Cross court shots played at the right time can create opportunities and reduce the chance of your opponent intercepting your volleys. They must however be accurate and not hit too hard as this puts your opponent off balance.
Couples practice volleys by standing just in front of the short line. Player A feeds an outswinging boast from near the back of the service box while Player B plays either a straight lob or cross court drive shot.
Front wall
An effective crosscourt volley from the front wall requires both speed and angle. Preparing your body for such an attempt by bending knees slightly and positioning your upper body forward slightly will enable you to reach all corners of the court with ease. Wrist and racquet positions play a key role in dictating which direction your shot takes; even small changes can have significant effects.
Cross-court float returns are one of the best ways to keep an opponent off-balance and out of position in squash. They’re especially effective if your opponent is located in the back court with slow recovery speed; however, hitting an aggressive cross-court float with conventional technique may allow their opponent to anticipate and counter attack effectively.
As another effective way of taking control of a rally is hitting short and hard kill shots into the neck area, hitting one is an effective strategy to win games and it should be practiced together with your partner to develop confidence with it.
Sometimes an opponent will attack from behind early and force you into the front court, forcing you to hit an aggressive drop volley or volley boast to move them out of position and give yourself time to return into a defensive stance.
Back wall
Back wall volleys can be challenging shots and it is essential that they be accurate in order to achieve an excellent return. Many players are tempted to stay back and hit a hard return to an attacker, but this often backfires; their attacker will quickly close out the rally by hitting string of winners into front corners quickly. Instead, try getting in front of your opponent’s shots by forcing them into making shots; this increases chances that either hits their target or leaves something for you to drop back onto their serve.
When playing back wall volleys, it’s essential that the shot be executed with enough width for it to bounce properly and avoid colliding with your opponent’s racket. A wide enough width should enable the ball to pass behind the T and fall closer to the back wall without hitting its sidewall first and rebound into your opponent’s corner; otherwise it will bounce short and land right back on you! If the shot is too high it could hit both walls simultaneously before finally coming crashing back down with too much force into its corner.
Timing is also key when playing this shot; reading your opponent and timing your volley at just the right moment are essential, or else they will predict your selection to cross court and make winning the point more difficult for you.
To practice, try doing a simple drill with your partner: have one person stand on the T and feed short straight drives, while the other stands in front of the short line and plays either straight or cross court lobs – this drill will help build cross court volleys while creating opportunities.
Side wall
The side wall volley is an essential part of attacking tennis, as it can remove your opponent’s volley and force them to play more passively. But it can be challenging to execute, and requires precise placement; otherwise it could send your volley wide giving opponents easy put aways.
Ideally, aim for the line between the floor and front wall when hitting cross-court lobs, since this position makes it hard for your opponent to volley a ball there. In addition, short cross-court lobs may deceive them and help give you more confidence to attack with greater certainty.
Short cross-court volleys can also help tire out your opponent. As they become fatigued, they are more likely to hold back on the T and miss their volleys – making it easier for you to pass your ball through and into the front corner.
Though a short cross-court volley can be effective at taking advantage of opponent timing, when they have already come into view it is usually best to play straight drives or boasts from behind as this will prevent lobs that could easily be intercepted on the volley.
Not only can a short cross-court lob be used as an effective decoy for drop or straight drops, it’s also a useful shot when your opponent attempts to hit hard returns to the front corners of the court – this strategy may help you win more rallies and score more points overall!
Front forehand
The front forehand volley is an effective shot when facing opponents in the back corner. Though it takes practice to master, this shot can help get opponents out of position while building power over time. Stay relaxed and calm by taking deep breaths before hitting your shot to ensure an impactful volley without losing control over it.
Preparing to strike a front forehand volley requires similar preparation to that for backhand volleying; shoulders and torso remain perpendicular to the net; maintaining the desired lateral distance goal by keeping left elbow close to body with wrist laid back is maintained; adding slight right rotation of shoulders and torso completes this preparation.
Volleys should be hit with one-fourth the energy required for groundstroke off-bounce, making them challenging to understand for beginners who have spent most of their learning at the baseline hitting balls off a full swing.
There are various approaches to playing a volley: One option is simply coming straight at it without much precision or power; using preparation but targeting cross court or down the line; or playing it using body movements by using a balancing step and moving towards it to maintain correct lateral distance and ensure an ideal contact point.
Back forehand
One of the primary errors made by volley players is attempting to hit their backhand volleys short and wide, which can be extremely challenging without proper footwork and stance. Timing of shots is also critical – an attempt that comes too late may miss altogether and even if it lands in the net it won’t count as a winner; one way of practicing this would be dropping feed balls at yourself at walls along your route and watching where the balls land; this will teach you how to time your volleys better!
Backhand volley contact points should be at approximately 45 degrees to the net. To locate this position, imagine yourself on either a service line or baseline and facing towards the net; draw a line from that location back towards it before bisecting it for your 45-degree angle – striking this angle will bring maximum leverage and power!
One key component to hitting an effective back forehand volley is having a curved arm at contact. Curved arms tend to be stronger and more stable than straight arms; it would also be beneficial if your racquet head remained above the white tape on the net at all times during your volleys.
There are many drills you can use to hone your volleys, but one of the most entertaining ones is called “two up two back.” In this drill, one player starts at the baseline and feeds one from the service line; their first volley must hit it in singles court (no lobs allowed); after this point however, all half of the court becomes open with no restrictions and lobs allowed.