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The chiquita worked; they lifted a weak volley. Now what?
Weak volley off the chiquita: firm volley to the other net player's feet, complete the approach. Do not give the moment back.
Your chiquita forced a soft, upward volley that lands around your service line as you advance. What is the best next shot?
Weak volley off the chiquita: firm volley to the other net player's feet, complete the approach. Do not give the moment back.
Why
The chiquita produces a soft, upward volley, and that ball, arriving around your service line as you advance, is the reward. Both opponents are still at the net, one of them off balance from the low volley, so the next shot is a firm volley or half-volley to the feet of the other net player (the one who is set, so the ball at their feet is the hard one) and the last two steps to the net position. The net exchange that follows is on your terms: you are moving in on a ball above the net, and they are reacting. Chiquita, weak volley, feet volley, net. It is the most common way good pairs take the net without ever hitting a lob.
What this means at your level
Beginner
When your soft ball makes them hit a soft volley back, hit that one firmly at their feet and keep walking forward.
Intermediate
The target is the player who did not just hit. The hitter is recovering; the partner is set, and the low ball at set feet is the hard one.
Advanced
If their weak volley floats high, the finish is a smash to the side glass or a volley through the middle. Read the height: chest height goes to the feet, head height goes away.
Common questions
Your chiquita forced a soft, upward volley that lands around your service line as you advance. What is the best next shot?
A firm volley at the other player's feet. Weak volley off the chiquita: firm volley to the other net player's feet, complete the approach. Do not give the moment back. The chiquita produces a soft, upward volley, and that ball, arriving around your service line as you advance, is the reward. Both opponents are still at the net, one of them off balance from the low volley, so the next shot is a firm volley or half-volley to the feet of the other net player (the one who is set, so the ball at their feet is the hard one) and the last two steps to the net position. The net exchange that follows is on your terms: you are moving in on a ball above the net, and they are reacting. Chiquita, weak volley, feet volley, net. It is the most common way good pairs take the net without ever hitting a lob.
Why not another chiquita, to the same feet?
You now have a ball you can hit down. A second chiquita gives them a second chance.
What should a beginner do here?
When your soft ball makes them hit a soft volley back, hit that one firmly at their feet and keep walking forward.
How does this change for an advanced player?
If their weak volley floats high, the finish is a smash to the side glass or a volley through the middle. Read the height: chest height goes to the feet, head height goes away.
Puzzles like this one
Both of them are at the net. What is the highest-percentage ball?
Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.
intermediateWhat do you do with the return of serve?
The return lob is how the receiving pair steals the net. Aim over the player who is still moving.
advancedThey are camped at the net and you cannot lob. What now?
If you cannot lift it over them, make them lift it for you. The chiquita is a slow ball at their feet.