The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1922-01-10
VclIey in Lawn Tennis Purely Of
fensiVe Stroke

fensive Stroke
TN TAKING up the next two
strokes, namely. the volley and
= overhead, the first thing to get
clearly in mind is that these shots
are purely offensive, or attacking
shots, and never, under any circum-
stance, defensive shots.
When considering tennis from a
technical standpoint, the game re-
solves itself into one of pure attack
and defense and the volley and over
head, or the met game as it is
termed, is to tennis what the German
foTLy-twO-Centimeter guns are to their
attack.
All volley shots should be made
with the idea of winning the point,
not merely returning the ball, be-
cause a mere short return opens both
sidelines to your opponent for his
passing shot.
There are certain things about a
volley that must be understood at
once. First, hold the racquet tight
and volley with stiff wrist. More vol
leys are missed because of the rae
quet slipping in the hand than for
any other reason except taking the
eye off the ball.
The volley is made up of a very diff
ferent combination from the strokes.
1t has very little swing and no top.
One reason Mrs. Molla Bjurstedt Nal
Tory cannot volley is because her
whole game is made up of free swings
with plenty of top. The result is she
cannot vOlley and in comparison with
her last court game, her volley game
is absolutely second-rate.
The volley should be made with
nearly a fiat racquet face, stiff
wrist and very short swing. Let the
other mans shot put the speed in
your volley while you attend entirely
to depth and direction. Do not chop
down on your volley shot, but ming
your bat into the ball. In other words,
do not make the angle between the
flight of the ball and the flight of the
racquet nearly a right angle; try to
make it nearly a straight line. An
excellent example Of this style volley
is Craig Biddle, of Philadelphia.
The only volley to chop successful
ly is the forehand cross-court volley
from near the right-hand sideline.
This can be chopped for a very acute
angle provided the footwork is cor
rect.
The question of footwork in volley-
ing should be considered more as re-
CARDS placement of the weight than
actual position of the feet, since Of
ten you have not time to change your
feet. You can always shift your
weight or to the correct foot.
If there is time, for the forehand
volley should be in front of the right,
with the weight on the right foot;
while for the backhand volley the
footwork 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 to change,
remember the rule. The weight
should be on the shot, not away from
il. In other words, for the forehand
YOlley it should be on the right foo
and for the backhand on the left foot.
Thus there is no tendency to pull
away from the ball, but the body re-
mains in position to play the shot
either way.
There are several styles of volleys:
First. The deep, fast volley. This
is usually made straight and should
be made the foundation for the vol
ley game. Play this volley when the
other man is watching for the short
shot and is inside the baseline, as if
will catch him at his feet. VOlley
deep whenever you see a chance of
getting the other man at his feet, for
even if he makes his return, it forces
him out of position and upsets his
style of play. The deep volley should
be a fast shot.
Second. The stop" yolley. This
shot is the most effective form of
breaking up a back-court game. 1t
is practically the only safe way of
playing men like Wallace Johnson,
Armstrong, Pearson, Swayne and 9th
er opponents 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 cover
ed, it opens the court to the next
shot.
Be careful in making this shot not
to Volley soft to midcourt, 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 yolley deep and straight, and last