Why do athletes get away with so much crime anyway? Shouldn't have been laid to rest at mother's foot, but burned alive.

[don_budge]

Strategic half volleys, no man's land and to the net...plus Tilden's take.

It can give a large number of repetitions hitting half volleys and low volleys. I also like the concept of the sneak attack that you mentioned.

Do you have any tactical recommendations for half volleys? I have always heard to hit them deep, but if they don't have good enough pace or placement they can be in an opponents strike zone.

That's great blake_b! I am excited for you. This is a whole new dimension that you are exploring now. The journey into no man's land and forwards ...to the net! You bet you are going to get a lot of repetitions on all kinds of shots that you normally wouldn't practice. Sneaky is good...especially when you are playing tennis or in other clandestine activities. Deception is a good rule of thumb! I think that this drill used as physical conditioning is perfect for your tennis game as well. Kill two birds with one stone.

Tactical recommendations for half volleys? Yes...here is some food for thought. Practice to hit them from anywhere in your court to anywhere in your opponents court. Hit them where he isn't. If he is deep then hit them short. Get him to hit up to you on the run if possible and be waiting there like a very angry cougar pounding that volley down his pie hole...or just softly dink it by him to raise his ire. If he is at the net dink it by him or lob it over him. Practice the half volleys in this drill until you can hit them with underspin, topspin, sidespin...any old spin. No spin. Learn to punch them a bit as you might a volley and learn to dink them with exquisite touch...like a Nastase or a McEnroe.

Normally you are in a defensive position when hitting a half volley so make like Dale Carnegie...make lemonade when you are dished up lemons. Add a little sugar to sweeten things up. The most difficult shot in tennis and as you are moving forwards and backwards in this drill you will be faced with some "impossible" shots. The more difficult the shot...the less you do with your racquet and the more you use your body's position to be the backboard from which the ball shall rebound with your subtle choice of spin, you merely try to create a wall of your structure and racquet and deflect the ball to somewhere where it makes the most amount of sense and will create the fewest amount of problems for you with your opponents next choice of shots. The more difficult the shot the shorter the stroke...especially when in "no man's land". It's subtlety that counts here. Try to cut your losses. Damage control.

This is a shot that is not to be taught necessarily...but one to be experienced. Just keep practicing them until you can do just about anything with the ball that you want short of making you lunch.

Such a great question blake_b. From the book, "How to Play Better Tennis, a Complete Guide to Technique and Tactics" by Bill Tilden. Tilden discusses the half volley so why not quote him...he says on page 91. Note his use of the word "evolve".:

"We come to the trimmings, the shots that are the last word in the game and the strokes that need not be taught. When a player reaches the place where he should use them, he is good enough to evolve his own way to play them, because they are largely a matter of "feel" or tennis instinct. These shots are the half-volley or pickup and the drop shot."*

(*note from don_budge...this drill will enable you to evolve and develop touch and subtle feel for the game...diametrically opposed to the conventional wisdom that is the modern concept of tennis. Work on that perfect service motion and evolve into a classic all-court tennis player.)

1. The Half-volley or Pickup. Its very name is confusing, and really a misnomer. It is actually a drive, not a volley at all. It is a rising bounce drive, not a volley at all. It is a rising bounce drive played just as the ball starts to rise from the ground, and should be hit with the grip, footwork, backswing, and complete stroke production of the drive...forehand or backhand. Except of course, the ball can't be taken waist-high. The real secret in hitting a half-volley lies in bending the knees, so you crouch over the ball, leaning into the shot and following through to the end of your swing with a flat racquet face and a stiff wrist.

further...

"Since the half-volley is more or less a desperation shot made under pressure, play it for attack, not defense. Hit it firmly, decisively, and fairly hard, moving in with your shot as you make it. If you always regard the shot as a rising bounce drive, played at the earliest possible moment, you can at times use a half-volley as an advancing shot to go to the net behind, but it should only be done if your opponent is far out of court and you are attempting to hurry him to the limit."

further still...

"There is no shot in tennis that requires the perfect split-second timing that the half-volley does. Above all, it demands perfect vision, with the eye never leaving the ball for even an instant. It's fun to play, but it's likely percentage of error is so high that it should be used only when there is no other possible shot."


Tilden's description of "leaning into the shot and following through to the end of your swing with a flat racquet face and a stiff wrist" conjures up the vision of a well played chip or pitch shot in golf. Chip to play it short, pitch to play it deep. The weight is placed securely on the front foot, the club face is left facing the target and the wrists do not break at all...I believe that is what he meant by a firm wrist. He did not say a locked wrist.

[don_budge]

Serve and volley...approach tactics and volley technique. Live from Paris...Llodra

There you have it the whole kit and caboodle. Michael Llodra, the poor man's John McEnroe once again put it all on display at the Parisian Indoors.

He slice and diced his way clear to the semi-finals where he ran into the human energizer bunny and he could not seal the deal despite giving Ferrer all kinds of problems holding service in the first set. Llodra had break points in every Ferrer service game but couldn't apply the clincher as time and time again Ferrer made the pass or Llodra the error.

What Llodra was applying to Ferrer was a tactical onslaught. The nature of the Llodra tactics was to keep Ferrer off balance and guessing. But did he become a bit to predictable with his unpredictableness. Just consider this.

Time and time again Llodra put himself into position to take command of the first set but each time he either failed to do so or Ferrer snatched the opportunity away from him. The answer...don't get too caught up in your own tactics. Understand that it is the element of surprise that keeps the opponent off balance.

After failing to convert breakpoints three or four times at the net perhaps Llodra should of tried...to stay back. Thereby breaking up the rhythm of his opponent by resorting to his opponents rhythm. It is worth a try after failing to convert four or five times.

[blake_b]

Great Half Volley Info

Hi don_budge,

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my question about half volley tactics. There is a lot of good information in your post. I think this drill is already paying off. I played a match yesterday, and my half volleys already seem to be improving.

Blake