classic lessons high volley

[rainey]

I enjoyed Scott Murphy's classic lesson on volleys. A couple of questions. My son has been playing over a year now and volleys well. He was taught a two hand backhand volley. It seems more difficult to get leading arm extension with two hands, and he does not have the punch on the backhand side he gets with the forehand. Are there good pros with two hand backhand volleys, or should he switch? Also on his volleys his coach has the racket face mildly open. This seems to work for him. But on balls that are just above his head, his coach still wants him to keep the face open, and sort of drive/slice through the ball to bring it down. I believe the stroke he is after can be effective, and I believe I have seen pros do it, but my son frequently will pop these up and hit them long. I don't think he can develop the timing/touch for this stroke yet. I am thinking of having my son not have his racket face open above his head and drive those volleys with a neutral face or even a slightly closed face for balls that are really high but not going out past the baseline. Your thoughts.

[scottmurphy]

Dear Rainey,

I would strongly suggest that at some point in the near future your son learns a one handed volley because without that he'll never learn to maximize his potential at the net. Having said that, two hands can be okay when you're just starting out as they can provide more stability as you develop a feel for the shot. The bottom or non dominant hand when using two hands should use a Continental grip so player is comfortable with it when he transitions to the one hander.

If the pros use two hands to volley I think it's predominately on swinging volleys and that would be from the players who use a two hander for their groundstroke. I don't think you'd see a player at the pro level coming to net much if all they had was a two handed volley. The one handed volley provides the versatility needed to cover the variety of potential shots when playing the net.

If your son is using a Continental grip with his dominant hand for the high two handed volley I could see the racquet face preparing a bit open. However, that wouldn't apply for balls considerably higher than the shoulder even with a Continental grip. If that were the case the volleys would likely get popped up. Bottom line is that I agree with your thinking as to preparation on the balls over his head.

I hope that helps.

Scott Murphy

[rainey]

high volley

Thanks Scott. Your advice is very helpful! Mark