Something I really believe in is that you don't always need a ball, a court and a partner to improve your tennis. It's vital you get your arms working the right way and a great way to do this to start with is to get rid of the ball.
When it comes to your volleys, it's crucial you get the feel for bringing your hand into your body on the forehand volley and feeling like you are elbowing someone out of the way on your backhand volley. Two other ways to look at it is you want your strings facing the opponents side of the net after contact and you want to hit across the ball for spin and feel.
I was watching the ATP event from Dubai last week and it was awesome to see the Fed attacking the net like he was a lion chasing a zebra. The court was quick and it allowed the great man to utilise all of his skills without having to worry about some clay rat running down a ball while being 7 feet behind the baseline and hitting some insane angle. Fed was knifing volleys left right and centre all week and it reminded me of the contrasting styles I loved so much when I was a kid. Edberg and Becker v Agassi and Courier. The guys all over the net v the guys running for their lives.
Anyway, to get the Fed feel for the volley while hanging out in your own living room, go and stand about 1 arms length away from a wall - you want to be facing the wall. To start with you can use just your hand or a racket and then practise hitting fake volleys where you come across the ball and miss the wall. You will see how your racket angle stays the same and how your hand comes in on the forehand volley and butt cap advances across to the side on the backhand volley.
A good idea is also to alternate between forehand and backhand volleys. Just make sure to point the butt cap of the racket at the wall before hitting your imaginary Fed like backhand volley.
When it comes to your volleys, it's crucial you get the feel for bringing your hand into your body on the forehand volley and feeling like you are elbowing someone out of the way on your backhand volley. Two other ways to look at it is you want your strings facing the opponents side of the net after contact and you want to hit across the ball for spin and feel.
I was watching the ATP event from Dubai last week and it was awesome to see the Fed attacking the net like he was a lion chasing a zebra. The court was quick and it allowed the great man to utilise all of his skills without having to worry about some clay rat running down a ball while being 7 feet behind the baseline and hitting some insane angle. Fed was knifing volleys left right and centre all week and it reminded me of the contrasting styles I loved so much when I was a kid. Edberg and Becker v Agassi and Courier. The guys all over the net v the guys running for their lives.
Anyway, to get the Fed feel for the volley while hanging out in your own living room, go and stand about 1 arms length away from a wall - you want to be facing the wall. To start with you can use just your hand or a racket and then practise hitting fake volleys where you come across the ball and miss the wall. You will see how your racket angle stays the same and how your hand comes in on the forehand volley and butt cap advances across to the side on the backhand volley.
A good idea is also to alternate between forehand and backhand volleys. Just make sure to point the butt cap of the racket at the wall before hitting your imaginary Fed like backhand volley.
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