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A ball arrives at head height at the net. Volley or bandeja?
If you can reach it in front of you at head height, it is a high volley. Only turn for a bandeja when the ball is getting behind you.
A slow, floating ball comes to you at the net at head height, slightly above the shoulder. Do you hit a high volley or turn for a bandeja?
If you can reach it in front of you at head height, it is a high volley. Only turn for a bandeja when the ball is getting behind you.
Why
The line between the high volley and the bandeja is whether the ball is in front of you or getting behind you. A floating ball at head height that you can meet in front is a high volley: step in, take it early, hit it firmly down. Turning sideways for a bandeja on that ball costs a half-second, lets the ball drop, and turns an attack into a neutral shot. The bandeja is the shot for lobs that are over your shoulder; the high volley is the shot for everything else above the net. Picking the wrong one is one of the most common ways intermediate players lose the initiative from a winning position.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If the ball is in front of you and above the net, hit it forward and down. Save the turn for balls going over your head.
Intermediate
Step into the high volley. The step is what turns a defensive push into a put-away.
Advanced
The high volley is best aimed at the feet of the deeper opponent or through the middle. Angled high volleys go out; deep and low ones win.
Common questions
A slow, floating ball comes to you at the net at head height, slightly above the shoulder. Do you hit a high volley or turn for a bandeja?
High volley: take it early, in front, and put it away. If you can reach it in front of you at head height, it is a high volley. Only turn for a bandeja when the ball is getting behind you. The line between the high volley and the bandeja is whether the ball is in front of you or getting behind you. A floating ball at head height that you can meet in front is a high volley: step in, take it early, hit it firmly down. Turning sideways for a bandeja on that ball costs a half-second, lets the ball drop, and turns an attack into a neutral shot. The bandeja is the shot for lobs that are over your shoulder; the high volley is the shot for everything else above the net. Picking the wrong one is one of the most common ways intermediate players lose the initiative from a winning position.
Why not bandeja: anything above the shoulder is an overhead?
The bandeja is for balls that would otherwise get behind you. This one is in front; volley it before it drops.
What should a beginner do here?
If the ball is in front of you and above the net, hit it forward and down. Save the turn for balls going over your head.
How does this change for an advanced player?
The high volley is best aimed at the feet of the deeper opponent or through the middle. Angled high volleys go out; deep and low ones win.
Puzzles like this one
They lobbed you deep. Smash it or play the bandeja?
Deep ball, high hands: bandeja. The shot exists to keep you at the net, not to win the point.
beginnerThe ball is at your feet at the net. What now?
A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.
intermediateYour partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand?
The pair moves like one body. When your partner is pulled wide, you take the middle.