A lot of my coaching on the professional tour has consisted of working with some of the
worlds best doubles players. I have been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time working
with Rennae Stubbs and the information I gathered about volleys was incredible. Rennae
was coached by one of Australia’s  best ever developmental and tour coaches, Ray
Ruffels, during her formative years.

“In addition, Rennae is widely regarded as one of the
best volleyers tennis has ever seen. A winner of six grand slams, Rennae has always been
a tremendous student of the game, and someone who has learned a lot from her own
experiences during her years as a touring pro.” – Tom Downs

The many things I learned during my time with Rennae, as well the information I already had about volleys, can help players of all levels improve their forehand volley. I have selected five important things from my experiences regarding the forehand volley, that will help you gain an edge on your competition.

1. Grip
Let’s start with the grip. Yes, I know that most of you are probably thinking true
continental grip. But let me tell you, many of the great volleyers use a weak continental
grip, which means the base knuckle of the hitting hand is further towards the eastern
forehand grip. Interestingly, Pat Rafter uses this grip, and didn’t even acknowledge it in some recent videos I’ve watched of him. This grip allows players to get a little more
underspin on their lower volleys. So basically, you don’t have to have a true continental
grip. Your grip just has to be within the parameters of continental. Also, a lot of the great
volleyers use slightly different grips for forehand and backhand volleys.

2. Setting the racquet correctly
There is a very slight turn on the forehand volley. I often see club level players take these
huge turns and find themselves so turned that they often hit volleys late behind their
bodies and cannot get as much body weight going into the ball. The unit turn on the
forehand volley isn't like the one you would make on a groundstroke, or a backhand
volley. After the initial split step, you should pivot the outside foot as you set the racquet.
While doing this, your body will turn slightly. A great drill for working on setting the
racquet correctly, as well as eliminating a large takeback, is to stand under the gate
entrance to the court you practice on. Have your playing partner toss you a ball to your
forehand volley side. You need to volley the ball back to your partner. If you take a huge
swing, your racquet will hit the fence next to the gate.

3. Eyes level with the ball
All the great volleyers talk about the importance of getting the eyes level with the ball for
every volley. Rennae Stubbs took that a step further. Literally, on every volley she hit, Rennae would focus on keeping her eyes level with the ball for an extra second thru the
contact zone. She would make herself count that extra second on every volley she hit in
practice and would focus on this cue in pressure situations in matches. This helped her to
not lift off volleys, which is a common mistake players of all levels make, as well as
professional players. Keeping the eyes level for an extra second thru the impact zone will
help you get good body weight going into your volley.

4. Split step and stances
In today’s game, a lot of volleys are hit from different types of open stances. This is due
to the power that exists in today’s game, and it means that players don't have to generate pace when volleying. It does not mean they wait for the ball, and they make sure that their body weight is always going forwards. For high-performance players, I recommend
volleying with open stances, when it is needed. I emphasize the importance of the split
steps and the two steps that should follow. In the case of the forehand volley, a player
should split and then pivot their outside foot as they set their racquet. This is the first
step. The second step is stepping forward with the front foot as they swing. I believe
in volleying with some sort of open stance, as well as neutral stances when possible, but
the front foot has to be stepping forwards, and not across the body. A lot of the great
volleyers, such as Pat Rafter, talk about the power in the volley coming from the second
step with the front foot after pushing off the outside leg.

5. The forward part of the volley.
On the forward part of the volley, an important thing to focus on is getting the players
palm of their hitting hand to travel toward their hitting target. For a crosscourt volley,
players must focus on hitting the outside part of the ball and the palm of their hitting hand
must go in this direction. For down the line volleys, players must hit the inside part of the
ball, and the palm of the hitting hand must go in this direction. Regardless of where you
intend to hit your volley, during the forward swing, the outside edge of the racquet will
move in an inward direction.

I believe that there is some wrist in volleys thru the contact zone. All levels of players
could benefit from a drill that I learned from Ray Ruffels. Ray would have his players set
their racquets correctly and then he would grab the throat of their racquet with his hand.
He would then tell them to shadow swing the forward part, while still holding the racquet
at the throat. Players would feel the forearm muscles working, as well as some wrist,
against Ray’s resistant hand. This drill shows that there is some wrist in volleys, as there
is a kinetic link between the forearm muscles and the wrist.
Is it realistic to volley as well as Rennae Stubbs and other elite level volleyers who have
won grand slams? Yes, it is. But the idea is to become the best volleyer you can be. I can

assure you that the lessons you learn from the best the best players in the world, as well
as studying the pros, will give you the best chance of achieving this.