Basic skills: Volleys

Basic Skills: Volley (Forehand & Backhand)

A volley in padel is a shot in which the ball is struck before it bounces on the ground. Generally a player hits a volley while standing near the net, although it can be executed farther back.

To be a successful volleyer you need to have quick reflexes and you need to have perfect hand-eye coordination.

Grip

The Continental grip is the most commonly used grip by professional padel players. This grip can be used both in a forehand volley and in a backhand volley. This means that you don’t have to change your grip if you use a forehand and a backhand volley alternately. This makes this grip more popular than the other grips.

Some players use the Eastern forehand grip to hit a forehand volley, but the disadvantage of this padel volley grip is the fact that if you want to hit a backhand volley stroke in your next shot, you need to change your grip to a continental grip. This can be very confusing and time consuming especially for beginners.

Footwork

There are several ways to practice the proper padel volley footwork preparation. Another essential padel volley tip is to perform a timely split step and focus your balance as early as possible. For best results, you have to execute the split step as soon as your opponent makes contact with the ball. This is for you to establish your base of support.

In fact, most professional players are able to execute their split step in such a way that the execution is perfectly timed just after the opponent’s ball contact. The split step is also important for you to be able to move quickly and react to your opponents return flawlessly. A timely split step also gives you the proper balance your need to execute your return properly. In this type of footwork preparation, timing is essential.

Preparation

Volleys are normally played on the net, thus its shot preparation is basically shorter compared to other shots such as groundstrokes. This makes an appropriate tennis volley preparation crucial. Late preparation can lead to a rushed shot resulting to poor executions. One of the most important volley tips is to be well prepared by anticipating your opponent’s shots.

The split step is the most important footwork preparation in padel volley shots.

Proper weight transfer also varies between a low volley and a high volley shot. In a low volley shot, the weight transfer should happen before contact while in a high volley shot, weight transfer should happen during contact. This weight transfer signifies your timely weight transfer from your back foot to your front foot.

At contact, the paddle face must be in a slightly open position. This means that the paddle face that comes in contact with the ball must be slightly facing upwards or towards the sky. This paddle face position at contact can be used either in a forehand or in a backhand volley.

A common problem among club players is late reaction time. This causes their paddle face to be positioned is a "dish" manner (racket face facing upwards fully).

Termination

The termination of a volley is accompanying the ball, and ends pointing with the tip of the paddle to the place where I want to hit the ball. A typical mistake is to finish down, that’s the reason the ball goes to the net. The ending of the stroke is well forward and pointing to the target.