Tips to Improve the Backhand Volley

Use your body to power the ball

One of the main problems we encounter when playing a volley, is wanting to add more power. The more convenient approach is to use your body, not just the arm, to be able to use all the body weight on the ball to give it a greater exit speed.

Use the continental grip

This grip is the usual one for both forehand and backhand and it has been shown that it is less harmful than other grips because the point of contact when hitting is made comfortable. The continental grip is the most versatile, it's handy for both high and low volleys.

The left hand does not push, but pulls

Another of the fundamental aspects of the backhand volley. And it is that when our dominant hand (the one that takes the racket) goes forward, the opposite hand goes backwards generating a greater acceleration and a great balance.

Our advice, pretend you're opening a cupboard. Start in the middle and extend both arms outwards. 

How you hold the racket makes all the difference

Some players place their non-dominant hand up (around the middle of the racket) to pull. However, this isn't particularly comfortable and can cause errors in our shots.

For this reason, your non-dominant hand must be held around the middle, since being closer to the body will help us react faster to the balls that come hurtling towards us.

Pass the opposite foot

The opposite foot to the shot has to go in the direction in which we are going to play as long as we can achieve a comfortable volley. That is, if we make a backhand volley we will have to go through the right foot whenever we have time to do it. But why? I hear you ask, well, it will help us to transfer our body weight into the volley.

However, this advice can not always be followed, especially when a strong ball is played to the body and you're left with your life flashing before your eyes. 

Extend the chest or bring the shoulders together at the end of the shot.

This action will make us notice how the arms open and how a reactive movement is generated. Basically, what we are sating tis that you have to focus on the movement of your arms. 

In fact, Manu Martín recommends that we include this movement in the warm-up to help us realise, hitting in front of our body, we are going to see that the movement is very fluid.

Keep your 👀 on the ball

This is one of the smallest changes we can make, but at the same time can have a huge impact in the way we play. We must always pay attention to the ball and not to where you want it to go. The moment you fixate your eyes on a gap, you forget to focus on the actual shot.

Secure your volley when it comes speeding towards you

This usually occurs when the ball is very high or very low backhand. In high backhand volleys we have no strength to hit the ball and also, due to its height, it will have a lot of rebound. In a low backhand volley, the safest thing is that we end up sending the ball to the net if we want to give it speed.