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A hard drive is flying past you at shoulder height. Volley or leave it?
A drive still rising at shoulder height as it passes you is going out. Leave it.
At the net, a hard, rising drive is passing you at shoulder height, heading for your back glass. Do you volley it?
A drive still rising at shoulder height as it passes you is going out. Leave it.
Why
A hard drive that is still climbing as it passes a net player two and a half metres from the net will reach the back glass on the full, and a ball that hits the glass before bouncing is out. Volleying it makes it live, and volleying a rising, fast ball at shoulder height usually produces a poor shot anyway. Learning to read the trajectory, rising past the net position means long, dipping means in, is one of the skills that turns net play from reaction into judgement. Leave the ones that are going out, and you win points with no racket at all.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If the ball is above your shoulder and still going up as it passes you, let it go. Watch it hit the glass.
Intermediate
Balls at head height that are level or dipping are in, volley those. Balls still rising are out, leave them.
Advanced
Against a pair that drives hard, leaving long balls is a source of free points. Show them you will leave the long one and they have to hit lower, into your volley.
Common questions
At the net, a hard, rising drive is passing you at shoulder height, heading for your back glass. Do you volley it?
Leave it: a rising ball at shoulder height is going long. A drive still rising at shoulder height as it passes you is going out. Leave it. A hard drive that is still climbing as it passes a net player two and a half metres from the net will reach the back glass on the full, and a ball that hits the glass before bouncing is out. Volleying it makes it live, and volleying a rising, fast ball at shoulder height usually produces a poor shot anyway. Learning to read the trajectory, rising past the net position means long, dipping means in, is one of the skills that turns net play from reaction into judgement. Leave the ones that are going out, and you win points with no racket at all.
Why not volley it, never let a ball past you at the net?
A ball that was going out is now in play the moment you touch it. Leaving long balls is a skill, not a failure.
What should a beginner do here?
If the ball is above your shoulder and still going up as it passes you, let it go. Watch it hit the glass.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Against a pair that drives hard, leaving long balls is a source of free points. Show them you will leave the long one and they have to hit lower, into your volley.
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Deep ball, high hands: bandeja. The shot exists to keep you at the net, not to win the point.
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A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.
beginnerBoth 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.