Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-23
VOLLEY IN LAWN TENNIS
PURELY OFFENSIVE STROKE
Main Points to Be Considered in Developing
This Phase of Game Explained
by Tilden
By WILLIAM T. TILDEN, Cd

| be chopped for a very acute angle pro-
vided the footwork is correct.
| The question of footwork in volleying
| should be considered more as regards
| placement of the weight than actual po-
sition of the feet, since often you have
| not time to change your feet. You can
! always shift your weight on to the cor
rect foot.
If there Is time, for the forehand volley
the left foot should be in front of the
right, with the weight on the right foot
while for the backhand voley the foot
| work is reversed and the right foot is in
| front of the left while the weight is on
the left foot. In both cases the weight
shifts very little in making the shot
Technique of Shot
Where there is not time 10 change. re-
| member the rule. The weight should be
| on the shot. not away from 1t. In other
words, for the forehand volley it should
| be on the right foot and for the back
hand volley on the left foot. Thus there
is no tendency to pull away from the
ball, but the body remains in position to
play the shot either way.
There are several styles of volleys:
1. The deep, fast volley. This is
usually made straight and should be used
as the foundation of the voley game.
, Play this volley when the other man Is
watching for the short shot and is inside
feet. Volley deep whenever you see
chance of getting the other man at his
feet for even II he makes his return it
forces him out of position and upsets his
style of play The deep volley should be
fast shot.
2. The stop" volley. This shot is the
most effective form of breaking up a
back court game. 1t is practically the
only safe way to play men like Wallace
Johnson, Armstrong, Pearson, Swayne
and other eXponents of the steady back
court game, This shot should be made
with very little pace and placed at a
most acute angle. The sharper the angle
acquired in stop volleying the better the
shot is, for even if covered 1t opens the
court to the next shot.
Be careful in making this shot not to
volley soft to md-court since that only
lays you open to your opponents passing
shot, 1t will be seen as a general rule
then, that it is safest to volley deep and
straight and last, to stop" Volley play
soft and short and cross.
The question of position and the volley
is most important and should be con-
sidered carefully by all who intend to
develop this game. Faulty position will
ruin the best volley game ever developed.
AS a general rule play from 8 to 12 feet
from the net, or in other words just close
enough to the net that you can volley
on the full and are not forced to play
trap" or pickup shot.
Court Position
Now comes the important question of
which part of the court parallel to the
net to play. The answer depends entirely
on your own shot that you have followed
in.
Remember that as a rule the last return
is the straight return while the cross
court must be slower to hold in court.
In following In on service to either
court do not come into the middle of the
court, but come in about eight feet from
the side line or less, and cover the
straight shot. Especially Is this true of
the wide breaking service TO the left
(second) court An example of covering
this service is the way Il. N. Williams,
I'd. comes in on his. He comes to about
three feet of the side line and six feet
from the net.
Thus to sum up the yolley:
First 1t is purely attack. an offensive
shot.
Second. Hold the racquet tight at all
times and yolley with stiff wrist.
Third 1t Is little swing and no top"
Fourth. Do not chop your volley.
Fifth. Bootwork, when there is not time
TO change feet have weight on the foot
nearest the ball
Sixth. Deep vOlley should be fast and
straight.
Seventh. "stop" volley should be soft
and short and crosscourt.
Eighth. Position: About to IL from
net and cover the straight shot. About
One-third of court for straight and two
thirds for erosseourt.
Ninth. Following in service. use the
rule above.