Tennis Coaching

Serve and Volley Strategy

Assuming that the opponent returns the serve, where is the ideal target for your first volley? (This example is for the deuce court. Of course, the opposites are true for the ad court.)

1. Serve wide to the forehand. First volley goes to the opposite side either deep or short angle.

2. Serve deep in the middle. First volley goes to the middle providing no angles for opponent’s passing shot.

3. Serve down the center to the backhand side. First volley goes to the deep forehand corner. The temptation is to volley to the backhand side because there is more open space. However, the opponent’s momentum makes the forehand shot harder.