Tweet
From the book, "The Game of Singles in Tennis" by William F. Talbert and Bruce S. Old:
"A composite picture of Tactics for the first volley when serving to the Forehand Court":
Talbert took data from many matches and came up with the above diagram.
He writes that the objective of the server when making his first volley is to place the ball out of reach of the receiver, or force him to play a defensive shot.
This means the ball on the first volley must land outside of the danger area, when he does that he will win 8 of 10 points. Volleying to the danger area, he will win only 4 of 10 points.
The lower part of the diagram shows the first volley positions. The server should get as close to the net as possible. by moving in to C or D. (having time to anticipate an eventual lob). If he can cut off the return and volley from C, avoiding the danger area, he will win 7 in 10, and if he reaches D, then the odds are 9 in 10. If he is slow and is caught in area A, he will only win 4 of 10 points. The important thing is if the server keeps his first volley deep (within 10 feet of the baseline), he will rarely lose. A favorite tactic is to serve wide to the forehand, then aim for R. This wins 9 of 10 times. The safe area for angle volleys (T) is somewhat longer on the backhand side when serving to the forehand court.
For a diagram when serving to the backhand, just reverse the diagram.
"A composite picture of Tactics for the first volley when serving to the Forehand Court":
Talbert took data from many matches and came up with the above diagram.
He writes that the objective of the server when making his first volley is to place the ball out of reach of the receiver, or force him to play a defensive shot.
This means the ball on the first volley must land outside of the danger area, when he does that he will win 8 of 10 points. Volleying to the danger area, he will win only 4 of 10 points.
The lower part of the diagram shows the first volley positions. The server should get as close to the net as possible. by moving in to C or D. (having time to anticipate an eventual lob). If he can cut off the return and volley from C, avoiding the danger area, he will win 7 in 10, and if he reaches D, then the odds are 9 in 10. If he is slow and is caught in area A, he will only win 4 of 10 points. The important thing is if the server keeps his first volley deep (within 10 feet of the baseline), he will rarely lose. A favorite tactic is to serve wide to the forehand, then aim for R. This wins 9 of 10 times. The safe area for angle volleys (T) is somewhat longer on the backhand side when serving to the forehand court.
For a diagram when serving to the backhand, just reverse the diagram.
Comment