Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

The Art of Lawn Tennis by William (Bill) Tatem Tilden
page 33 of 197 (16%)
or hit. Volleys should never be stroked. There is no follow
through on a low volley and very little on a high one.

You will hear much talk of "chop" volleys. A chop stroke is one
where the racquet travels from above the line of flight of the
ball, down and through it, and the angle made behind the racquet
is greater than 45 degrees, and many approach 90 degrees.
Therefore I say that no volleys should be chopped, for the
tendency is to pop the ball up in the air off any chop. Slice
volleys if you want to, or hit them flat, for both these shots
are made at a very small angle to the flight-line of the ball,
the racquet face travelling almost along its plane.

In all volleys, high or low, the wrist should be locked and
absolutely stiff. It should always be below the racquet head,
thus bracing the racquet against the impact of the ball. Allow
the force of the incoming shot, plus your own weight, to return
the ball, and do not strive to "wrist" it over. The tilted
racquet face will give any required angle to the return by
glancing the ball off the strings, so no wrist turn is needed.

Low volleys can never be hit hard, and owing to the height of the
net should usually be sharply angled, to allow distance for the
rise. Any ball met at a higher plane than the top of the net may
be hit hard. The stroke should be crisp, snappy, and decisive,
but it should stop as it meets the ball. The follow through
should be very small. Most low volleys should be soft and short.
Most high volleys require speed and length.

The "stop" volley is nothing more than a shot blocked short.
DigitalOcean Referral Badge