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One opponent is deep, one has crept forward. Which one do you volley to?
An opponent caught in no man's land gets the ball at their feet. It is the hardest ball in the game.
You have a controlled volley. One opponent is two metres inside their glass; the other has crept up toward their service line. Who gets the ball?
An opponent caught in no man's land gets the ball at their feet. It is the hardest ball in the game.
Why
When one opponent has crept forward toward their service line, they are in the worst place on the court, and the volley that lands at their feet punishes it. They have to play a half-volley or a low volley upward from a position where they can neither use the wall nor get to the net, and the reply is almost always a weak lift you can finish. The deep opponent, by contrast, has time and the glass to help them. Pick the target by position: whoever is worse placed gets the ball, and the feet of an advancing player is as bad as it gets.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If one of them is standing in the middle of their side, hit the ball at their feet. It is the hardest ball to play.
Intermediate
The feet volley to the advancer should be firm and low, not soft. You want it to arrive before they can get set.
Advanced
The advancing opponent is usually following a chiquita in. The volley to their feet catches them mid-step; the reply is a lift, and your partner should already be moving in for it.
Common questions
You have a controlled volley. One opponent is two metres inside their glass; the other has crept up toward their service line. Who gets the ball?
The feet of the one who crept forward. An opponent caught in no man's land gets the ball at their feet. It is the hardest ball in the game. When one opponent has crept forward toward their service line, they are in the worst place on the court, and the volley that lands at their feet punishes it. They have to play a half-volley or a low volley upward from a position where they can neither use the wall nor get to the net, and the reply is almost always a weak lift you can finish. The deep opponent, by contrast, has time and the glass to help them. Pick the target by position: whoever is worse placed gets the ball, and the feet of an advancing player is as bad as it gets.
Why not deep to the one who is back, into the corner?
The deep player has time and the glass. The advancing one has neither.
What should a beginner do here?
If one of them is standing in the middle of their side, hit the ball at their feet. It is the hardest ball to play.
How does this change for an advanced player?
The advancing opponent is usually following a chiquita in. The volley to their feet catches them mid-step; the reply is a lift, and your partner should already be moving in for it.
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