The Backhand Volley:
Sampras, Rafter, and Hewitt - A Visual Comparison
by Dave Smith

The Eastern Forehand Grip places more hand behind the raccquet for forehand strokes. This grip is tailored for topspin forehands.

The Continental Grip centers the racquet in relation to the forearm. This allows the racquet to remain relatively parallel with the hitting arm.

The Eastern Backhand Grip places much of the hand behind the racquet. This grip is tailored for topspin backhand groundstrokes

Note the early upper body turn, the Continental grip, and the racquethead held high supported by the off hand, common traits of good backhand volleys.

Unbelievably, most of the nearly 60 books I own on tennis propose this transitory methodology: changing a player’s form after a player first becomes comfortable using the more elementary grips. Want to screw up a tennis player for life? Teach them methods they will have to change at some later point! Of the 3000-plus players I have taught, a huge number of these students acknowledged a need to change from what they had been taught as beginners to what they now know will help them advance. Yet, making this recognized change is next to impossible for the vast majority of players. No other sport teaches such a transitional method of learning. Save yourself years of frustration: Learn it right from the start!Employing visual cues and comparisons of some of the top players can help determine a progressive course of practice to improve your own volley. While providing several examples of these visual tools, I will address several of the common fundamental patterns that some of the top world-class players utilize while hitting the volley.

Observe the similarities of how Rafter and Sampras attack a short volley on the backhand side.

The action of slicing the volley prevents the racquet from rolling over the ball or hitting it too flat. By maintaining the racquet head in the same “plane” throughout the shot, a player has a much greater chance at directing the ball to the desired target. (Rolling the racquet is common among players using Eastern grips. As Arthur Ashe once said, “whether you like it or not, you are going to hit some amount of topspin with an Eastern grip, even if you think you are hitting flat.”)Maintaining the racquet head in the same plane during the slice allows for actual aiming to take place. A player who rolls the racquet in an attempt to create more power or simply out of habit changes the hitting surface during contact. Thus aiming is basically meaningless. For example, if a player who rolls the racquet head at contact hits early, he will hit the ball into the bottom of the net. Let’s say he decides on the next similar shot to aim higher. If he rolls the racquet a split second later, the ball is jettisoned long due to the racquet not closing in time. The slicing of a volley changes a percentage of the force applied to the ball from velocity to spin. Obviously, standing near the net brings you closer to your opponent’s baseline. Lower volleys or volleys hit from a deeper position from the net are generally hit up at an angle in order to clear the net. Players who notoriously hit flat volleys end up hitting balls far out because of the precision necessary to control such a ball. By slicing the ball, the players can still hit the ball with a firm stroke, yet control the desired depth by using spin to their advantage. They can hit with greater error room over the net as well.

“Keep the plane the same.” Rafter maintains a relatively consistent racquet face angle through the course of the volley.

This helps explain why so many people bury even reasonably easy volleys that are well above the net into the bottom of the net! Players often fail to comprehend these rebound characteristics of a ball off a flat racquet face.Arm MotionThe arm swings pivotally around the shoulder joint causing the racquet to follow the arm’s movement. This swing pattern creates a constantly changing racquet face on high balls. As a result, most skilled players will add some slice on high balls to help maintain a consistent racquet face angle through the contact point.One aspect which is especially common among skilled players is the limited movement of the elbow joint during the entire course of the backhand volley. This key component allows for greater leverage. It also negates the necessary control of an extra joint during the backhand volley stroke. Note that Rafter has a slightly bent elbow throughout the course of his swing while Sampras and Hewitt have the more common straight arm position. Some players, like Sampras will straighten the arm just prior to contact while other players, especially Hewitt, maintain a very straight arm almost from the moment they make their turn sideways in preparation for the backhand volley. (See Hewitt's backhand volley in ProStrokes Gallery!) What is important is that the majority of the swing is accomplished through the arm's motion and not the elbow joint extension from a flexed position. Another common facet among top players is the opposing action of the off-arm. Notice how the off-arm drives backwards during the contact phase of the swing. The reason for this is simple, in order to drive the racquet through the line of trajectory, the player must remain sideways. To help prevent the natural tendency of the body to rotate around during the volley, this movement of the off-arm maintains the sideways position desired during contact.

The follow-through for all three players is also similar. Each player maintains the same wrist position holding the racquet head up as prior to contact. (Hewitt does tend to drop his racquet head slightly, but this is done long after contact. Many skilled players will do this as a relaxation phase of the shot. Beginners are told not to do this because they tend to drop the head during contact instead of after!)Using the CariocaNotice how the back leg actually moves slightly behind the front leg on volleys when these players must move rapidly forward. This “carioca” step serves a similar purpose as the off-arm: it helps the player remain sideways. If the player allowed the back leg to swing around as in another running step, the hips would rotate around defeating the goal of remaining sideways. 

Players who allow their back leg to swing through while attempting forward-moving backhand volleys usually pull the ball to the right (right-handed players). As a result of “stepping through the shot”, players unconsciously tend to lay their racket heads back to compensate for the early rotation of the body. This results in players pushing the ball away from them instead of efficiently driving the ball across their body toward the desired target.
It is obvious from comparing the images of these three champions, and those of the many others you can find in the TennisONE ProStrokes Gallery, there are very explicit mechanics which are essential for successful backhand volleys. Certainly, if the vast majority of top players employ such mechanics, it would be in your best interest to employ them also. Regardless of your age, current playing ability or previous tennis experience, learning these movements and practicing them until they become routine could substantially improve your backhand volley and your game.

Next month, we will break down the forehand volley.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about this article by emailing us here at TennisONE.

David W. Smith is the Director of Tennis for the St. George Tennis Academy in St. George Utah. He has been a featured writer in USPTA’s magazine ADDvantage in addition to having over 50 published articles in various publications. David has taught over 3000 players including many top national and world ranked players. He can be reached at ACRpres1@msn.com