A few winters ago, I enrolled my daughter in a group tennis class at a nearby club. Nice pro, same-aged kids, and indoor courts. I was hopeful that we had a shot at finally getting her interested in playing tennis.
After a few lessons, the pro ran a drill to introduce the volley. He had the group of little girls standing side-by-side about two feet from the net and told them to hold the racquet straight in front like a stop sign and kept repeating, “Punch that volley.” He walked along in front of them and tossed easy balls they couldn’t miss. While the theory of helping them make contact is sound, there is one major flaw in this approach. Since the technique of hitting forehand volleys with a straight arm is wrong, they will get stuck playing with bad volley technique. Then, down the road, if they want to improve, they will have to go through a major grip and technique change, a frustrating challenge at best. While the debate may still be alive on exactly how to start new players, at the very least, let’s bust the long-standing myth to “punch the forehand volley.”
On the forehand volley in tennis, your arm should start slightly bent at the elbow and finish bent as well (see photos). Keep in mind that you are closer to your opponent and the ball is coming faster as compared to groundstrokes since the ball has not bounced and slowed down. Keep the motion short and compact. Only on slower balls should the length of the swing on the forehand volley be slightly extended. But, even then, it is the backswing that can extend to generate more power. For maximum control, try to finish with your strings pointing towards your target on all volleys, whether hitting a slow or fast incoming ball.
On the other hand, a boxer throwing a punch is a completely different motion. He (or she if you saw the award-winning film, “Million Dollar Baby”) throws a punch with the arm starting bent and finishing straight. The forehand volley is different from a boxer’s punch in another important way as well. A boxer must generate all the energy to throw a punch, more similar to a pitcher in baseball winding up to throw a pitch, or a basketball player shooting an outside shot. In tennis, the forehand volley uses the energy of the ball generated by the opponent and is merely redirecting that energy, not unlike a backboard rebounding a ball.
Of course, when a tennis teacher instructs a student, “Punch your volley,” there is no malicious intent. Rather, the teacher is merely trying to get the player to adopt a shorter, more “punchy” motion. However, innocent or not, thinking that a volley should be “punched” is a myth that should be busted.
The other problem with the “stop sign” instruction is that you’ll end up with the wrong grip. Try holding a racquet in front of you like a stop sign and you’ll see what happens. You’ll end up with a Western forehand or “frying pan” grip. With this grip at the net, players experience two limitations. First, you will have endless headaches from hitting low volleys into the net since the racquet face is perpendicular to the ground. And, second, you will have to switch grips when the volley comes to your backhand side. Since you have less time at the net, changing grips for forehand and backhand volleys is not ideal. Best is to hold a Continental or “hammer” grip that will work for both forehand and backhand volleys. The Continental grip will also result in a slightly open racquet face on both sides, making it easier to volley those challenging low balls over the net.
With my own daughter, I am very happy to report that she immediately moved on from that “punch the volley” class to learn the proper technique on the volley. Two years later she has now has effectively put away enough volleys to become one of the higher ranked kids in Texas.
A boxer can throw a punch, a comedian can tell a joke with a punch line, and someone can serve punch to drink at a party, but a punch is not a volley in tennis.
Three photos.
- Start position with arm slightly bent at the elbow.
- Finish position correct for tennis with arm bent and strings pointing in the direction the ball is being hit.
- Finish position wrong with hitting arm finishing straight, more like a boxer throwing a punch.