Serve and Volley:
Summary
Kyle LaCroix
In this series I've shared my personal journey in becoming a serve and volley player and outlined the teaching components I have developed to teach it to others.
It's currently a minority view, but I remain convinced serve and volley is an absolutely viable, wildly underutilized strategy. So in this article let's review what we've learned. And maybe this last article will swing the balance for some Tennisplayer subscribers to develop more serve and volley in their own games.
When we all look back at our own tennis origins, we can probably remember the time and place that brought tennis into our lives. For me it was a classic serve and volley duel between two legends in a Wimbledon final. (Click Here.)
That Stefan Edberg versus Boris Becker match started me down the road to become a tennis player, to become a ranked junior, a college player, and eventually to teach serve and volley to my students. I didn't win Wimbledon at 17 as I had once dreamed, but my experience has showed me that serve and volley can be effective at every level. generate unequalled satisfaction when successfully executed.
Mentality
Playing serve and volley means relentlessly moving forward, applying pressure over and over, wearing down opponents, forcing them to come up with great returns and passing shots time after time. Very few players can stand up to this challenge over the course of a match.
The mentality is sustained, controlled aggression. And maintaining this unwavering, relentless mentality is critical to succeed. The mastery has to start in your head. (Click Here.)
It's easy to spot players that rarely plays the serve and volley. After being passed once, they avoid the forecourt and approach the net again only to shake hands.
Percentages
Serve and volley is fundamentally about percentages. The greatest serve and volley players are passed time and time again. And they expect to be. The issue is not getting passed, the issue is who is wins the most points.
You will be passed. So get over it. It requires a thick skin when a point or a series of points have failed, sometimes spectacularly.
No matter what your level, opponents will find a way to get it by you, especially in the beginning. The question is, can they effectively do this over and over and especially in the clutch situations that turn matches.
No matter what level of tennis you are watching, you will see players that hit passing shots with ease early in matches will miss the exact same shot at a later and more crucial stage.
Your physical presence at the net is crucial to the success of a serve and volley game. You loom large in your opponent's psyche and impose your will. This takes a toll over time that isn't always obvious.
Then suddenly missed pass at a critical time has a huge psychological effect. An opponent who has been playing incredibly well can suddenly fall to pieces and lose the will to fight.
Hitting the hardest ball possible in a given situation is rarely the answer in serve and volley, and is usually a detriment. The harder you hit, the faster you need to move.
Players try to bomb the serve not realizing that this takes away time and limits their ability to reach the net. It's a recipe for creating difficult first volleys.
At the world class level this can work at times. At the club and recreational level, it's almost always a disaster.
A consistent and well placed serve with the right amount and type of spin is what creates a volley put away. These are two halves of the whole. You need confidence in your serve to make your volleys easier. You also need confidence in your volleys to take pressure off your serve.
Understanding the importance of angles at net is another fundamental factor. By coming to the net you shrink the court by nearly a half and radically increase your ability to angle the ball out of reach.
The best way to describe serve and volley is as a series shot combinations. It's not one knockout punch but a series of jabs and hooks in the form of intelligent serving, aggressive first volleys and effective finishing shots. Mixing the 4 serves described of this series (T serve, Wide Deep, 3/4, Body) is crucial to any serve and volley game. (Click Here.)
At elite levels, closing in tight to the net is ideal, chances are that an approach or volley was struck crisply enough to elicit a week reply and perhaps a short lob. World class players are athletic enough to move back and crush an overhead. "Always Be Closing" works as a strategy for players gifted enough to do it.
However, many players at lower levels may not hit volleys or approaches may with enough authority, and often their opponents a chance for an effective lob.
In the beginning, I like to show my players a "hover and observe" footwork routine. I compare the split step to a speed bump. You must slow down and get your balance, but not stop moving completely or kill your forward progress.
I teach players to position at the service line or a step or two closer, remain in a ready position with little adjustment steps, and then read the shot from their opponents. They can then explode forward for the volley or push back for the overhead.
Post Serve Shots
In serve and volley tennis, the serve is the only guaranteed shot. It's not always followed by a shoulder high volley for the put away. There are numerous tricky situations: the low volley, the half volley, the swinging volley, the deep overhead.
These shots are bridges that connects a well placed, well intended serve with the comfortable and easy winning volleys to the open court.
These are not the shots players hope for or dream about. But if you are going to succeed at the net you can rest assured you will need them. (Click Here.)
A big mistake many players make is trying to do too much with the overhead. Not only with the power, but also with the direction. Scott Murphy has a great technical lesson developing this critical shot. (Click Here). Proper technique leads to confidence, which leads to relaxation of the body and mind, which leads to success.
If serve and volley is going to make a comeback on the tour, it may not be in the classic form . The swinging volley could be the difference.
At Wimbledon Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer all played successful serve and swing volley points. The reality is the swinging volley has been an effective shot on the tour for years.
At lower levels, it can be the answer to playing against a retriever or pusher that is content to sail each ball back. The swinging volley has the topspin levels of a groundstroke, and can be much more forceful than a regular volley with underspin. As the evolution of tennis continues, it may become a signature shot. Serve and Volley Practice
When practicing serve and volley, make it a point to involve multiple skills and shots. I shared several ways to do this with my students in the drill articles in this series. (Click Here for Part 1. Click Here for Part2.)
And here is one final important point. I insist on warming up the volley in a match from one step inside the service line T. Why? I know if I can hit volleys from this position in the warmup I'm comfortable hitting volleys from anywhere.
Look around your local club. How often do you see players practicing their volleys two feet from the net? They make every volley, then get into a match and never get that close again.
Conclusion
So as we've seen in this series, Serve and Volley is many things. It's an inspiration to pursue it. It's a mentality that must be forged through hard work, commitment and understanding. It's an effective tactical style that can be implemented in numerous situations.
In my view it's an idea that has not vanished. It has simply been waiting for a group of tennis players and coaches to understand, embrace and resurrect it.
